[Saba Sports News] In the 2026 World Cup final, Argentina lost 0-1 to Spain. Lautaro Martínez spent the entire fixture on the bench and was not handed any game time. After the match, media outlets linked to Inter Milan lambasted Lionel Scaloni for making the tournament’s biggest mistake. Even more shockingly, Lautaro himself publicly liked social media posts criticising his head coach. Renowned Italian manager Antonio Conte also stated bluntly that leaving Lautaro out was a fatal error and that Scaloni adopted overly conservative tactics. The incident has spiralled into an open rift within the Argentina squad. Argentina were on the back foot for the whole final and resorted to deep defending throughout. Scaloni never brought on Lautaro, who waited on the substitutes’ bench, seemingly intent on clinging on for a penalty shootout. Camera shots cut to Lautaro on the sidelines, who looked desperate to be sent into action. He cut a dejected figure at full-time, overcome with emotion from the twin blows of his side’s defeat and his own lack of minutes. Post-match, Lautaro took to social media to voice his disappointment over being unused in the final: “I wanted to help the team yesterday, but that’s how things turned out.”
That said, Lautaro’s like on posts criticising Scaloni makes it clear he is utterly dissatisfied with the manager’s call. Across this World Cup campaign, Lautaro featured seven times, scoring three goals and laying on one assist. He netted crucial strikes in both the quarter-final and semi-final, yet was relegated to the bench for the title decider despite his fine run of form. What makes the situation even more poignant is that Lautaro will turn 29 next month, and he will be 33 by the next World Cup. This was in all likelihood his final shot at lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy.