Argentina rumored eleven, Lionel Messi trains with the team

By
Roy Nemer
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46

Lionel Messi trained with the team during Saturday’s training as coach Lionel Scaloni still has three doubts regarding the eleven.

Messi, who was reportedly not fully fit, trained with the squad on Saturday and will start against Uruguay on Sunday’s World Cup qualifier. The first is that of Marcos Acuna. He was substituted off in the first half against Paraguay and was replaced by Nicolas Tagliafico.

While it is between one of those two, it does appear that Tagliafico will start. The second is between Gonzalo Montiel and Nahuel Molina. It was Molina who started played against Paraguay but Scaloni did mention that Montiel might start on Sunday.

The other doubt is between Gio Lo Celso and Alejandro Papu Gomez to see who would play alongside De Paul and Paredes. Lo Celso started the match against Paraguay but Gomez came on as a substitute and impressed. According to TyC Sports, here is the rumored eleven:

Emiliano Martínez; Montiel or Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuña or Tagliafico; De Paul, Paredes, Lo Celso or Gómez; Di María, Lautaro Martínez and Messi

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46 Comments

  1. Foyth is the best RB in the world after Dani alves (or whoever else.it is irrelevant) !!!

    i start to miss this type of comments. But we are on track to return there in same time as i am seeing. good job.
    By the way we have a new modern Zanetti in present and the “stupid” coach we have have him in bench. it is crazy !!!
    who is the new modern Zanetti?
    Foyth of course. do i have to name him for God s shake? all the world knows that !!!

    • How many substitutions are allowed each match now and when and why did this change?
      It’s ridiculous with all these subs coming on, as in the last match against Paraguay; ruins the rythym of the play.

    • Speaking of Zanetti, he spoke after we won Copa and this is what he had to say about Montiel, Molina and Tagliafico as per Ole:

      “Tanto Montiel como Molina lo hicieron bien. Brasil nos podía complicar por ahí, pero Gonzalo y Tagliafico respondieron. Brasil nunca fue peligroso gracias a un gran trabajo defensivo. Estos dos laterales pueden ser el presente y el futuro de la Selección Argentina”, afirmó el Pupi.

      Translation:

      “Both Montiel as Molina did it well. Brazil could have made things difficult for us but Gonzalo [Montiel] and Tagliafico responded well. Brazil was never dangerous thanks to a great defensive work. These two fullbacks can be the present and the future of the Argentina national team,” said El Pupi

      Foyth, what Foyth? Out legend Zanetti praised the real fullbacks who played.

    • Not to mention Buendía is the best center mid in the world after De Bruyne and Correa is the best left winger after Mbappe

      (Notice the positions I put them in 😉)

  2. Anyone who says Lautaro is not good in the air has not seen him play and does not know what he is talking about. Gazzetta dello Sport praised him last season for his amazing headed goal vs Torino, comparing him to Zamorano who was a beast in the air in his day.

    Who thinks Lautaro is not good in the air? Please convince me I am wrong.

  3. Lo Celso is very active when Lautaro Plays. Lo Celso can feed Lautaro with those thru balls. So I would have sticked with Lo Celso since Lautaro is playing.
    I would rest Di Maria today and play Nico G.
    I would have kept Guido instead of Paredes for this match because he kept Uruguay on check last time in Copa.
    The rest looks good to me.
    In fact we should ok either or.
    Vamos Albiceleste.

    • Nico is an off the ball player who attacks space, which wont be against a park the bus Uruguay. Arg have to go with the most creative team with the ball. Our possession will be close to 70% imo again till we wont score.

      • Yeah we need the most creative team indeed which probably would increase the probability of Paredes starting too.

        Against ultra defensive teams Di Maria does not seem to be effective. He needs spaces to run into and wreak havoc. I don’t think Uruguay is going to give us much space.

  4. I would like to see papu get the start especially if Lauturo isn’t starting. Papu has seemed to be a little bit more brave moving forward and threatening defenses then lol celso. I love lo celso, but he needs a pure striker up front to connect with.
    Also in my opinion, it is time to start subbing Messi out of games in second half especially if he is tired. The guy is getting older and we need to preserve him.

    • Papu is older than Lo Celso and that’s why I he is best used an impact super sub. Lo Celso simply has more energy to run, hustle and intercept the ball than Papu in my opinion. I also think Lo Celso connects well with Messi. I think more often than not, when Lo Celso plays we have more fluidity in our midfield passing. I like Papu and if only he was still in his twenties then we would have had an amazing weapon in his prime. I think against weak opponents Papu may play a lot more if necessary. Just my opinion.

      I agree that Messi needs to be subbed sometimes but it’s easier said than done.

    • Messi clearly doesn’t like to get subbed. He doesn’t have to run around to press or defend and likes to preserve energy to capitalize on good chances like against Man-City. The reason he looks slow is because he is clearly injured. Since he always gets heavy battering in almost all the matches he has started to avoid those kind of situations by being selective on overdribbling and over-running opponents, which I believe is very intelligent. However it is starting to raise eyebrows at PSG because when he doesn’t have the ball he looks like he is just standing on the pitch doing nothing!

      • Agreed Eganche and Sulva.
        Lol celso does connect with Messi well… And papu may be a bit older, but he has seemed hungrier at times.
        Messi needs to be subbed not because he is tired, but because most injuries happened in the last 25 min of games when players are worn and opposing teams may be frustrated.

  5. It’ll never be easy against Uruguay even without Cavani, there will be a lot of challenges in the midfield, their defense is solid and they play dirty. I am a bit skeptical about Paredes, he will play under pressure of those Uruguay midfielders and he doesn’t have enough playing time at club to be fit enough. The only way to counter that is to have the possession and make sure the other 3 midfielders play close to him.

    • I would anticipate Guaido coming of the bench at some point to replace Parades. Although, personally, I would have liked to see Guaido starting the match.

      The fact that Papu might replace LoCelso because he impressed coming of the bench and DeMaria starting all games because he scored the copa final goal, irrespective of opponent characteristics doesn’t sound intelligent. On the contrary, Parades consistently keeping his position despite Guaido killing it in Betis. Doesn’t sound intelligent.

      • Yeah I see your points on Di Maria, well he is the only right midfielder that we have in the team for Scaloni’s 442 formation. We have a lot of wingers or half forward-wingers but those type of players are more compatible with 433. Buendia was really promising last year but until now, the truth is nobody is better than Di Maria in this position which need to have pace, vision and drop deep to connect to the central midfielders. That’s very different from a winger’s job in a 433. I guess in Scaloni’s mind, if Messi is injured, he will switch the team to 433 and Di Maria will probably leave his place to Angel Correa or Julian Alvarez.

    • Uruguay is always a difficult opponent for us. It’s like a cousin you always have rivalry with. It’s a real derby, El Clásico del Río de la Plata.

      I personally would also prefer Guido start this game over Paredes who seems to have lost his place in PSG. And even if he did not he is way too casual sometimes and can only work when Argentina faces an inferior team. Guido on the other hand is a real defensive midfielder, a classic number five in Argentine tradition and is having a good season with Betis. Plus he showed his worth during Copa too. Somehow though Scaloni keeps his faith in Paredes and he is among his favorite players no matter what. I am a bit puzzled by that to be honest.

      Perhaps Scaloni really values someone who has the ability to dictate play, set the tempo, recycle possession, take the ball off the back line to start the attacks in the absence of ball playing CBs (that’s not the case for us).

      I think Guido can do it too

      • What scared me the most is when I saw PSG games last year, whenever he was under pressure from opponents’ pressing, he lost quickly the ball. That was the tactics many L1 coaches used since last year when they play against PSG. It’s very hard and even impossible for him to improve his ball protection and his first touch because that’s about the talent. But he can still improve by playing more simple for faster transition.

        The other point is that Messi performs always better with a regista so that he doesn’t need to drop too deep. I think that could be the reason why Scaloni prefers Paredes to other DM.

      • I hear you when it comes to a regista helping Messi but we have De Paul and Lo Celso, both are great passers and creative, so then Messi in theory would not need to depend on Paredes so much. I just think that Paredes’s perceived strengths do not outweigh his weaknesses.

  6. Guys please try and maintain healthy conversations and constructive criticism. If you don’t like someone’s perspective then just ignore it. We all have argued with eachother in the past but lets not drag the argument , otherwise it will soon get personal. Lets not turn this blog into goal.com comments section. We should all focus on todays important game and discuss tactics and formations.

    • I agree with you and I think most people here want to do exactly that. However, every now and then we have posters that tend to either state blatant untruths like they live in an alternate reality or repeat the same point over and over, ad nauseum really. And so the temperature reaches a boiling point. Not to mention people who come here to troll. At some point ignoring them is no longer an option. Imagine if Romance King and Kidulthood were ignored what this blog would turn into.

      • EnganChe have patience with others opinion. Everyone has different perception of reality. Do not blame other because they think differently(as Mourinho says Lol)Give your statement without disrespecting other or going personal.

        • Kevin, people have been patient enough I think, but for example when you say something about Lautaro that is simply objectively false and keep repeating the same thing about Foyth over and over again, then comes a moment when enough is enough. And it’s not just me, plenty of people are not happy with you. Have you noticed how your obsession with Foyth is ridiculed by other people here?

          Of course we all have different opinions, but few of us try to obsessively impose our opinions on others so much. When it begins to sound like a broken record and oversaturates the blog then something needs to be said and done.

          • But things I say about Lautaro and Foyth are true no one can deny it, Foyth is playing well in Villarreal he was best RB in last month just check his sofa ratings every match. I do not impose my opinion but it is the way you feel it. Just counter the argument with stats, facts, player skill,player character and also be ready for healthy counter argument. Just do not go personal,name calling, disrespecting it brings nothing good to anyone.

          • I’ve been pointing out to you on numerous occasions how Foyth is not a modern fullback, how he plays as a right-back without overlapping and stretching the play, how Molina and Montiel are better at that. Incidentally Scaloni validate that by not even including Foyth on the bench vs Paraguay. My goal is not to engage in ad hominems against you per se but when you continue to state the same thing over and over again like a broken record then one would question your character and the purpose of that sort of behavior.

            With regards to Lautaro in the previous thread you said that, quote: “Lautaro Martinez is not good in air, small height, rarely shots from outside of box, not physical against 6 foot defenders” most of which is false.

            And about Scaloni you stated that he was a left-back and and an insignificant player in his day, when challenged on that by a few people with the actual facts and stats you dismiss them. Who then lives in an alternate reality if not you?

          • I was wrong about Scaloni because he was not high profile player he never played as starter for Argentina.
            Lautaro is not good on-air it is fact how many goals he scored as header please give stats,all thing I said about Lautaro is fact.
            Foyth makes good runs in penalty box he also has assists and even goals to his name in Villarreal. Montiel and Mollina have their own weakness and strength.
            And for Scaloni not including Foyth in bench does not mean he has no chance to play same happened with Emi Martinez when everyone was crying to bench Armani only time will tell who should play or bench.

          • Kevin, Lautaro is strong in the air, that’s a fact, he really is, he scored 4 headers already this season for Inter. If you want stats then do your own research, I will just point you to whoscored for example that lists Lautaro’s strengths as follows:

            Finishing
            Headed attempts
            Defensive contribution

          • Again lies, till now Inter played only Serie A and CL, with 0 goals in CL, Lautaro has scored 5 goals till now 1 penalty 2 or 3 volley,and 1 lucky header vs Verona and you are saying he has scored 4 headers.

          • This was last season but it’ relevant because it refutes your point that Lautaro is not good in the air. Lautaro Martinez’s goal for Inter against Torino was one of Serie A’s most impressive ‘technical gestures’ all season, an Italian media report has argued today. Gazzetta dello Sport claim that El Toro’s game-winning header in Turin should be studied by everyone in great detail, because it was much harder to score than most probably realised and involved all the qualities a great striker must possess. Lautaro’s goal, which came in the 85th minute, gave Inter their eighth straight Serie A win and required intelligence, physical strength, elasticity and excellent technique.The report said El Toro’s header at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino was even worthy of Ivan Zamorano, a specialist in headed goals during his time with the Nerazzurri.

  7. Since Scaloni took over Messi remains our top scorer with 17 goals, Lautaro is second with 15 goals but the rest only scores 2-3 goals. That stats is actually quite worrying, especially whenever Lautaro or Messi arent available or having a bad game. The game against Paraguay should be a warning for Scaloni. We needs regular goalscorer outside Messi and Lautaro.

  8. Kevin, this is for you – Lionel Messi on Lautaro Martinez:

    “He’s spectacular.

    “He has impressive qualities. You could tell he was going to be a great player and he is showing that.

    “He’s very strong, really good one on one, scores a lot of goals and in the area he fights with anyone, holds it up, he can turn, scrap to win it all on his own.

    “He has a lot of quality. He’s very complete.”

  10. We need to get plenty of reality checks before world cup. Especially since we won Copa. Pessimism must be there. That only will help the quality improvement of the team. We need a much stronger team to go last European power houses and Brazil in WC. .

  12. Emi Martinez is a different animal when he wears Argentinian jersey much better than Aston Villa goalkeeper he truly loves representing his country.
    If Argentina wins WC 2022 Emi Martinez going to be very important for the team.Many doubted him but he proved all of them wrong.

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