Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez, Ángel Di María rumored to start for Argentina

By
Roy Nemer
-
21

Lionel Messi is once more expected to start for the Argentina national team along with Julián Álvarez and Ángel Di María.

Messi scored against Venezuela in the 3-0 win on Friday and will look to score once more in Argentina’s last match in March of the World Cup qualifiers. According to TyC Sports, Messi is rumored to start with Álvarez and Di María up front.

Julián Álvarez would replace Joaquín Correa in the starting eleven. It was Correa who started the match against Venezuela and Di María would replace Nicolás González.

Juan Musso is also set to start in place of Franco Armani. Here is the rumored eleven:

Musso; Molina, Martínez Quarta, Otamendi, Tagliafico; De Paul, Paredes, Palacios; Messi, Álvarez, Di María

Argentina play Ecuador on Tuesday in the World Cup qualifiers.

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21 Comments

  3. One of the respected member here said…we would have just finished the game with 1-1 or 1-0…if Mac Allister continued in the game ..what a pity… comment. He has just forgotten because of Alexis’s quick response we got that first goal..and he should understand it was not because of Mac Allister substitution..it was because of Di Maria’s introduction the match was changed to another level…he could have played with Alexis also… results would have been similar if not better.
    Some said, that quick feet and Pre assist was his only plus in this match, some said he had another moment but he missed the great opportunity to score…these 2 are his moments..rest he was sh5t..bla.. bla. If you take out moments like that..and say..he’s sht other than this…bla bla..is it a good review? Anybody noticef Allister’s positioning when Correa missed a great chance from that great pass from Messi..? If Correa passed that to Allister, (second try )and scored you all will praise him ..! He had chances to score…I like the midfielders who go and try the goals..or getting into a great position to score…we don’t want another Mascherano-Biglia type midfield. We need another DePaul..so that our midfield will be more competitive..

    • It is me who say that. I am going to say the same thing now: MacAllister is the worst of all time among all Argentines that has worn number 10. He is just not a good player. Period.

      I can understand if a player offers something to the team but is an average player. For example, Nico Gonzales offers hard work. J Correa offers the versatility. Guido Rondriguez offers a better defensive security. Palacios offers good teamwork and so on. But MacAllister does offer nothing. Zero.

      In the past I remember Sabella also liked “tactical” players more than technical players for his blue collar players. That’s why he used the likes of Rodrigo Brana or Pablo Guinazu. Those 2 were very mediocre but they did offer something. Brana is a poor man Mascherano. Very good defensively and limited in everything else. Guinazu was like Gattuso, a destroyer in midfield.

      MacAllister? What? Set pieces is his best attribute and he would not take any FK/CK. Defense? no. Pace? One of the slowest players ever. Energy? He played with no passion. Team work? I did not see him combining well with any of the team when he did 10 back passes in a match. Other than those 10 back passes, his passing accuracy is very low I am sure. Not to mention he kept losing the easy ball.

      I just hope he got a Meza treatment from Scaloni: Call him up and gave him some minutes only to realize that he is not a NT material and did not call him up anymore.

      • “I can understand if a player offers something to the team but is an average player. For example, Nico Gonzales offers hard work. J Correa offers the versatility. Guido Rondriguez offers a better defensive security. Palacios offers good teamwork and so on. But MacAllister does offer nothing. Zero.”
        Good, Scaloni and co didn’t have this knowledge…!

        “MacAllister? What? Set pieces is his best attribute and he would not take any FK/CK. Defense? no. Pace? One of the slowest players ever. Energy? He played with no passion. Team work? I did not see him combining well with any of the team when he did 10 back passes in a match. Other than those 10 back passes, his passing accuracy is very low I am sure. Not to mention he kept losing the easy ball.”
        What you want in Mac Allister a perfect Modric? Give him some time and see… whether he can combine with team the team or not..team chemistry is not the one coming in the first match..you just check and understand how many times best players give back pass in a match…but you see only in Mac Allister..!

        “MacAllister is the worst of all time among all Argentines that has worn number 10.”
        Who cares he’s worst number 10 of Argentina or not… there will be best and worst in everything..coaches seeing something in him…let’s wait for that…he can improve this team..that’s the only question…

        • I agree with elprincipe here that McAllister was not great in last match. Insider you may be right if given time he might improve but as you said his positional sense is his forte which is why he scores goal for his club. When we need someone to create, he is not the guy for you. Do we need a player like him in midfield ? We can have someone with pace in the midfield so at least it will help us for counter.

      • It is people like you who pressurizes the team always.. I am not a fan of McAllister but his first game for the shirt, even Messi struggles for psg as you need time to adapt to a new team.. Maybe McAllister can perform or not in a long run is another thing.. But coming to a finished conclusion in a first game… Wow… You must have a great vision.. You must have criticized scaloni a lot in his first few games.. Now he is unifying a great team.. Vamos Argentina.. Keep calm and hope for the best guys.. Argentina will win world cup this year

    • Maclister was a bit timid, but he was *always* tactically in the right place. He was always available for a pass and always passed it cleanly to a team mate. He also won many balls in the middle. Was he good? No. Was he bad? No. We should keep giving you g players chances and build confidence and chemistry..

      • Not one game man. In Olympics, in a u23 competition, he played all 3 games as a starter wearing number 10. The result was
        1. we are bottom of the group of I am not mistaken
        2. He got 0 goal and 0 assist and was always playing bad in all 3 matches
        3. Whenever Thiago Almada replaced him, Thiago looked much better and Argentina played better.
        4. He and Gaich were among the worst players of the tournament.

        And that was against the youth players of u23 just 7 months ago.

        How is that?

        • In that youth WC.. Argentina’s coaching team was the issue not players…if we have a good coach like Pekerman in the past…we will earn something..that’s it.
          All the blame of that cup failures you put on Mac Allister shoulder? This is because of your frustrations..nothing else.
          So, same logic applied..Messi is finished (?)..as PSG crashed out in the champions league against Real. He couldn’t score or assist in that 2 leg..! We can’t say like that..that’s a frustrated fan boy thinking….

          • El_Principe = Giving analytical opinion based on performance and facts

            Insider = Nothing Factual but Trust me bro type. Most relies on If/would/could and just copy pasting others comments for no apparent reason.

            Easy choice here’s whos opinion to trust.

  4. I think scaloni here is trying to compare all the back ups. He knows Venezuela would be the least effective against us. So he tried to experiment with our least useful players like McAllister J correa and Armani. If any one of these players had played an extraordinary game against Venezuela. Then he may given a chance against Ecuador. Now he will experiment musso palacios and other remaining to get a total picture about the direct back ups of our main men.

  5. No issues with this starting XI. Just hoping Angelito, Lanzini, Boye and Guido get some minutes. Lanzini’s main issue has always been fitness record, not talent. As long as he stays fit he can be an asset for sure.

  7. With J. Correa in the pitch Argentina suffers to score a goal but have good possession and recovery of ball.
    Lanzini is far better than Mac Allister and Palacios.He deserves the chance more than them. Scaloni should give Lanzini a chance.

    • Lanzini was running the show against Sevilla. Playing him alongside Depaul and Paredes will improve the energy and creativity in significant level.

  8. J.Alvarez starting means he would get min 60mins on the pitch and even though it’s not enough to judge a player’s ability it would give us a rough idea if he is good enough to be a direct backup to Lautaro. He has been scoring for fun in clubs games and with Dimaria and Messi feeding him the ball he will have plenty of opportunities to score. His positioning and runs were terrible against Brazil and Uruguay. Especially when he was trying to outrun Brazilian defenders was pretty indicative of his inexperience.

  10. Although Arg won 3-0 against Venezuela, doesn’t mean the team selection were good; it was after the introduction of Angel Maria and A. Correa that brings the game changer, attack with effective play; the one-two passed between the attackers up front; hence the starting XI against Ecuador must be different. Ecuador is playing at home and want to stay as 3rd rank. Start with ADM, Julian Alvarez is the ideal choice and Palacios in place of Mac Allister brings calm to fans minds. Above all Armani place is not permanent; Musso deserve a chance to replace Dibu.

    Again the key word is “Right Substitute on right time” Lanzini, Nico, Guido and A Correa are not just a bench warmer.

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