Roberto Ayala

Roberto Ayala is assistant coach to Lionel Scaloni's Argentina, a role he has held since 2019 across the 2022 and 2026 World Cups. As a player he was part of Argentina's squad at three tournaments: 1998, when he played every match; 2002, when injury kept him an unused squad member ahead of the opener; and 2006, when he started and was named to the tournament's All Star Team.

That record, three tournaments as a player and coaching staff at two more, makes Ayala one of the more experienced figures on Scaloni's staff, a defender-turned-coach whose career has run through Argentina's national team set-up for close to three decades.

He is one of three Argentina figures, alongside Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina, whose Conduct after the 2026 final FIFA's Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor is examining; the file opened the day after the match and covers video that appears to show Ayala striking Spain's Dani Olmo. No charge has been laid, no finding made, and no sanction issued against him.