Lionel Scaloni will take charge of Argentina in qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after signing an extension to his contract as coach, the Argentine Football Association has confirmed.
“The executive committee of the AFA decided to give continuity during the next qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar that will begin next year, to the selection project headed by Lionel Scaloni,” the AFA said in a statement.
Scaloni was hired as the interim coach in August last year after Argentina's last 16 stage elimination in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and Jorge Sampaoli stepped down as coach. His contract was extended to December 2019 later that year.
Scaloni, had his contract further extended after the recently concluded Copa America. Argentina settled for the third place after defeating Chile 2-1 in the tournament hosted by Brazil, following a controversial semifinal against the hosts.
The 41-year-old, who will also be in charge for next year's Copa America, will try to help the team qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Qualifiers will begin in March 2020 and go on till November in 2021.
Scaloni has never held a head coach job before. His previous coaching experience is only with Sevilla, when he was assistant to Sampaoli during the 2016-17 season.
The former Argentine footballer has received much support from the players, including the talismanic Lionel Messi after their run in the Copa America.
Messi, however, will miss Argentina's opening World Cup qualifier after he received a red card in the Copa America third-place play-off and was suspended by the South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL).