Argentina players on yellow cards, Emiliano Martinez could be rested

By
Roy Nemer
-
128

A total of six Argentine players are on yellow cards and would be at a risk of missing the knockout match.

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni has already stated that there could be several rotations for the match vs. Bolivia on Monday. Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Gio Lo Celso, Leandro Paredes, Joaquin Correa and Lautaro Paredes are the six players who are one yellow card away from suspension.

Franco Armani is the first name which springs to mind when talking about a potential replacement for Emiliano Martinez. As for Lucas Martinez Quarta, there are a number of players who could replace him. German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi or even Lisandro Martinez.

In midfield, Scaloni has several options. Exequiel Palacios and Nicolas Dominguez, could replace Lo Celso and Paredes. And as for Lautaro Martinez, Sergio Aguero, who replaced him vs. Paraguay could get the start. If not, Joaquin Correa is another option for Scaloni.

What would be the starting eleven you would like to see?

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128 Comments

  2. But one thing I have observed that European players and teams play much better than SA players and teams. For a moment we can think of beating Brazil by Our defensive play but would it be enough to win against European teams such France, Belgium,Germany,England next year in Qatar and win the Wc. We seriously have to think about it. The SA qualifiers are difficult but it is more of Rugby. I have noticed that most of the goals in copa America come from set pieces. Due to COVID we won’t be able to play European teams in friendlies.
    Please we gotta win 2022

  5. we should be concentrating more on Argentina then always blame everyone for some Games in Europe or against Brazil.. And now a few facts:

    Brazil after the 1:1 against Colombia. They pressured very hard and really wanted the win. Argentina would’ve sit back and thought nice we played 1:1 against a strong Colombia. We need that spirit from those yellow assholes.

    And for the ones earlier about the dislikes about Penaldo and Portugal. I feel the same way… But facts again:

    That M**fo scored in every game so far and is Topscorer now at Euros2020. Scored against Germany and France…
    Messi had great games maybe except Paraguay. But I have to be honest, I want him to score like Ronaldo does. I don’t care if it’s tapins Penalties or whatever…

    As for now I want the Spirit from Brazil, always wanting to win and I want Messi to score like tha f***ing Penaldo…

    Now let’s take down Bolivia and every other Team to win this thing

    vamooos

    • More than half of his goals are penaldos, live up to his name. If Conmebol loves Argentina as much as Brazil, Messi would have scored as many from the spot.

      Besides, Messi is now midfielder, CR a forward.

    • Penaldo is lone striker; Entire team tries to create chances for him whereas Messi has to create for ARG; Apart from set pieces & penalties there won’t be many goals for Messi in Blue & White shirt… Scaloni’s game plan for Messi is more of a creative MF…

  6. This FOX sports coverage is full of idiots, annoys the shit out of me more than i’m already fucking annoyed.
    Colombia should file an official complaint or whatever the F they file in these cases

    • What did they say this time? Whenever I watch them and there is corruption or unfairness going on they look like oblivious children picking flowers in a field pretending everything is fair and normal and sunny haha

      • They are always sucking on Brazil’s dick, and this Alexi Lalas……the fact that this imbecile has been attached to covering football for the past 20-24 years, first on ESPN and then FOX for the past 6 or 7 years speaks volumes about these dipshits.

  7. Shame Colombia missing James Rodriguez. i know there was fitness concerns but i would liked to have seen him in action and his presence increases viewership.

  9. it reminds us that it is not easy to play against Columbia, their defense is very solid, Yeri Mina and his 5 friends build the wall at the back. Hopefully Scaloni will not be thinking to put the 5 players at the back against Yellow.

    He should consider a great mid fields.. control the ball in that area; counter attack and good transition. Need a hard work DM and creative mid to make it; otherwise it will be a big trouble and hard to win

  10. When will karma ever hit those assholes? When? We need to take it into our own hands when we meet them. Dirty pricks that’s all they are

  11. The corruption is so deep even an Argentinian ref will help Brazil. This is unreal. Conmebol won’t let these Yellow cock suckers lose.

  13. Pitana screwed up this big time! I that’s why hate Turkish, Adian, Arabian or Spanish refreies !!! Always these mothervfuckers ruined so many good games!!!

  14. I did NOT expect that from the REF.!!!!!! why are the damn rules so muddied in South America????? the friggin ball hit REF. its a DAMN dead ball WTF!!!

    • Oh now I see it. The ref practically gave them an assist. It actually sickens me because I know without a doubt that if it was argentina the goal would be ruled out immediately with the corrupt var people. That is their preferred method of stopping us

      • Argentine Nestor Pitana is a solid ref though.

        If he blew the whistle as soon as it hit him, he would certainly have nixed the goal. But he didnt and the play went on. At that point, both Colombia and Brazil would have reasonable arguments to make. It was tough decision either way.

        • The ref seemed decent from the rest of the game I watched

          The main issue I have is that if the goal was from Argentina it most certainly would have been ruled out (taking into account the other goals of ours they’ve ruled at by nitpicking at the smallest things)

          The inconsistency is what disappoints me in CONMEBOL, everything from having to play it in Brazil to libertadores games to everything

  23. On the topic of our game…

    I like that we are playing a defensive style. I have always wanted that. We are not going to beat Brazil with an attacking style. That opens up space and exactly the type of opponent Brazil likes. What they don’t like it tough physical defensive sides.

    Now, coming to our game. As I said we are not putting in defensive master piece but looks like desperate defending. Also we need to have a game plan to score in later half of the game too. Usually you need to have a game to score in counter attack.

    It’s looks like we play attacking for first 15 mins. Once we get a goal we shut down. As i said before, someday that 10th min goal will not come. Or even worse the opponent might score first. It seems like if such a thing happens, it’s game over. Hope I am wrong.

    So in my mind we are not playing defensive style. We are playing attacking style till we score the first goal. After that we play defensive style

    • We had no choice but defend against Paraguay. We had only 2/3 days rest while they had proper rest. It wasn’t easy to chase the ball down like first 13 minutes. But our holding the ball should improve that for sure

  27. benzama first goal how was that penalty?

    strategically today german vs hungary match was good protugal vs france match was also quite intense … i think whole team should see that match if team can understand or enrich in knowledge in off field learning

  28. strategically today germany and hungary match was superb.. german minds always intellegent it seems out to be hungary was also well organized team.. france vs portugal seems to be quite good match today.. i hope scaloni have watch on those match.. he can gather experienced for the betterment .. euro matches are running intense… copa team other than argentina,brazil,chile,colombia,uruguay is getting lower than the european based team.. european teams quality improved a lot.. in some case uruguay,chile,colombia also downgrade euro teams

    • European teams r good at defending…..
      Still Uru, Chile, Colombia will beat most of those teams….
      Ecu, Peru & Paraguay will also have their chances…

  29. Achraf Hakim’s move to PSG is paving the way for Molina’s transfer to Inter Milan. I think El Capitano (Zanetti) sees something big in Molina. The RB position is very crucial for us at this very time. Scaloni was a good RB and his instructions may improve Molina a lot, and if he joins Inter I think Zanetti will also have an impact on him though he isn’t the manager.

    • Good for PSG (thinking about Poch) as they need better full backs to compete for CL and good for Molina as he would slot right in as a RWB. The only concern I have is that I don’t know if he is ready just yet for this kind of move. Is he ready? Will he get minutes? Will he seem good enough to play for a defending champion at this moment? If it is Zanetti working this out I will trust his judgment.

      Also Aston Villa want Alvarez and I think after Copa he will hold talks with them. A bit conflicted on this move

      De Paul medical will be after Copa for Atletico

  30. i have feeling nico domingues will be better effective than palacious.. match vs paraguy he came in last 8 minutes he has very little touch in the ball one or two but still it’s feels like or seem to be he is very good addition in middle… his tackle is good and it’s feels like he can move the ball quicker than palacious..

  31. Now, it seems…chances of we have to play against Colombia in QF is very high…!
    Considering Brazil will beat Colombia and Ecuador…and Peru will beat Venezuela.

  32. I have taken a hard look at the whole controversy about our playing style. Half the people here want us to play beautiful football and do goleadas every game while the other half is fine with winning at all costs even if it is ugly (offensive vs defensive essentially). I am in between. I am fine with playing defensive to get all the points although I would like some improvements in order to win copa. One thing we all agree on is that we want to see Argentina win a trophy and we want this as soon as possible. This is where the essential question comes to play: Is this style of play sustainable to win Copa? The general style (offensive vs. defensive) is not what matters, it is the specific way we play. In order to win Copa I think we can keep on playing a defensive style overall, but Scaloni will have to fix a few things because like someone mentioned the other day: the 15 minute goals won’t come someday. This can happen against Brazil or Chile. What needs to be fixed before the knockout stage is 1) a set formation or tactic to provide continuity and familiarity to the players 2) our attack needs to become more fluid and effective especially on the break which immediately leads us to #3), in order to do this our players need chemistry and an understanding, 4) some of our individual players need to improve, such as lautaro/nico with finishing and Aguero with rustiness and Messi with the occasional selfishness and Lo Celso with fitness and finally 5) less nervousness on the field and a more solid mentality would help because I noticed some mistakes such as bad passes that I have never seen from some of these players playing for their clubs. I think that is a bigger factor than it may seem on the surface. From the first game against Chile to Uruguay, there was a constant improvement and a sudden drop off against Paraguay, the game that garnered the most complaining. I think that many changes in the lineup to crucial players was almost entirely responsible for it. Looking at the games against Uruguay and Paraguay, we conceded almost no shots and the goals we scored were nice. After players are rested and the regulars come back to the lineup (which as I said was our problem against paraguay) we will again play well like against Uruguay, and if on top of that Scaloni and the players work hard to fix the problems I mentioned I genuinely think we can win it.

  33. i saw the match again in double pivot role guido and paredes it was slow… guido existence add little bit presence in the defence.. it can be said he is defensive minded player and his long ball ability is quite good but his ground ball activity like short passes and movement is little slow … pardes and guido didn’t brings mobility in the middle for offence but both of them though slow somehow manages defence..
    alongside of guido in double pivot role i have feelings that licha martinez will be more effective than paredes.. bcs his ball control is something very good…

    some key player should be rested vs bolivia match
    i would like some play if scaloni put double pivot again then
    guido and licha will be nice try

  34. Based on what I saw from Aguero, I rather not taking chances with Lautaro. He needs confidence I agree but it’s a striker who just won the serie A with Inter and who has been contributed greatly for that. If we loose Lautaro we have no one to replace him.

  35. Lautaro has to play, yellow card or not. He needs confidence. A Bolivian team who are likely out of the tournament will probably give up after a goal. I’d rather roll the dice with Lautaro and possibly get an in-form striker for the next game, then play it safe and get a striker without confidence and not having played in over 10 days in a knockout game.

    Kun is not fit and Alvarez is too green. Kun did not pursue any balls. It was actually sad to watch.

    • Yes Lautaro and Messi have to play. Need to find the goalscoring spark. 6 days rest is enough for Messi, against Bolivia no need to pressure so far he pressured a lot and got exhausted. A very attacking-minded and creative team is needed vs Bolivia, De Paul-Paredes-Papu—Di Maria-Lautaro-Messi no real risk against a weak team, who can only defend.

  36. That was NO PENALTY, GK punching the ball is what he is supposed to do!!! BUT that idiot Spaniard knowing him from la Liga is notorious for wacky calls

  40. Almost same play KUN was fouled vs Brazil and wasn’t called
    C’mon Frenchy……another Bullshit PK, when the hell was that call EVER CALLED A PK, GK punching the ball!!!???

  42. So as it look like we will finish first in our group.
    so we will play Peru or Ecuador in quarters and against Chile in semis.
    Final with Brasil.
    So why not? our team can do it. i believe in our team.

  43. Since we are talking about yellow cards and for some reason I frequently find myself commenting on Parades, how many yellow cards did he receive in the last two qualifiers and two copa games that he played this month?

    Yes, THREE out of 4 matches.

    I am not against any players, let alone Parades. I hope he start performing like he did in last copa and shuts me down, but even then criticisms on “unnecessary yellow”, “too static”, “lazy”, “defensive liability” will likely to persist.

    • If Paredes delivered worldly forward passes and helped the mid and attack advance CONSTANTLY, i don’t think people would be complaining as much. But…with backwards and sideways passes and not defending particularly well either, the criticism is valid.

      The yellow cards is a valid concern. Same with Romero, the guys is yellow card magnet and it can end badly if he has to skip another game.

      • Yes he is not same as he was in last Copa or even few qualifying games he played earlier. But if he was starting to perform people would say same. In last copa people were killing him here. We just need a scapegoat to sacrifice.This time Paredes,Otamendi,Pezzella,Montiel,Molina,Martinez,De paul,Gonzalez and so more gonna come out eventually. But I agree with you few that Paredes needs to up his game. Hopefully Scaloni has different plan for next stage of the tournament and our players has another gear for it. Guido and Paredes is different typo. Hopefully we can see what our coaching staff seeing and trying to show us

      • Right Chori, and the worse part is that judging off of his PSG performances he is capable of these passes. Pretty disappointed with how he’s turned out I was expecting a lot more from him. I was willing to experience the sacrifice of defensive contribution from him if it meant great passes but so far 1) No great long balls or forward passes 2) little defensive and positional help and 3) no hustle at all

  44. If Emi Martinez is rested then JUAN MUSSO should play. We have seen enough of marchessin and Armani is old. JUAN MUSSO is a good goal keeper. And in this match JULIAN ALVAREZ and LISANDRO MARTINEZ should be given some time. And those who are on 1yellow card should not be selected for this match.

  45. Good timing to try Angel Correa or Joaquin Correa in attack. The only thing left to improve is the left fullback, left winger and forward position. I hope Scaloni keeps his 4231 formation. Also good to test if Lisandro Martinez is better as fullback or as centre back with this team. To be honest, I am not big fan of Tagliafico but Acuna wasn’t really convincing when he played. The left fullback position is still open. When I watch Ajax games, Lisandro only played as CB so it’s hard to see if he can still play well as left fullback. I think his quality of pass could be interesting.

  46. Messi should be rested. He was tired in the third match. We need him in full potential for QF, SF and Final(3 matches). Otherwise he will be again exhausted in the third match..that’s in final…!
    Messi…take rest for 12 days before QF. Come with full energy for the KO matches.

    • Agreed. Probably the worst performance i have ever seen of Messi. The disheartening part is that it seemed to be mostly mental. He was also exhausted which compounded the problem. but some of his judgement at the end was atrocious. Well see what happens.

    • Maybe Messi was frustrated with our strikers missing every chance and decided to do it all himself. He ran into opposition when he dribbled. More frustration, started feeling tired. He knows this copa is a must win. It’s his last chance.

  47. Those who complain last two games
    Yes it wasn’t pretty but it wasn’t that bad as many made big deal of it you must know tournaments football is different from league games you can’t expect to dominated a game of football now days especially when your forward line combine age is 130 something years they hardly press come on how you expect to retain possession when the opponent easily build up from the back and literally playing for 10 or 9 men be realistic pple. Yh it looks so good on the paper aguaro messi gomez and di maria but I swear if Argentina play that line up again they will get embarrassed. You can be critical as much as you want for Lautaro but he does three men job I wish Argentina had similar profile forward like him than you will see how good Argentina play .

    Those who want Gallardo as nt manager.
    Yh in my opinion he is best Argentinian manager I mean better than bielse, Simeone and poch
    But Mark my word he won’t be managing arg nt due political reasons the only way Gallardo can be Argentina manager is if River plate chairman Rodolfo D’Onofrio become AFA president. Do you know how many offers Gallardo turned down recently Rome wanted him before Mourinho He rejected lyon wants him rejected
    Fcb wanted him rejected the guy stock is so high , I don’t think he will rush Argentina nt job so pls appreciate what you have .

    • I was among the first to call for Scaloni’s head as soon as he was hired but the man has done well given his limited coaching ability……16games IN A ROW with zeros defeats is very respectable.

      • Yes stat wise, its respectable (fantastic actually) but to see no real improvement in tactics and team form is what gets most people screaming. I’d rather lose some matches and see the team improving.

        • I’m convinced Argentina won’t play worst than last two games yet they won without conceding so many chances other thing scaloni did Was how quickly integrate to the team likes emi martinez , cuti Romero and molina Argentina defence look so secure with emi and cuti plus you add to that how good Guido and molina were last couple games.

          • Yeah, the past copa trends we saw dreadful start but improved throughout. Last time it was just too fucking late but maybe we get it right next game or the game after.

    • > it looks so good on the paper aguaro messi gomez and di maria but I swear if Argentina play that line up again they will get embarrassed

      They weren’t the main problem though. It was the awful double pivot with Paredes and Guido who aren’t good at driving forward, which disconnected the fantastic 4. The game was lost in that area so no shit those up front are going to struggle. The Mid desperately need GLC and De Paul + Guido. I actually would love to see that SAME front line (i know you hate it so much :)) but with a creative B2B like GLC next to Guido, the team would do much better. Also messi didnt play well and Aguero was rusty AF. Youre boy Di Maria was on Fire and Gomez did effin great!!

      • “Youre boy Di Maria was on Fire”
        Yeah he was due one cuse he may have good game in every ten games for arg shirt.

        ” It was the awful double pivot with Paredes and Guido who aren’t good at driving forward”
        I agree that was horrible it won’t work
        paredes and Guido playing together
        Scaloni must choose of them .

  48. Messi should be rested and given Papu Gomez his role.
    There is enough rest in between the match day this time, chemistry of starting players for KO round must be tested at least in second half.
    score 2 goals in first half, and sub in our core midfielders and messi, and give them a chance to train ahead of the important game week. Ideally this should be the way to utilize this golden opportunity of 5 teams group structure.

    Hope Scaloni will not try and seal 1-0 tiring victory once again as another feather on his cap.

  50. That’s a no brainer to rest the players and if Messi needs it then he should get it or at least bring him in, in the 2nd half if needed.

    Watching Martinez and Romero has been a breath of fresh air, knowing that NOW you have quality players in positions when we didn’t for a long time is beautiful

    BTW, LETS GO Frenchy, I know you want revenge for the last EUROS and today is your chance to SMACK her Highness and company.

  51. I think Emi Martinez should be allowed to play every possible match. If he was an outfield player then my opinion would have changed. We need him to get maximum experience with the national team. That guy is too aged to get dropped from starting 11 considering the time he made his debut. Let him play and gain the cohesion with our backline. If we are like Brazil who have two top class GKs with them, I dont mind rotation. But an experienced Armani is not going to challenge Emi Martinez on his debut. Just my thought.

    • Just think ..Emiliano plays against Bolivia and get an yellow card…! He will miss the most important QF. So better take rest in a non important match. Give backup GK a chance to be in shape. Scaloni’s backup GK is Armani. I would have loved if Musso getting a chance.

      • Yellow card for GK like Emi, who is so composed and calm, is not going to happen too often. The one he got was an intentional one. Anyway I kinda agree with you bro. Anything can happen in football.
        But I dont want to see Armani between the sticks. If Musso then it is fine. But that is not going to happen.

  52. Against Bolivia (4-1-4-1)
    Emiliano
    Molina romero otamendi acuna
    Parcedes
    A. Correa Messi depaul Gomes
    Aguero

    •There is a week rest some no rest is needed for the starters
    •More importantly chemistry and rhythm between starters needs to be built more.

    • looks great but i would go with Guido. Do you or anyone know how De Paul does on the left side? For the NT, his best position by far is owning the right side with messi.

      • @T.Montana

        Even though I’d prefer for Scaloni to stick to his 4-3-3 lineup because it was his constant shifting of his lineups that put Argentina in such a bad situation at the beginning of the last copa.
        With that being said your attacking line up is pretty solid but I would take Kun out and put Lio there instead and then put N.Dominguez in Lio’s place and then I would put Guido instead of Paredes because the latter being the lone defender to protect the back 4 is not a good idea:

        ————————–Musso—————————–
        —Molina——-C.Romero———-Otamendi——Acuna—
        —————————–Guido—————————–
        —A.Correa—-N.Dominguez——-De Paul——–Papu—–
        —————————–Lio———————————

        @chori
        De Paul’s at his best when playing on the left to be honest, 3 seasons ago he scored 9 goals and 8 assists in SerieA playing mostly on the left. He’s a right footed player that does a mirror image to Messi and cuts inside on the right to to make one his trademark canon shots or his excellent crosses (like the one he made to C.Romero against Colombia).
        The thing about De Paul is that not only is he one of the best CMs in europe (according to stats and not just me) but he’s also incredibly versatile

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