A football hotspot; Argentine coaches are taking over the World Cup

As Ecuador continue to produce a host of elite footballers, their head coach actually hails from a different, albeit deeply rich, footballing background.

La Tri head coach, Sebastián Beccacece, is one of a whopping six Argentine coaches at the 2026 World Cup.

Beccacece is joined by the United States’ Mauricio Pochettino, Uruguay‘s Marcelo Bielsa, Colombia‘s Néstor Lorenzo, Paraguay‘s Gustavo Alfaro, and of course, Argentina‘s Lionel Scaloni.

Remarkably, five of the six coaches were born in Santa Fe, Argentina, with Néstor Lorenzo being the sole exception.

The Argentinian city is perhaps only rivalled by Gipuzkoa in Spain‘s Basque region, from which Arsenal‘s Mikel Arteta, Liverpool’s Andoni Iraola, and Chelsea‘s Xabi Alonso all hail.

So, while there is no shortage of South American talent at this summer’s tournament, statistically, they are likely coached by an Argentine.