NATIONAL TEAM

AFA chooses National Teams Day

The entity announced that July 15 will be the date "in homage to the great and historic victory of the Albiceleste against England in the 2026 World Cup semi-final".

La AFA eligió el Día de las Selecciones Nacionales

Messi's celebration after Lautaro Martínez's 2-1 against England.

08/05/2026 19:06hs. Updated on 08/05/2026 19:08hs.

This Wednesday's Executive Committee meeting of the AFA established a National Teams Day: July 15. It was reported that the decision was unanimous, as is the case for almost all of the organization's determinations.

What was the reasoning? "The date was chosen in homage to the great and historic victory of the Albiceleste against England in the 2026 World Cup semi-final. The team led by Lionel Scaloni was trailing the English team by the minimum but, with goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez, managed to turn the score around and make an entire country vibrate, filling the streets with celebrations," read the AFA's statement.

"But the homage is not only for that milestone of the Senior National Team. The recognition, of course, is also for each and every one of the national teams (youth, men's and women's, futsal, beach soccer, and field soccer), who train daily at the Lionel Andrés Messi complex with the hope, joy, and responsibility of defending the sky blue and white," it added.

It does not explain why none of the three World Cup finals won by the Albiceleste (1978, 1986, and 2022) were chosen as dates.

Pablo Toviggino, Claudio Tapia, and Cristian Malaspina at the Executive Committee meeting.

It is worth remembering that after that match, some of the players displayed a flag supporting Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands.

Los jugadores argentinos sostienen una bandera de Las Malvinas son Argentinas (Juano Tesone). The Argentine players hold a flag stating "The Malvinas are Argentine" (Juano Tesone).

The Executive Committee meeting was led by Claudio Tapia, president of the AFA, Pablo Toviggino, treasurer, and Cristian Malaspina, general secretary. The most important point was the support to offer Scaloni a contract renewal.

Scaloni's future: AFA Committee's support for his renewal and the coach's stance El futuro de Scaloni: el respaldo del Comité de AFA para su renovación y la postura del DT

Scaloni's future: AFA Committee's support for his renewal and the coach's stance

FIFA issued a statement denying having offered the 2030 World Cup final to Morocco FIFA emitió un comunicado y desmintió haberle ofrecido la final del Mundial 2030 a Marruecos