Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez of Aston Villa comments on Argentina team

1. Scaloni & Co seems to have almost decided who will be going to the world cup. Barring any injury the following players are 90% confirmed to be in the 23 man squad.

   GK: E.Martinez, J.Musso, Armani
   Def: Romero, Otamendi, L.Martinez, Pezella, Montiel, Molina, Acuna, Tagliafico
   Mids: Paredes, Guido,Lo-Celso,Papu,De-Paul
   AMs: Messi,Dimaria,N.Gonzalez,
   Strikers: Lautaro,A.Correa

   The following will be competing for the remaining 2 spots

   Def: LM-Quarta, Nehun Perez,Foyth (non of them are going unless there is an injury as Scaloni prefers experienced Pezzella over them)

   Mid: Palacios , Nicolás Domínguez, (Palacios if can stay fit)

   AM: Oscampos, Emiliano Buendía (Both might not get picked)

   Striker: Dybala, J.Correa and J.Alvarez (only one will go)

   For Striker department, it seems like only 1 out of 3 will be going as A.Correa is too consistent with club performance for Atletico and is above the three in pecking order. Dybala has a slight edge over the two as he can play as no-9 and no-10 both and has that star player reputation and hence can prevent the opposition from freely attacking us. Scaloni likes J.Correa as he is willing to press and is a good fit for his game plan. Julian Alvarez if picked will be solely for gaining world cup experience from the bench, with around 5 matches remaining before the world cup team is announced he won’t get much opportunity to play. With Alario and J.Correa out of the team, A.Correa and Dybala subbed Lautaro in the last two matches indicating they are the preferred backups for El Toro now. That means, Dybala is no more a backup for Messi but a backup striker.

   It almost certain that no new players will be added to the squad that means its over for the likes of Lanzini, Simione, Icardi etc .

   • The squads will be at least 26 men, the covid situation will ve disaster in December.

   • For angel correa jury is still out, u can’t put him in the confirm category yet.

     • The ex Copa America winning team players have the edge but Scaloni is quite fair when it comes to giving chance. Ocampos did not have a good game but Sevilla is amazing this season and Ocampos is one of their best players. If he can be consistent until the end of the season, he might get a chance.

       Palacios will surely make it. He is only behind De Paul, Lo Celso, and Papu in pecking order. He is ahead of Nico Dominguez and the new comers like Buendia or MacAllister.

       I agree it will be more than 23 players though as the Covid situation does not look better. 26 is possible.

       • Ocampo was put on that side to keep an eye on cuadrado, he has just recover
         What did you expect from him??
         Tactically he did his job and was replaced

2. This is a winning team- hope they keep up the tempo until the world cup. Just look at the team now-
   1. one of the best keepers of the world in Emi.
   2. In Romero, Licha, and finix

   • Uh no edit options-
     2. In Romero, Licha and Phoenix Otamendi, we have one of the best center back pairs.
     3. Even full backs and their back ups are World class
     4. In DePaul and LoCelso (on his day), you have one the best possible midfield duo for a National team
     5. DeMaria has been phenomenal. As Scaloni mentioned that he is unsettling (to the opponent)
     6. Messi is Messi
     7. Lautaro, one of the best scorer in a National team.

     Had we envisioned such a progression. So kudos to Scaloni. As much as I hated to see Meza not only called up but was the first substitute, I leave it under the rug. Maybe there are some under the table issues that we don’t know. But, this is destructive and should not happen.

3. I missed the game but as always running the football app and how sweet is that beep indicating that somebody scored and for a split second from the time you lift the phone up and swipe to see who scored and then you breath a sigh of relief.
   ARGENTINA baby and holding off to keep the lead, how did the boys, any standouts if anybody care to give a synopsis.
   I’ve been harping on this subject forever……………FIFA WHERE ARE THE 3 DAMN POINTS, Scaloni called the situation complex, there is nothing complex about it……..they shut the game down on purpose on their own turf…..end of story, give us the damn points.

   • Notable Standouts: Lo Celso and Lisandro
     Everyone else performed very well too, you can read my verdict below

     • Oh and Di Maria which I forgot to mention, he played like a talismanic figure

4. Four years ago we were the ones with calculator, pen and paper, thinking of every possibility to go to Russia. I think Uruguay, Chile, Colombia and Peru are all thinking deeply….
   Big thanks to Scaloni and his team to give us joy and lessen our anxiety and frustration. For the first time in long long time I am watching Argentina and never think about losing….. Wow 😲😲😲😲😲😲

5. Great to see another win, a 29 game streak now which is pretty impressive. Just like Chile, I did not expect a win and expected a lot more effort out of Colombia. This goes to show how much effort our team puts — we aren’t complacent and keep winning when we don’t have to. I love the mentality and it makes me feel so secure. The game was slow at times because Colombia’s setup made it difficult to break the ball into the midfield although some incredible Lisandro passes broke their lines on a few occasions. Montiel kept the new Liverpool signing at bay and Rodriguez kept security in the midfield and provided some long balls going forward as well. Without De Paul and Messi, it seems that the main star is by hierarchy Di Maria, you could sense and feel that during the game. Lautaro once again asserting his place as the Scaloni era top scorer although I would have liked someone else to be tried a little more but have a theory: Chori, you were a bit mad at Lautaro still being depended on instead of experimenting although *perhaps* Scaloni doesn’t want to remove yet another core, reliable member of the team when we already don’t have De Paul, Messi, Romero, and Paredes. That’s a possibility but we will have to see what happens when the rest come back. Either way, that doesn’t justify Meza getting on the pitch which seems like a big disappointment in an otherwise flawless game. It’s a shame to see him get so many minutes when they could have gone to Alvarez or served as a more complete debut for Buendia. I don’t like to criticize players but it is impossible to understand (apart from money) why he is even called up, he is a 29 year old playing in Mexico and did not / will not contribute anything and is getting in the way of other much more deserving and useful players. Ocampos was disappointing but it is not a surprise, this type of game calls for more technical players and he is more of a muscle man to defend up high and counter with his explosiveness on the break either with the ball or receiving. I hope he is still looked into. Next game we won’t have Acuna or Montiel so we will have to revert to Tagliafico-Molina, and this situation really highlights how much more comfortable our full back situation is getting. I also love that we convincingly win games without Messi, if we can do it without him comfortably then imagine how incredible we will be with him.

   • Oh, and I forgot to mention the “average midtable player” Lo Celso. Okay sorry, I won’t go the “I told you so” route I do want to warn people from criticizing any player that plays at Tottenham. It has been proven time and time again without failure that Tottenham is ALWAYS the problem. It is painfully obvious. The second he’s not getting five minute cameos for a chaotic disfunctional club against some team like Burnley he performs brilliantly and masks the absence of De Paul. He has never performed poorly for Argentina so as to justify the criticisms and I am convinced he will have an incredible season for Villarreal if he stays fit. Heck, this is a Lo Celso that has barely played for his club this season, imagine when he does.

   • > Chori, you were a bit mad at Lautaro still being depended on instead of experimenting although *perhaps* Scaloni doesn’t want to remove yet another core, reliable member of the team when we already don’t have De Paul, Messi, Romero, and Paredes.

     Yeah, i got a bit heated for a minute :). As many fans, i have injury PTSD and #9 2nd and 3rd sub or alternates are badly needed. To your point, Scaloni sticking with core and prioritizes position stability and consistency but that gamble makes me nervous. Dybala and Alvarez need a lot more game time.

6. Ecuador qualified for the world cup…or at least play off. It seems Uruguay will also qualify. Now it’s Chile vs Peru for the 5th place. I wish Peru does. More Argentine managers to the WC….!

   • I agree. Plus, Gareca has been coaching Peru for maybe 15 years and is a tactician who has made this team strong in the times that they were weak. I am a fan of his for sure.

   • With this result (Peru-Ecuador 0:1) rather Columbia with two easy games remaining vs Bolivia home and vs Venezuela away, fix 6 points, but Peru will lose in Brazil imo, so they have to reach at least a draw today.

   • Sorry Uruguay Peru and Peru Paraguay Brazil Chile and Chile Uruguay, but Uruguay will beat at home Peru too imo,so the today match a must for them

Comments are closed.