The Barcelona forward's strike came following a 90 minutes that saw Argentina fail to have a single shot in normal time. In fact, their only two shots of the entire final came in the last three minutes of extra-time as they pushed for an equaliser.
Leandro Paredes threw punches after the final whistle before the squad turned their backs on Spain's trophy lift. Enzo Fernandez also saw red for a ridiculous challenge.
The 48-year-old was aiming to become only the second manager to retain the trophy after spearheading Argentina's 2022 triumph in Qatar. While facing questions from the press, the man who guided his nation to World Cup victory in 2022 was unable to continue, overcome by the disappointment of failing to defend the title. Scaloni would then be overcome with emotion, as tears fell and he struggled to speak when talking about his situation.
As he sat and faced questions after the game, the manager was overcome with emotion and said: "Bear with me, I don't know if I can continue." He then stood up and added: "It's really painful, I am very sorry" before leaving the room. Scaloni's voice broke as he said the final line, standing up to abruptly leave his press conference, with media clapping him as he left.
Reflecting on the tournament, Scaloni said: ‘To be where I am today is a dream come true. ‘We tried right up to the very end to give it our all - both the coaching staff and the players. I think it’s only right to take this time to think about it all. ‘It’s a beautiful position to be in. Somewhere where I dreamed of being. So to carry on, lots of things are necessary.’ ‘Above all, we need time to reset and form another group like this one. It’ll be hard to recreate this one. It hurts my soul, I’m sorry,’ Scaloni said as he left the press conference crying.