The Spanish selection and Argentina have won their last tournament and are on the podium of the FIFA rankings. La Roja won the title that gave them their fourth time as European champions against England. In turn, the Albiceleste were reinstated as champions of the America Cup after an extra-time victory over Colombia.
But this success would not be understood without the figure of their selectors, the Riojan and the Pujatense are the teachers who lead the orchestra and the results they achieve with their teams are largely due to them. The champion of Europe, Luis de la Fuente who, with little experience in the football elite, has brushed aside the criticism of a large part of the Spanish fans. The champion of America, Lionel Scaloni He has brought his team out of a sporting collapse, after the poor results that had been achieved before his arrival. But which of the two has the better record as leader of his national team?
The Spanish coach He became the first coach to win the Euro Cup in three different categories. Her first European success He achieved it at the 2015 European Championship with the U-19s, followed by the 2019 U-21 European Championships and finally the finishing touch came with the recent Euro Cup which he won with the senior team in Germany. The Riojan has not even been in charge for a year and a half, but this short period has been enough to silence the critics and bring the national team back to the top of world football.
With the Spanish selectionthe man from Rioja directed 23 matches that ended with: 20 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw. The defeats of Colombia and Scotland are the only ones that can be criticized in the career of the coach with the senior team. The only draw they have achieved is a 3-3 against Brazil in a friendly match. As leader of La Roja, he has won 87% of the matches he has played, with an average of 2.91 goals per match. Only in defeats has the Spanish team failed to score.
As if that wasn't enough, their record of winning titles is unsurpassed. The penalty shootout victory against the Croatian team in the Nations League was enough to end a drought of more than one of eachIn less than a year, he has managed to add his second consecutive title to his list of achievements, thanks to the European Championship that he won in 2024 with a style of play that has received worldwide praise.
La Scaloneta shines, 76% wins
But if there is a coach who can compete with those numbers, at least Scaloni, The Argentine joined a team that had just played a discreet role in the league in September 2018 World Cup Russia and with the hangover of the two lost Copa America finals against Chile.
Despite his arrival, turbulent times continued the Albiceleste and the beginning was complicated. Argentina could not go more than three games without winning and was eliminated from the competition Copa America in 2019 with Brazil in the semi-finals. But since then, the sporting situation has taken a 360-degree turn. The heavenly team has lost only two games (Saudi Arabia and Uruguay).
The numbers of the Scaloneta They are also worthy of admiration. He has won 57 of his 75 games as coach of his country, that is 76%, almost eleven points less than Luis de la Fuente. The remaining 18 matches are classified as twelve draws and six losses. The average number of goals scored is 2.2 per match, figures that are also lower than those of the Spanish coach.
In terms of titles, Argentina can boast of winning the two most important titles at national team level, one World Cup and two Copa América. Scaloni settled in Taste after winning a historic final against France on penalties. The Puja player has been crowned champion of the last two editions of the continental tournament, becoming the only team, along with Brazil and Chile, to achieve this feat in the past century.
Since their arrival, both coaches have achieved good figures. But the doubts will be resolved next summer, when the two countries face each other on the playing field in the Finalísima. The last champion was Escaloni's Argentina after beating Italy 3-0 at Wembley, with goals from Lautaro, Di María and Dybala.
The confrontation between Spain and Argentina It leaves us with a very even balance. After 14 games, each team has six wins, along with a couple of draws. The most recent clash between the two teams took place in Madrid ahead of the World Cup in Russia. In that match, Spain defeated the Albiceleste in the Metropolitan with 6-1.