It brings a possible close to one of the most successful eras in Argentine football history, which also included a World Cup, two Copa Americas and a Finalissima.
Scaloni was the first Argentina figure to face the media after the loss, acknowledging Spain's superiority in the final while taking time to praise his players for their effort across a campaign that had repeatedly taken the team to the brink.
"Sadness is what I feel right now, but mainly I have eternal gratitude towards these boys, because getting this far costs a huge amount," he said. "We're great in victory and we have to be great in defeat too, and we remember what we did. We gave everything."
Reflecting on the end of the tournament, he added: "Knowing that we left everything out there. I have a lot of things to say, but it's not worth it."
Asked to analyse the defeat itself, Scaloni was direct in his assessment.
"The truth is they were better today, but I'll take what we've done to get here," he said. "We're showing that we know how to lose. We accept things as they are. I want to thank the people, my players, and tell the country that we gave everything. We arrived at just the right moment, that's the reality, but we left it all out there."
On the way the match unfolded, he pointed to the toll of the tournament on his squad.
"It's clear a lot of negative things happened. Injuries in key positions... that's not an excuse," he said. "The wear and tear has been enormous, they gave their last effort, but against a team like that you can suffer for it. Against another team, it might have ended differently, we know how to go all the way. Today is the sad part, but you have to keep going."
On Enzo Fernandez's second yellow card, which reduced Argentina to 10 men, Scaloni was measured.
"The first one could have been avoided, but that's how it is," he said. "I spoke about it with him, obviously it's a World Cup final and there are things that can be avoided, but there are no reproaches." He also praised Spain's resistance for large parts of the match. "You have to give credit to the opponent. Up until the 80th or 85th minute they didn't have too many chances," he said. "I would have liked to see what would have happened if we'd stayed 11 against 11."
Scaloni singled out Nicolas Tagliafico for special praise after the full-back played through visible discomfort.
"What Tagliafico did is what you want from an Argentina player. He had a superb match, he didn't want to come off and he told me he was fine, even though we knew how he really was," Scaloni said. "That's the DNA of our players." Turning to the supporters who had followed the team throughout the tournament, he added: "I'll repeat what [Alejandro] Sabella said: 'It pains our souls not to have been able to bring the cup home.' The coach is satisfied with what we did and I hope the people are too."
Asked about Lionel Messi's legacy, Scaloni did not hold back.
"His standing is already secured... he's 39 years old. As for my part, it was already known, I was very clear that he would play for as long as he wanted to," he said. "I hope he's proud of his team-mates. In my view, he's the best footballer to have ever set foot on a football pitch. What he did at this World Cup is incredible."
On Argentina's pride despite falling short, he said: "I think it's hard to make people understand that they should still enjoy being runners-up. It's a triumph too. I believe and I hope people are aware of what has been achieved and the way it was achieved. I already cried everything I had to cry in the dressing room. Every Spanish player who came to greet us told us they were surprised by the way we compete."
Scaloni's composure finally broke when asked about his future in charge of the national team, with his contract set to expire in December. Struggling to finish his answer, he said: "I'm going to talk to the president. I have an idea of what to do. My contract runs out in December and I'll see. I don't know if it will be possible to do something bigger than this, we'll have to see. I'm grateful to the president for the opportunity to be where I am. It's the dream place for everyone. We tried to give our maximum right up until the last moment.
"It's fair that I can take this time and think it over. This place is wonderful, a dream place. I never thought in my life I would be in this position. To carry on you need a lot of things: to reset, to build a group like this one again, which would be very hard to do again, and it hurts my soul... I'm sorry."
Scaloni then left the press conference early, unable to continue, to applause from the assembled media, in what could prove to be a farewell to one of the most successful spells in Argentine football history.