The Argentine national team will face Guatemala on March 31st. This match will be their farewell appearance before their home fans before the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where they will attempt to defend the title they won three and a half years ago in Qatar.
Since the historic conquest in Qatar, led by Lionel Scaloni, the team has played 11 friendly matches, and more than half of them were against Central American opponents. The first two took place in early 2023, when they defeated Panama 2-0 and Curaçao 7-0. The following year, three of the four friendlies were against Central American teams.
In March, they defeated El Salvador 3-0 and Costa Rica 3-1, while in June, they thrashed Guatemala 4-1. The last Central American opponent for the Argentine team was Puerto Rico, whom the world champions defeated 6-0 in mid-March 2025.
The problem with the level of opponents for the Argentine national team One of the main criticisms received by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) regarding the national team was the weak level of opponents in friendlies. According to the Argentine News Agency, since winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the 'Scaloneta' has played 11 friendly matches, of which only three opponents had participated in the last World Cup (Costa Rica, Australia, and Ecuador).
The weak level of opponents was even criticized by the players and the national team's head coach themselves, due to the inability to face top-tier world teams.
