Argentina’s World Cup-winning coach Lionel Scaloni has penned a new contract which runs until the 2026 World Cup, the Argentine football federation announced on Monday.

Scaloni took over the job in 2018 and led Lionel Messi’s team to victory in Qatar in December. The new deal was made while Scaloni was in Paris for the FIFA Best awards.

Under the headline “Continuity assured,” a statement from the Argentine Football Federation said, “Claudio Tapia and Lionel Scaloni met to finalize the extension of his contract until 2026.”

Scaloni, who is 44 years old, led Argentina to win the Copa America in 2021. This was the first international trophy for the Albiceleste since 1993.

The South Americans won their third World Cup title when they beat France in a penalty shootout in the final in Doha.

After the team lost in the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he took over as coach from Jorge Sampaoli. At first, he did the job on an interim basis, but then he made it his own.

At the time, not everyone was happy about the quiet Scaloni being put in charge of the national team.

Diego Maradona, who was also a manager for Argentina, said something especially harsh about Scaloni. He praised his character but told the Clarin newspaper, “He can’t even direct traffic.”

Scaloni had never been a head coach before, and he was only supposed to be in charge for two months while the federation looked for a replacement for Sampaoli.

He took over a team that had been hurt by a string of close calls. In 2014, they lost the World Cup final, and in 2015 and 2016, they lost the Copa America final on penalties to Chile.

Messi, who was disappointed with international football after the 2018 World Cup loss, liked what he had in mind for the team.

Scaloni led Argentina to a 36-game win streak before last year’s World Cup. The highlight was winning the Copa America in Brazil in 2021, which ended a 28-year trophy drought.

Then, after a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in the first game of the World Cup in Qatar, he led his team to a trophy-winning run and won both the Copa America and the World Cup.

In 2026, Mexico, the United States, and Canada will all host the World Cup together. Scaloni will lead Argentina as they try to defend their world title.

Scaloni is in the running for FIFA’s Best coach award along with Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid and Pep Guardiola of Manchester City. The winner will be announced in Paris on Monday night.

Photo by EPA/Friedemann Vogel