'Only fair I take the time to think this through' - Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni breaks down in tears while discussing national team future

Scaloni went from an unheralded hire to bringing consistent success to Argentina since his arrival in 2018.

Before his arrival, Argentina had gone 28 years without a major men's title win, but within three years, he had them lifting the Copa America in 2021. Then, after building an approach that brought out the best in team star Lionel Messi, the team finally ended their 36-year wait for the World Cup - besting Kylian Mbappe's France in a dramatic final in 2022. La Albiceleste would continue their success in 2024, lifting another Copa America in the United States.

"This place is wonderful. This is a dream place," Scaloni said Sunday, reflecting on his time with Argentina. "We would have never imagined [all of the trophies won], me and my staff.

Yet, Scaloni stressed that replicating those successes and dealing with the expectation that comes with that might be too challenging for another World Cup cycle.

"In order to continue, you need a great deal of things. That is very difficult to recreate again," he said while fighting tears. "We tried to the last minute to give our all [in the final]. I think it’s only fair that I take the time to think this through. 

Scaloni would leave his press conference moments later, saying he's "very sorry" to the media in attendance. As he exited, he was given a large round of applause by the Argentine media.

Before he exited the conference, Scaloni revealed he is set for conversations with Tapia and admitted his decision is largely made. He also stressed he won't leave until his contract ends in December 2026.

"I will talk to the president. I will see out my contract. I know what I want to do. I feel the need to think. I don’t know if something this big can be done [again]," he said.

Argentina lost a hard-fought 1-0 result to Spain in the World Cup final, a match where Scaloni's side failed to register a single shot on target and didn't get a shot off until the 105th minute. Scaloni stressed that, in his view, the match was very close despite Spain's sizeable advantage in attacking stats.

"We feel extremely grateful to our fans. We managed to go all the way to the match when it was so open. We were close. I would like to thank my players and everyone who’s helped us," he said.

While cameras largely focused on Messi's emotional reaction to missing a chance to win his second World Cup, Scaloni acknowledged the disappointment overall from the group.

"I already cried my heart out in the locker room," he said. "Grateful to this group; they were warriors."

Messi might have played in his last World Cup at age 39, and Scaloni was incredibly grateful for the eight years the two shared - if that is the case.

"He’s the best football player ever. It was incredible," Scaloni said.

With Argentina being held scoreless in their final game, Messi would end up second in the Golden Boot race to Mbappe - with eight goals to the 10 scored by the Frenchman. Still, Messi finished as one of the top players of the tournament, adding four assists to his tally in eight matches.