Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni will keep his job until at least the 2022 World Cup, national team director Cesar Menotti has said.
Lionel Scaloni had said last week that he had been guaranteed the role only until December.
“It (the extended contract) is what he deserved and there was an agreement,” Menotti said in comments that were widely published by local press on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Argentine Football Association will reportedly make the announcement official next week.
Lionel Scaloni, 41, replaced Jorge Scaloni after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Argentina were eliminated in the last 16 by eventual champions France.
The South American zone qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will begin next March.
Lionel Scaloni is an Argentine retired footballer and is currently the manager of the Argentina national team. A player of wide range, he played as a right-back or right midfielder.
Talking about Scaloni’s achievements, he won seven caps for Argentina between 2003 and 2006 and was part of their 2006 World Cup squad.
Recently, under Scaloni, the Argentina football team made it to the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa America where they faced the eventual champions Brazil. But they suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of Brazil and were knocked out of the race for the coveted trophy.
However, they defeated Chile later 2-1 to grab the third spot in the 2019 Copa America table.
(With inputs from IANS)