The Argentine national team announced this Wednesday a alliance with Google Gemini to incorporate artificial intelligence tools into the work of its coaching staff during the 2026 World Cup.
The presentation was made in Times Square, in New York, a few weeks before the start of the World Cup that will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
As explained by the commercial director of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Leandro Petersen, the technology will improve tactical analysis and help prevent injuries to footballers.
“This technology will allow us to work a lot on injury prevention, tactical analysis and many other tasks in real time that help the coaching staff make decisions,” Petersen stated.
Although he did not reveal figures of the agreement, the leader assured that it is “one of the most important agreements in the history of the AFA.”
In addition to sports use, artificial intelligence will also be focused on interaction with fans. The followers of the national team will be able to use tools of Gemini to create images, songs and digital content related to figures such as Lionel Messi.
“Fans who cannot be at the World Cup are going to feel much closer to the team and their idols,” Petersen added.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first to be held following the global rise of generative artificial intelligence, driven by platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Grok.
For Google, the tournament will mark a before and after in the way of experiencing football. “It will be a completely different World Cup. Artificial intelligence will be in the hands of the fans, the players and the coaching staff.”. It’s going to change everything,” said Flor Sabatini, Google’s director of communications for Latin America.
Argentina will arrive at the World Cup as one of the big favorites for the title along with teams like France and Spain.
The team led by Lionel Scaloni and led by Lionel Messi will seek to defend the crown won in Qatar 2022, where he won his third World Cup after defeating France in a historic final.