Tagliafico reveals a problem in the Argentine national team…that must be overcome!

Argentine international defender Nicolas Taliafico believes in an interview with Agence France-Presse that the “laxity” that sometimes appears among the “Albiceleste” is the main obstacle that the defending champion will have to overcome to defend her crown in the 2026 World Cup.
Argentina will play two friendly matches against Mauritania on Friday and Zambia on the 31st of this month, both at La Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires, which may allow the French Lyon defender, who is 33 years old and has 74 international matches, to equal Juan Pablo Sorin’s record (75), and then become the sole left-back with the most participation in the history of the three-time world champions.

Argentina will try to defend its title with the solid core of the 2022 squad and with a group of very talented young players. Where does the team stand now?
I think there is a mix of young players who may be a little inexperienced, but they have a lot of enthusiasm and a strong desire to wear the national jersey. I feel that this team is doing well, although sometimes we feel that it is slacking off. But in tournaments like these, the team regains its best levels and motivates itself again.

Laxness… Do you mean in matches that appear to have no real stakes, such as friendly matches?
It often happens during friendly matches of this type, far from underestimating any party, that we realize that we are training at a stronger pace every day with our colleagues than what happens in the friendly match itself.
I think the key lies in those intense training sessions, and I think they were one of the reasons we won the World Cup. “It also happens that it is difficult to maintain that training intensity five days a week, and sometimes we start to slack off.”

Moving from the World Cup in Qatar, which was almost confined to one city, to the 2026 edition distributed between the United States, Mexico and Canada, with an additional match required to win the title… How does this change the preparation and approach?
This is a factor that must be taken into account, because, in addition to extending the tournament perhaps five or six days, attention must be paid to detail. From traveling to training venues and matches, and the truth is that we have not yet discussed the general organization…
We know that we will be in Kansas City (base camp), but other than that we don’t know anything… In addition, there is an additional elimination match, and we may be eliminated in the round of 32 due to a small unfortunate detail. It’s a different World Cup, with a lot more teams, and I think it will be more competitive.

Winning a second World Cup in a row, in addition to the Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024, will make (Lionel) Messi’s team perhaps the best national team in history.. What do you think?
Only Brazil and Italy have won back-to-back World Cups, and that was a long time ago… It’s a dream, like the dream we had of winning one. But we must focus on the diary, and on one match after another, without getting carried away, because in the end the daily work is what will bear fruit.