When Lionel Scaloni led the Argentina team for the first time, on September 7, 2018, he was an interim coach accompanied by Pablo Aimar and with a still uncertain future. That same day, Guatemala returned to international activity after almost two years of suspension imposed by FIFA.
Eight years later, that friendly match played at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles takes on a different dimension. The match that then seemed like a rehearsal for the Albiceleste ended up becoming the first chapter of the most successful cycle in the recent history of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), which this Friday reached 100 games under the direction of Scaloni.
While Argentina plays the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup against Cape Verde in Miami, the digital archive of Free press allows us to reconstruct how that night was experienced from the Guatemalan perspective.
The eleven chosen by Walter Claverí
The national team arrived in California with a mix of experienced soccer players and young players looking to establish themselves on the international level. Walter Claverí opted for the following lineup:
Goalkeeper:
Defenses:
- Allen Yanes
- Elías Enoc Vásquez
- Hector Moreira
- Rafael Morales
Midfielders:
- Rodrigo Saravia
- Kevin Norales
- Frank de Leon
- José Manuel “El Moyo” Contreras, captain
Fronts:
- Jorge “El Toro” Vargas
- José “El Flaco” Martínez
During the second half Carlos Gallardo, Cristian Jiménez, Wilber Pérez, Jean Márquez, Marvin Ceballos and Edgar Macal entered.
Guatemala, a rival with its own place in the Scaloni era
Guatemala has faced the Argentine team led by Lionel Scaloni on two occasions, and both games correspond to different moments of the Albiceleste’s most successful process in decades.
The first precedent was on September 7, 2018, at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. That night, Scaloni made his debut as Argentina coach with a 3-0 victory over Guatemala. Without Lionel Messi in the squad, the Albiceleste won with goals from Gonzalo “Pity” Martínez, Giovani Lo Celso and Giovanni Simeone.
The second crossing was on June 14, 2024, in Maryland, United States, in a friendly preparation for the Copa América. Argentina won 4-1, with two goals from Lionel Messi and two from Lautaro Martínez.
So far, Scaloni’s record against Guatemala is two games, two wins, seven goals for and one against. For this reason, Bicolor occupies a particular place in the Argentine coach’s career: it was his debut rival and one of the teams he faced more than once during his cycle.
This is how Prensa Libre narrated the birth of the Scaloneta
The notes published by Free press before and after the match allow us to reconstruct the atmosphere that surrounded that match, without then being able to anticipate the significance it would have over the years.
A debut full of uncertainty
Previously, the newspaper reported that Pablo Aimar and Lionel Scaloni would lead Argentina against Guatemalaa reflection of the expectation aroused by a team that, after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, began a new stage with two former soccer players with no experience as coaches of senior teams.
Guatemala returned after punishment
Another publication warned of the enormous challenge for Bicolor.
In “The National Team will have a tough test against Argentina in Los Angeles”, Prensa Libre recalled that Guatemala was returning to international competition after remaining inactive for almost two years due to the suspension of Fedefut, a situation that had affected the competitive rhythm of the national team.
The great unknown of the Argentine attack
In both countries the same question arose: who would occupy the center forward position in Scaloni’s debut?
The answer was Giovanni Simeone, son of Diego Simeone, who scored one of the three goals with which Argentina beat Guatemala 3-0.
The captain’s reflection
After the match, Prensa Libre included the statements of José Manuel Contreras in the article “What did Guatemala’s ’10’, José Manuel Contreras, say after the match against Argentina?”
The Bicolor captain recognized the difference in pace and hierarchy compared to the Argentine team, although he highlighted the importance of Guatemala returning to compete internationally after the sanction that kept the country away from world football.
A friendly that changed dimension
In September 2018, that friendly represented Guatemala’s return to international activity and the beginning of a new process for an Argentina that sought to rebuild after Russia 2018.
As time went by, the context completely transformed the reading of that match.
Today, Scaloni’s debut against Guatemala is no longer remembered only as an international friendly, but as the first step in a cycle that won a World Cup, two Copa América, a Finalissima and that turned the Albiceleste into one of the most successful teams in its recent history.
While Argentina reaches 100 matches under Scaloni’s command, the journalistic archive of Free press preserves the record of that night in Los Angeles, when the story of one of the most successful processes in Argentine soccer began against a Guatemalan team that was also writing a new chapter after its return to international competition.