Argentina's national team coach, Lionel Scaloni, was moved to tears when speaking about the injury to forward Joaquín Panichelli, who will miss the 2026 World Cup. During the pre-match press conference against Zambia, which will be the last before the World Cup, Scaloni was asked about the psychological blow caused by the forward's ligament rupture, who had arrived for this call-up in great shape. 'It's very difficult,' Scaloni began. 'He's a kid who really inspires everyone. He was training very well. We spoke with him, and he took the time to come to the training ground when he could have just stayed comfortably at the hotel.' Scaloni also acknowledged that 'it was very emotional, and in everything he said, he was right, that he didn't deserve it.' In this regard, he emphasized that 'he personally didn't deserve it. That's it, I'm not talking about it anymore,' Scaloni said through tears and left the press conference. 'He's just a worker in this field and he had earned it,' he added. He also revealed that 'I told him to keep it up, that he will have another chance.'
