For Argentina, preparation does not end when the training-ground lights are switched off. Lionel Scaloni has made the weekly barbecue a central space to bring the squad together, strengthen relationships and sustain a collective identity during the 2026 World Cup.
The coach explained that these gatherings become some of the most valuable memories a footballer can build. Around the grill, the group shares conversations, laughter and games of truco in an environment removed from competition and daily pressure.
The custom continues even during the tournament. Players, coaching staff and officials have taken part in several shared meals since the World Cup began, maintaining a practice that has accompanied Scaloni’s tenure and become one of the squad’s internal rituals.
For the coach, coexistence serves an indirect sporting purpose. A group whose members know one another, enjoy being together and build trust can respond with greater cohesion under pressure. Some training sessions have therefore been shortened to preserve time for the gathering.
Scaloni connected that experience with his own career. He recalled the bonds formed with Pablo Aimar and Walter Samuel from their youth-team years and stressed that many of those images remain long after matches end and results change.
Aimar and Samuel’s presence on the current coaching staff links those memories with the present. Argentina have turned an Argentine tradition into a tool of belonging, not as a magic formula or a substitute for tactics, but as part of the team’s culture.
As Argentina prepare to face England in the semifinals, the ritual once again reveals its quiet value. The next match will be decided on the pitch, but the strength with which the group enters that challenge is also built in the moments shared away from it.
