Scaloni answers critics with Argentina’s World Cup final run

By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Argentina’s gamble has paid off. Criticism came quickly when Lionel Scaloni was hired as the somewhat accidental coach of Argentina’s national team in 2018. The nay-sayers wondered how someone with no club experience and no senior coaching experience at all could be expected to lead a squad containing the great Lionel Messi. The critics have gone quiet now. Scaloni will lead Argentina into the World Cup final against France on Sunday and the team will seek to back up the triumph at last year’s Copa America that ended the country’s 28-year trophy drought. Scaloni might yet go down as one of Argentina’s greatest ever coaches.