2026 World Cup Draw, LIVE: where to watch and how Argentina's group stands

Heidi Klum and Lionel Scaloni, with their immaculate gloves. Photo: AP

Diego

Provenzano

Washington DC, United States. Special correspondent.

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As planned, the coach of the Argentine National Team, Lionel Scaloni, was in charge of bringing the World Cup to the main stage of the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the place where the draw for the 2026 World Cup is held.

Dressed in a black suit, black tie, white sneakers - in FIFA mode - and immaculate white gloves, the mastermind behind the Scaloneta was presented by model Heidi Klum, one of the evening's hosts, and placed the trophy on the lectern where the FIFA Peace Prize, received by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, from the head of the football's parent company, Gianni Infantino, had been displayed a little while before.

Photo: AP

"Good evening, good afternoon. I remember it as an unforgettable final in which many things happened. Our team, despite the difficulties, continued to believe and at no point did we believe that the match could end badly," recalled Scaloni, somewhat nervously and in Spanish, about the Qatar 2022 World Cup final, in which Lionel Messi's Argentina beat Kylian Mbappé's France on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw in the 120 minutes of play at the Lusail Stadium.

And he left a message of hope for what's to come."In the new World Cup we will try to keep competing and never give up on anything," he remarked, indicating that the Argentine National Team will seek to defend the title and thus emulate what Brazil did back in the day between 1958 and 1962 with Pelé at the helm.

Lionel Scaloni enters the draw ceremony with the World Cup trophy 🏆 Watch the draw for the #WorldCupOnTelefe at https://t.co/S24R6EWDr8 📺 — telefe (@telefe) December 5, 2025

And, before returning to his seat with the other 41 coaches who had traveled to witness the draw for their national teams, he concluded:"That's what our people expect and that's what we're going to try again."