Argentina's coach, Lionel Scaloni, defended his team vigorously after their 2-1 defeat against Paraguay, praising the opposition.

"I'm not here to criticize my players, I'm here to support them," Scaloni stated in a press conference following the match on the eleventh matchday of the qualifiers held at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asunción.

"We knew it was going to be a tough match, and that's that," he said, downplaying the result.

When asked about the game in Paraguay's capital, Scaloni mentioned that Argentina controlled the ball during the first half, a situation that shifted after the second goal scored early in the second half, which he felt made the game "uphill."

"We tried, which is important. We kept trying in our own way, but it wasn't possible. We have to congratulate the opponent, and it's clear they defended well and have experienced players," added Scaloni, admitting they found it "difficult."

Regarding the refereeing, he conceded that he could "say a lot of things" but chose not to so that people do not "interpret it as an excuse."

"That's it, it's over, and we all saw what happened on the field; that has nothing to do with the result that Paraguay won," he acknowledged.

Looking ahead to the upcoming match against Peru this Tuesday, he mentioned he is focused on "correcting" and "looking at things that can be improved."