 He announced the final squad on 21 May 2018.At the World Cup, Argentina had drawn 1–1 with Iceland during their opening World Cup group match, an underwhelming performance that drew criticism from former Argentine captain and coach Diego Maradona.In the next group match, Argentina suffered a heavy 0–3 loss by Croatia due to "a defence left exposed, a midfield that was overrun and an attack that was blunted", which put them on the brink of elimination and led to unconfirmed reports that Sampaoli would be sacked.