Argentina vs. Colombia match preview, Lionel Messi, Cristian Romero to start

By
Osvaldo Godoy
-
254

Argentina plays against Colombia this Tuesday in Barranquilla at the Estadio
Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, for Matchday 8 of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. The match is set to kick off at 7:00pm Eastern, 8:00pm in Argentina.

After drawing 1-1 with Chile last Thursday, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is preparing some changes for today’s game. Per reports by the Argentine media, a 5-3-2 would be the chosen formation to face Colombia. Nicolás Otamendi, Gonzalo Montiel, Marcos Acuña, and Giovani Lo Celso would enter in the starting eleven replacing Juan Foyth, Nicolás Tagliafico, Lucas Ocampos, and Ángel Di María.

The national team has received much criticism from the press and the fans for the last game vs. Chile. Although Argentina had control of the ball almost the whole match, they lacked creativity and aggressiveness in the last part of the field to break Chile’s solid defensive block which included many players. That is what coach Scaloni will try to improve upon, according to what he said in this Monday’s press conference:

“We have to create many more chances. We have to do better, to be more concentrated in front of goal, that the team creates a lot more.”

Click here (Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni comments on World Cup qualifier, Copa
America, more | Mundo Albiceleste) to read the full statement by Lionel Scaloni.

Argentina’s possible lineup:

Emiliano Martínez; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Marcos Acuña; Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Giovani Lo Celso; Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez.

On the other hand, Colombia are coming from a 3-0 away win against Peru. Per several reports by the Colombian media, Colombia coach Reinaldo Rueda only has one change in mind regarding the last game. The former Boca Juniors central midfielder Wilmar Barrios would enter in the starting eleven. The only doubt would be if he will replace the striker Luis Muriel or the midfielder Gustavo Cuéllar.

Colombia’s possible lineup:
David Ospina; Stefan Medina, Yerry Mina, Davinson Sanchez, William Tesillo; Mateus
Uribe, Wilmar Barrios, Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Luis Diaz, Gustavo Cuellar or Luis Muriel; Duvan Zapata.

With 11 points, Argentina is currently positioned 2nd in the standings, while Colombia is 6th with 7 points. The top 4 teams qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while the 5th will play a play-off with another confederation’s team. Up to now, there have been five matchdays played out of 18, since matchdays 5 and 6 were canceled due to Covid-19.

Argentina previous games:
1-0 vs. Ecuador (Home)
2-1 vs. Bolivia (Away)
1-1 vs. Paraguay (Home)
2-0 vs. Peru (Away)
1-1 vs. Chile (Home)

Colombia previous games:
3-0 vs. Venezuela (Home)
2-2 vs. Chile (Away)
0-3 vs. Uruguay (Home)
1-6 vs. Ecuador (Away)
3-0 vs. Perú (Away)

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254 Comments

  1. How many more days or yers required for scaloni to buildup a team?he must learning from zidane hansi flick naggelsmann… Even crespo is way better than scaloni…

  2. I am not too upset with the result. 1 point away against Columbia is not good but still ok. What I am not Happy is about the way we played in the 2nd half or you can say after the disruption of Emi Injury.
    But before that in the First Half We gave the most complete performance in years. I can see we have the ability with the starting line up we had today. But a little change can be damaging. We were definitely unlucky today for losing Emi (killed the flow) and some wrong substitution by Scaloni. We should have sticked with 433. With Lisandro for Romero or Otamendi and Correa for Gonzales (looked tired) Or maybe Aguero for Latauro in the last 10 mins. Even a DiMaria off the bench at the last 10 mins. Instead of getting too defensive, we should have went for that 3rd goal. We should have secured the 3 points. But to be honest I ve seen lots of positivity in the first half today. We wont change overnight.

  3. To those who are saying, “that team played well and these guys are world-class”… 5 more minutes, and James Rodriguez you would come out with a big ZERO from this match!

  4. I am not happy with how this game ended. This draw feels like a loss. This is a game we should’ve won. This is not how a team that want to be Copa and World Cup champions finish games. The rash and unreliable Otanendi gives away an unnecessary penalty in typical fashion.

    Scaloni got some of his substitutions wrong. It should’ve been Otamendi, Acuña, and the tired Lautaro replaced at the end.

    • Yes, this is Definetly a very Big Loss ! And after finally so beautiful football that we played in the first half or even until Lo Celso was taken away by our moron coach Scaloni who is the first reason that we lost and the second reason came from Otamendi and offcourse the Last one from Foyth and Marchrsin who should never ever be selected again for our national team! I dont even understand why when Emi got injured Sacaloni didn’t put Musso in if he was on the bench? I’m not sure that he was on the bench but if he wasn’t then he deffinetly should have been and Marchesin should not be in our team never ever again that guy can’t even kick ball properly at all!
      He is fucking joke! Like his fucking coach who put him on! And who got all his changes wrong for our substitutions in this game and that is why we lost!
      Why on earth u want change a winning formation with winnig players who were playing so great until our moron coach killed our game and ficked everything up!
      Only substitutions i understand is taking of Emi and Romero who again was our best player by far! But there were also others like Lo Celso, Nico Gonzales, Acuna etc. and even Paredes and De Paul started obviously get tried and committing more false passes and Paredes started to give away too many free kicks to Colombians Still i think he had overall great game like De Paul too! In the first half i think our worst players were montiel and Lautaro, but both played better in the second half or at least Lautaro improvement was clear to see and not so sure about montiel who couldbhave been subsitued to Molina if he was on our bench and i’m not sur if he was ? But i jus don’t get Scalonis moves which fucked and broke our great game completly! Only if Lo Celso had an injury but it did’nt look like that and when romero was forced to quit the game where was Lisandro and why Scaloni did’nt bring him in with Pezzella and not with Foyth! He should have brought in Musso, Lisandro and Molina if he really needed to any changes besides to Emi and Romero and in the end brought in both of Correa brothers or at least one of them and TaKe Lautaro out who Still from my point of view did’nt played in the second half as bad as in the first! Palacio could not really defend that good even he got more in to game during last 10-15 minutes , maybe but Scaloni deffinetly took Lo Celso out way too early like i felt same with Nico Gonzales! And then in the last minutes he did’nt change at all! What a fucking kind of coach is he really? Taking major players who are playing a great game way too early and then in end just got frozen and did’nt do any changes because all are changes came way too early we did’nt need to change at all besides only Emi and Romero obviously and very unfortunatly, but we did’nt loose because we lost them both instead we lost because our coach started act like matter Mind tactian who he clearly is not! I seriously think Aimar and Samuel are much more intelligent than Scaloni i think Aimar has big role by selecting our players at least from mid Park to maube all the way until Lautaro who is clearly the player Scaloni prefers and has allways preferred like Paredes but i think Still both had overall a good game specially Paredes in the first half and it is not his fault that in his posiotion like De Paul’s as well st some point they will get moretired like any player in the same posiotion! We were so much better team than Colombia and plsyed so great until Scaloni blew it all! What an idiot coach he is and offcourse all this happened now when i started to have more, more confidence over him besides the Chile game was also very badly managed by him! This loss will throw our best players confidence which they deservedly had just gained in to a winning team straight out of Window and that is also Scaloni’s fault too! If i was one of those players who played so greatly together with do many long periods of great Paddingtonin between tjemself’s i would seriously challenge Scaloni and tell him to guck off!

      ,

      • You’re right about many things but I think you need to calm down, lol.
        My theory with Lo Celso is that I heard he wasn’t very match fit. So, maybe Scaloni wanted to rest him but considering he didn’t play the last game and the Copa starts in 5 days and that’s enough time for him to rest there was no need to take him off. Scaloni is still learning but I think he experiments too much.

        I also don’t understand why he won’t give Papi Gomez and Aguero decent amount of games after calling them up. Is there a rule that says Messi has to play 90 mins. He too needs to start getting some rest.
        This game was a missed opportunity for what should have been an easy 3 points. Fuck Otamendi. He should only be on the bench and playing against the likes of Venezuela.

  5. I can understand Otamendi fan boys, if any of them remains..
    But Scaloni Fandom is beyond me. The guy is an amateur. How on earth Argentina, a team of this many Talents are gonna benefit from such a big Joker like Scaloni.

    The guy should step down for the sake of his country.

  6. Coward Scaloni is too much defensive with so many creative players instead of killing the game he preferred to take back seat. Buendai, J. Correa,Aguero should have come. Too much dependence on C. Romero if he continuously absorb so much pressure he is bound for injuries. Montiel should not play for Argentina he is consuming other more talented players place out of 6 Qualifiers he has started in 5 and there is nothing in him but coward Scaloni uses him.

    • And Foyth has no brain.
      He doesn’t look like a Madman like Otamendi.
      But he often shows his ability to do Otamendi things on the pitch.

      • Forth is young and can only get better but comparing him to Otamendi is very harsh. Damn! I miss Zanetti. He should be every defender’s role model. 2nd most capped player in Argentina’s history and yet never received 1 red card for La Seleccione and only 2 for Inter (1 of which was unjustified) in his whole career.

  7. A tale of 2 halves – 1st half was exciting but there were clear tactical changes and fell apart after Lo Celso. Losing Martinez and Romero too was a big shock. Need to watch again.
    Waiting for the tactical minded posters to chime in cause many recent posts are nothing but verbal diarrhea.

  8. For God sake…. No more chance for Otamendi please. That guy cannot even complete errorless 15 minutes… Is there anything we can do to stop scaloni from giving him another chance?!!! I am in such a worry here. Don’t come and say about experience and lack of players bla bla bla as reasons for him being selected… Errors that made by him is worse than that a debutant would have made… Atleast errors from an young inexperienced debutant will teach him something for his future. Then there is this guy starting every match and committing howlers.

    Not only him… How about Gonzalo Montiel? He offers us nothing… I mean really nothing… No physique, no positional sense, no one on one advantages, no overlaps, no final product and not even a single good pass… He just gave 2 or 3 weak crosses and thats it. Sometimes in between he was wondering which player to pick when he overcommit to a ball holding opposition player who makes a pass turning him arround. I will vote for Tagliafico any day. Or else Molina. Motiel just have that checklist tick mark that he players in domestic league… Nothing more… Fed up with this depletion…. From early 2000s I have been a supporter of this wonderful footballing nation and results or trophies were not my concern. But such a quality less situation… I am an Indian and we as a national team are not Great in International football. But for almost half of us (Indians) Argentina is the team that we always supported (you know the remaining half supports who I guess) as if we found an alternate home nation playing football at high standards. And you know what… Even this half of our population exceeds the double of Argentine supporters all over the world. Let us hope for the best to happen with our team.

    With broken heart
    An Argentina Fan
    From India

  12. A lot of these trolls are fucking idiots we have a world class gk now. We have Romero acuna played way better than tagliafico. Idk what the fuck happened. Hopefully scaloni learns from this. I’m really angry at this result.

  15. Too much defensive mentality kills you. Plus this is the system of all argentina coaches. They substitute best player from the pitch and lost the game at the end that I see from Lavezzi substitution!!!!

  16. 2006 argentina team with pekerman in charge would’ve thrashed this Colombia team….that was our golden period with golden coach…the next was sabella’s team…solid defensively even with players like otamendia, facundo Fernandez and rojo…this team is ok but scaloni is just dragging this team into the dirt

  17. The game is 90 minutes. Poor game management and still you can’t decide starting 11. Every damn game a different line up and no continuity.
    Aside from that Ospina was incredible for Colombia.
    Our team is soft. They just lack grit and determination. And I just cannot understand how much more of the Otamendi shit burger all of us have to eat.

    • Oh! Argentina played brilliant football. That 2-2 draw with Colombia was brilliant. That’s an absolutely astonishing result for Argentina. Especially, Foyth, Otamendi played excellent. Are u happy now? @Rohandip el Redondo?

        • Hahaha… Who told u I am excited? After seeing 40 odd minutes of dismal performance, if u remain content then u r probably happy with mediocrity, which I am not. It was a poor performance. Anyway, nothing more to say…

        • Hahahaha, Indian Football expert… People like u, assholes what sort of language are these brother? Do u think u understand football better? Never seen u as pundit or read any of your article… Oh, I see, u r self proclaimed expert, maybe delusional. Get well soon bro…

          • Who the hell are you? You are one of the ten idiots that return or create accounts out of nowhere to complain. What people would prefer is an explanation more tactical or level headed for what happens. Go support Brazil

        • If you’re satisfied with the 2nd half Redondo then you either have low standards of lack critical thinking. The grievance you see here is deserved. I’ve been following this blog for a while I just never write but today I had to say something.

  19. Why Scaloni did not use papu,joaquin correra, di maria, buendia. I mean why?
    Why Scaloni could not find better defender than otamendi or pazzella? Why they even playing in NT.
    Most importantly In last 3 years Scaloni could not find a better RB than montiel? Who is this montiel? Totally below graded player.

  20. is this the mentality of coach or players to defend for last 30 plus minutes..

    first half Argentina played football that is very lovely to see..attacking football.. attack is the best defence when you have best attacking options in world.
    what is the fault of LOCELSO, why Romero substituted because if you fear of red card then at first sub Otamendi..
    brand of football we played in last two games is really dangerous and I am very sad with some substitutions..although the playing XI was well selected but too much time wasting from our all players is very bad and doesn’t give us time to score a winning goal..even messi did it many times..that is not acceptable.. at 2-0 or 2-1 we should have scored a goal..
    sad to see Dimaria and Aguero not coming after 75/80 minutes atleast

    • Ah, the classic idea that Messi should not play im Argentina because his “team is too bad” i’m sure you are one of the idiots that thinks he regrets not playing for Spain

    • Messi should retire, not because his countrymen are poor talents. Most of them are pretty good, some are world class.
      But he should retire because he has to play under a manager, who is not good enough even to manage an I-League team in India.

    • Foyth and Otamendi are done with this team if we’re being brutally honest.. 2 games and twice Foyth’s idiotic decision making led to a goal and no words for Otamendi none at all.. Scaloni had my faith in him now its getting difficult

  23. Waiting for someone to say Foyth is world class and best defender in the world 😊

    I don’t know what was he thinking. First tries to dribble with no physical strength and fails to cover his man for the header. How many times?

  24. I am not an expert but it looked like it was a very good game from Argentina. Just one late goal does not change that. The midfield and attack was pretty good while the defence was decent. Do not start getting at me if I was wrong. I want some of the experts valuable opinion please in this forum.

    • yes to be honest it we had soo much potential to have a great game here until we started to just waste time and defend later on in the second half…lo celso shouldnt have been taken of soo early on in the second half..he was soo brilliant in the first half..scaloni subbing 2 CBS on realy was like a message to the team to defend..whereelse we could have realy put this game to bed…romero should have played on unless if he was injured i am not sure but otamendi..god he mad some rash decision..another attacking substituition should have been brought on..aguero for nico..individual mistakes have caused us this defeat(really feels like a defeat)..i think going forward to the copa romero should play everygame and be partnered with lisandro martinez or quarta..lo celso paredes de paul looked realy good in midfield..i pray emi returns for the chile game…lautaro did everything but scoring..he needs to convert ..or aguero should get more minutes ahead of him

  25. De paul…if he had passed the ball to messi instead of over hitting the ball…it would’ve been 3-1…Seriously de paul has no dribbling, no passing…just the workrate…he is ocampos 2.0 no quality whatsoever…That might be the reason no team is willing to pay big for this guy
    Even a spain u21 team would destroy this team…if scaloni loses this copa America its time for him to pack the bags…I would rather get pekerman back…Scaloni has no tactics when argentine players get the ball in the middle of the park..they just don’t know what to do with it….this team with scaloni in charge is not winning the copa or the world cup for sure

  26. Emi’s injury broke the team’s spirit. Was expecting them to bang in more goals in the second half but Argentina looked way tired and out of gas.

    Scaloni should have brought on Joaquin correa in the second half, he could have contributed a lot in the attack while Argentina draw back to do a bus park.

    Just messed up!!!!!!

  27. Wot a shity game. Should have scored atleast a couple more. No words for Ottamandi. He is a joke, gave away penalty for ano reason. This guy should be fired from Argentina team. Fucking ass. Should have got 3 points easily.

  28. Corrupt AFA what you expect? Even Estonia not gonna hired him as a coach!! Fyoth is shit!! and other one some Zella..and Gonzalez and Otamendi!!!

  29. Mother fucker scolani is a joke…..
    Inthe second half he subs on some joke….
    He off Best midfielders lo celso… Nico Gonzales….
    But he keep mother fucker montiel
    Who is the garbage of this team…
    Just fuck scolani 2nd half player selection & style …..
    He kill the traditional Argentinian football style….
    We never play such defensive football….
    Mother fucker ……

  30. The reality is simple . Only one top defender : Romero.

    Otamendi, Foyth, Pezzella, Quarta, Montiel, Acuna and Tagliafico are joke. Lisandro Martinez is very good but he is on the bench, Senesi is insane but he is not in the team.

    I prey Romero and Emiliano Martinez have nothing serious if not we dont need to go in Brasil for the Copa America, we ll be ridiculous

    And time to putt Aguero back as our striker. Lautaro is overrated, he only conplain… not a surprise if Conted regulary let him on the bench with Inter …

  31. 2 games and 2 goals Foyth has cost us.. dumbass should’ve cleared the ball.. plus this great team slept after 2-0 .. ffs man this shit squad isn’t gonna win anything at Copa

  32. This is the worst generation. Argentina needs some national efforts on talents rebuild. This team is tough to watch.

    • Angel correa la liga winner on the bench….emi buendia best creater last season in premier league not even on the bench…lisandro Martinez best defender for ajax sitting on the bench….

    • Why you called this …..?
      Bcz some fucking decision from this fucking scolani??

      Emi Martinez
      Molina…… Romero……licha Martinez…….tagliafico

      Lo celso…. Pardes….. De Paul

      Messi

      Dybala…..Nico Gonzalez

      Put on this xi…. On the pitch
      I guarantee u no team can defeat us

    • Nothing wrong with the generation.
      We have fantastic talents now. Enough talent pool is there, which is good enough even for a below average manager to build a great team.

      Except in attack, on every positions, this Scaloni guy have much better players than what Sabella had in 2011_. This Scaloni guy don’t know a shit. Argentina is suffering because of the amateur Low cost manager, Nothing else.

  33. Had penalty not given by otamendi then we would have won the game and what kind of protection can foyth and pezzala give to backline we have seen it and if emi was there the injury time goal could have been saved safely!!

  34. playing like a street football. marchesin, acuna, otamendi, montiel and pazella whole were destroyed the game. this team never win any cup. scaloni and your technical team is fullfill of dump. this is not argentina football. team is playing like street football.

  35. Old scenario again and again by the pathetic bunch of sissy boys. Once they score and are ahead to win, they become lazy and find ways to waste time!! I don’t know how much it irritates me whether they turn victorious or squander their chances of winning. As much as I love Argentina, I hate them for this mentality. They should learn from Germans that they have is not own a match until it is over.

  36. After ahead of 2-0, now draw really bullshit game from Argentina. We tha fans never ever tolerate this…I respect Scaloni but his tactice is one kind of childish….very very disappointed result…

  37. Foyth, otamandi and Pezella should never play for Argentina again. The coach needs to get fired immediately. He don’t know what the fuck he is doing.

  38. Scaloni knows sh** about football i guess….he better leave before doing a sampaoli 2.0…ANd man what to say about de paul and lo celso….argentina’s mid is dead

  39. This is what you get when you don’t have a Manager with minimum skills required.
    I will take Madman Sampoli over Scaloni who repeatedly is showing his poor standard.

    • If your RCB try to dribble from back in the last minute of the game and loses ball and your team conceds goal then what can u do?

      • If you have a 2_0 lead in the starting and then your team should not drag the match into wires, especially with a team full of talents.
        Scaloni has no idea what he’s doing.
        This guy is the worst link for Argentina now.

  46. Lautaro Martinez is useless in final third he can not score goal, weak final touch. Lautaro Martinez is over rated Aguero and Alario3would have been much much better.

  61. This is the best I’ve seen Argentina play in a long time. It’s been a while since I’ve seen an Argentine goalie so calm and decisive with the ball like Emiliano Martinez. Now, I finally understand why everyone hypes him up. I hope his injury is not serious and hopefully he did enough this game to give us 3 points and to become Argentina’s new starting #1 goalie for Copa and the World Cup.

    Gio Lol Celso is starting to become one of my favorite mid-fielders. I love how he wins balls and his vision to find through balls.

    I now see why many of you don’t care so much for Acuña. He doesn’t seem comfortable on the ball, his decision making is poor he just crosses every ball he gets even if there’s no one there to receive it. Scaloni needs to sub him out. What other good left Wing backs do we have besides Tagliafico? Is Cristian Ansaldi still available for La Seleccione. Maybe it’s time to give Rojo another chance. We haven’t had an amazing left wing back since Sorin.

    Let’s get 3 more goals. Vamos Argentina.

  62. My thoughts on the first half
    Emi Martinez was solid but the enthusiasm of the first half was doused by his injury I hope its not serious

    Acuna was wasteful very poor in decision making and was the weak link in attacking in the left flank but it is his first start so might take time to get back to his usual form .but this lack of consistency has been an issue for Acuna one match he would play like prime Jordi Alba but other matches he would play shit. Hope he gets back to good form during the Copa America

    Centre back pairing of otamendi and Romero seemed solid and damn Romero is definitely world class .

    Gonzalo Montiel seemed like an upgrade to foyth although he needs to engage in the buildup play more seemed more like a passenger in the first half .

    Our fullbacks need to hit top gear for the copa America .

    Paredes was back to his usual best with those amazing passes and flicks and scoring a messi-esque goal.hope Paredes maintains this form he showed today he is also a player who lacks consistency one game he puts in a magical performance with amazing visionary passes and the other game he is just a side passer .

    De Paul was decent

    Lo celso had one or two good moments but was very rusty which is understandable since he is coming back from an injury hope he gets back to his rhythm quickly.

    The front three of Martinez ,messi and Gonzalez was perfect hope Gonzalez especially stays fit for the entirety of copa

  63. n.gonazelz looks unfit acuna not playing great one almost mistake otamedi coming out of his zone to no mans land at last kick otther than that the other have been great motiel have surprised me

  64. a lot of people suddenly praises paredes and ask for respect. each player should be respected in its position each players comes with up and down.. fools are always shift when the up and downs reflects. weakness of team shouldn’t ignored if there is any

  65. With respect to table, the other scores are going very well in favor.

    Brazil should beat Paraguay. We must come out with a win somehow

  66. Lo Celso and Nico Gonzalez are not even playing to their full potentially but despite that already showing their importance.

    So it is 4-3-3 after all, eh?

  67. Seeing a Defender In Albeceleste with all these qualities
    1. Class
    2. High workrate
    3. BRAIN
    After a long long long time.

    Keep it going Romero.

  68. We have lost the edge. Basically when you are away and r somehow 2-0 within 10 minutes, it’s a huge advantage.

    Either you sit back and get lethal on counters or control the game with possession. We are not being able to do either. Let’s see. I think we will see changes after half time.

    Now Romero will miss the next game. The first copa game.

  69. Emi get well soon. Emi Martinez is monster in air. Best goalkeeper for Argentina. Very happy that for his substitute A. Maschrain came not Armani

  71. Guys it was just a bad fall ,I’ve had those in my playing days you get disoriented.he will be back
    May not be the copa opener but 1 week is usually enough to get back on the pitch

  73. Argentina is playing well today.Hope martinez injury is not serious! Montial is the weakest link today. Its like he is playing his first match. No aggressiveness, no hard tackle,so many miss pass,no overlapping run. Not giving any support to Romero. When we have foyth, molina i dont know why he is playing!
    Can anyone tell me why buendia and ocampos not in the squad?

    • Montiel has not played very well in River for several months and has had sporadic game time. I do not understand why he is playing.

  74. C. Romero and Emi Martinez deserves respects for their defence. C. Romero took a yellow card for the team this is called defending. Players should know when to take yellow card. C. Romero was fabulous.

  75. I guess romero 1 match ban wont impact copa games & it will only apply for the venezuela WCQ game. Cuadrado is too dangerous & at some point zapata will wear his correct shooting shoes. I think we shld bring in foyth for montiel in 2nd half for some defensive stability. If we are still leading by 2 or more goals i would like to see messi rested for last 10-15mins. Dimaria can stretch their defense in the last minutes.

  76. Well so far- we should be playing better next half. I trust there will be good substitutes. We need to stop conceding corners, they are EXTREMELY dangerous. Cuadrado sends them in very well and they have height and strength for the corners. Also let’s pray Emi will be well for next game. Mamoun any idea what this could be?

    • Martinez, Romero and Lo Celso look superb

      I hope Martinez injury is not serious.

      One more Romero type plus a fully fit Emi bam we are a better team

    • Yes I couldn’t agree more
      Anyone but him he’s hugely overrated

      Tagliafico is definitely the worst player I’ve seen representing Argentina

      He can’t defend he can’t attack he can’t cross he can’t run he’s Got no personality no Presence,he’s Bloody Useless

      • Tagliafico is not wing back in my point of view he is more like full back but scaloni is trying him to play Sorin back in 2006. That is the mistake IMO. At the same time, foyth on right side with not allow to join attack, it put more pressure on Tagliafico

    • he is useless. all the time backpass no forwardpass. if pass forward it will go to opponent leg.
      after emi moost of the ball kick on the air by new goalie marchesin. no ball play. should be replace acuna and montiel immediately.

  100. Good line up on paper . Only concern is montiel, nico g, lo celso have not been playing a lot in recent months. Hope they are not rusty & hit form in today’s game. I have a feeling that otamendi will play good today & surprise his critics. Anyway ecuador losing today vs peru & so we are going to be at 2nd spot irrespective of colombia match result

  101. A little reminder that all the referees, including VAR, are from Chile. We face Chile on Monday so it’s in their interest that we lose…

  103. Gonzalez starting. Interesting. I thought he was still injured. The one concern is he has barely played in several months but I hope he does well and glad to have him back

    • Good to see that he’s fit to play! Hope to see him at his best even though he’s been out for a while

      What I find more interesting is that we played with 2 defensive fullbacks against Chile and now play 2 offensive fullbacks against Colombia. You would have thought it would be the other way around

  105. TYC reporting possible line up with back 4 instead – I like it. I’m sure pacey colombians (cuadrado, etc) are to try to exploit/test the left side but Acuna+Ota+GLC will hold it down. Nico still not fit so maybe start and sub off at half??

    ——Nico/ADM – Toro – Messi
    ——–Lo Celso – Paredes – De Paul
    Acuna – Otamendi – Romero – Montiel
    ————————Emi

    • Foyth or Mollina should have started at Right Back.Montiel can not sustain Colombian wingers. But Montiel is better than Tagliafico.

  106. Vamos Argentina! 3 points will ensure we remain second which is important!
    It’s always difficult playing in heat and humidity like in Barranquilla, but we have a good record there either way.
    The lineup isn’t yet official to my knowledge but looks decent on paper. Hope to see Lisandro coming on at halftime and also for Buendia to make his debut
    Dale we got this!

  107. WATCH OUT FOR LATAURO TONIGHT!!!
    Everyone is bashing Latauro but you dont realise Latauro is the player who is very decisive for us. Whatever he does in quick burst brings us GOALS out of no where. Either he scores it or someone else does. Its either him or Messi that wins us penalties. Latauro could have a quiet game but he can score at any situation and change the game.

  108. Hoping for a solid game from Lo Celso. His creativity and stabilizing-the midfield- Presence is the only thing (apart from the Cursed Di Maria’s (in Blue n White) absence) which makes me hopeful, that this one will be far better than our last match.
    Hope we will create some chances finally under the great managerial magician Scaloni.

  109. “The former Boca Juniors central midfielder Wilmar Barrios would enter in the starting eleven. The only doubt would be if he will replace the striker Luis Muriel or the midfielder Gustavo Cuéllar.”

    This is interesting. Originally I thought scaloni revealed his three CB plan looking at the Col-Per game. They could keep the colombian strikers duo in check and our mids can then dominate Cuellar and Uribe. But if Reinaldo Rivera is going to sacrifice a forward for barrios this game could start as very cagey. Let’s see when team sheet is revealed if scaloni has more changes in mind.

  111. One day like today.

    8 June 1990 Argentina- Cameroon 0-1
    8 June 2005 Argentina- Brasil 3-1 (wc qualifier game)
    8 June 2008 Argentina- Usa 0-0 (friendly)

    let see today.

  112. I watched the match from 2019, Guido and Paredes both played in that match along with Pezzella and the forward line was Aguero, Lautaro and Messi. Colombia only scored after 60 mins or so but Argentina lacked fluidity in its attack. Not sure about this 5-3-2 formation, I hope it works but unlike other teams where coaches try to play players in their natural position (that they play throughout the year), Scaloni keeps on playing Acuna in the midfield, which is not his natural position. If he plays as LB one more position opens up in the midfield for 4-4-2 or upfront in 4-3-3. I wish they played a 4-3-3- with only Guido as a DM instead of Paredes and added either Nico or Papu in the team. Later in the second, you can bring Aguero, A Correa or Di Maria or Ocompos as needed. Either way lets hope for a good win, its s simple math in this, win 8 games and you are guranteed to qualify for the WC.

  115. GAME DAY, BOYS!!!! Time to send positive vibes 😎. 🧉🇦🇷💪 🇦🇷💪🇦🇷💪🇦🇷🧉

    ——————–Ospina
    ——-Medina – Mina – Sanchez – Tesillo
    ——-Cuadrado – Barrios – Uribe – Diaz
    —————-Muriel – Zapata

    vs——————————————–vs

    ——————Toro – Messi
    ——–Lo Celso – Paredes – De Paul
    Acuna – Otamendi – Romero – LMQ – Montiel
    ———————-Emi

  116. some coach make them fool because of their obsession with some players . antonio conte wanted to make david luiz great defensive midfielder but in the end he lost his job conceding too many goals . for scaloni They are mr pregnant paredes ,half lady quarta mertinez, brainless montiel, stupid tagliafico
    for gods sake ,find a player who is agile and smart not lazy in DMF.

    • Why are you exactly on this Argentina Fanpage???
      Paredes played most of the Matches decent to good so did Quarta…
      Tagliafico was our Captain when Messi was retired and in my Opinion always does a good job when playing…

      So let’s support our Boys instead of always writing down what could be better…

      vamooos Argentina we need 3 Pts

  118. “Someone said in this blog sometimes ago that Argentina doesn’t miss a Mascherano.”

    @Rahman, that’s insane. Masche left a big hole in our midfield. I have never seen an Argentine leader and worrier like him. From his very first day with the NT untill he hung up his boots he was the same player (99.9% consistency). I believe if Masche was availabe in 2005 Confederations Cup final we would’ve won that trophy, coz our team was solid back then, but Cambiasso and Lucas Bernardi failed to handle Ronaldinho and Kaka in the final.

      • The 2007 Brazil team was much stronger and more organized than the one played in the Confederations Cup in 2005. Even in 2007 I think they weren’t superior to us, but due to the bad tactics of Alfio Basile they looked much better than they really were.

      • @Godin 11, so you believe Masche’s retirement never had any impact on our team in general and on our midfield department in particular? Really?

        • Dadir10
          Please Let’s get one thing right mascherano was world class I even say He was underrated when it comes his passing ability by far he was best holding midfielder Argentina produce in recent history I mean including likes almayda or even diego Simeone however this current set up under scaloni Play different way without rely on too much on holding midfielder / destroyer that is why leo paredas plays otherwise will be Guido Rodriguez in that case. So this is what I meant in that statement “Argentina don’t miss mascherano” Isn’t me be little or denying or his legacy.

          • @Godin11, let me say you one thing in a very short way. Paredes, Guido, Lo Celso, Dominguez, and De Paul combined CANNOT make Masche’s tackle on Robben or on Nicklas Bendtner (no exeggeration).

          • i used to refer to Masche as our “big red panic button”. Would come in like a bat out of hell to save the day. Loved how he would man handle the opposition when they needed to be checked. Damn i miss him.

    • I completely agree

      I sometimes watch older Matches from Argentina…

      A few month ago I just watched every single Game from WC14 again…

      OMG Masche was the best Player of the whole Tournament… He was really insane…

      We really would need another Masche… I’m not sure if ever there is a Player like him again just like with Messi

      • And, if you forget about his football skills, consider his leadership and character. You may find a player with similar or better skills than Messi or Mascherano but you will probably not find someone with the likes of skills and character of these two at the same time.

        Argentina badly miss Mascherano. The likes of Parades would still be sidelined had we had the prime Mascherano in the squad, no matter what formation we choose to play.

        @Godin11, I didn’t remember who exactly made that statement but I admire you coming out. We may disagree but I respect your opinion.

    • I’m not happy about the politics and the dumbass conservative brazilian president pretending covid doesn’t exist but selfishly as a fan, Woohooo!

  120. According to the weather forecast it will be 30 degrees and feel like 36 degrees. Humidity is 78%. Terrible conditions for a football match. Hopefully we can score a few goals on the counter attack and prevent Ecuador overtaking us in the table.

  121. I like the 3-5-2 cause scaloni has the ways he can tweak the team to either a 442 or 433 or even a 4321.
    Paredes is a big liability.
    This team needs a proper 5
    That will sit deep to protect the defense.
    Guido Rodriguez does this flawlessly
    In betis

  122. If Scaloni wants to plays with 4 midfielders he has to put DePaul on the right and Locelso on the left and the pair Paredes and Palacios in the middle. The problem in the last game wasn’t the system but the players that he chose. Although Ocampos plays on the flanks in Sevilla he doesn’t really stay there, he usually comes as a striker when the fullbacks have the ball. We didn’t have attacking fullbacks last Tuesday. Di Maria in the other hand loose the ball too many times which exposes the flank…. Players like Nico Gonzalez and A Correa are better suited for a 4-4-2….

  123. One other thing: A Correa as a super sub over Joaquin. J Correa is a good player and also scored that goal against Bolivia but that does not mean that he should be the sub. A Correa should be. He is so full of intensity, energy and threat when he comes off as a sub. I was actually highly surprised this group was silent about A Correa until very recently.

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