Lionel Scaloni decided not to risk Paulo Dybala for Argentina games

By
Roy Nemer
-
82

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni decided not to risk Paulo Dybala during Argentina’s last two games against Honduras and Jamaica.

Paulo Dybala was called up to the Argentina national team by Lionel Scaloni but was not even on the bench in the 3-0 win against Jamaica on Tuesday. According to TyC Sports, Scaloni did not want to risk him.

Dybala had suffered a knock to his left foot during AS Roma’s pre-game warm up. While Dybala had fully recovered and was with the Argentina team, Scaloni did not want to take any risks.

This could mean that Lionel Scaloni does not need to see any more of Dybala with Argentina and that the 28 year old surely has a place in the World Cup team.

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82 Comments

  1. They decided not to risk Dybala getting some goals and assists against the minnows, which would have made it more difficult to exclude him without explanation in the future.

  2. The satisfying news that I saw today is Foyth is back in training with Villarreal…hope he get back to his full fitness and be ready for the WC…

  3. Hope Dybala and others stay healthy. In the next 42 days there will be 11 to 13 matches for players before the WC starts. Quite intense.

  4. Before starting WC if Acuna and Foyth back with thr full fitness and foam one headache over for Scaloni. I think it is better to use Licha in more deep DM role in cenrralmid when team playing in a more defensive mode…Currently Paredes playing in a no.5 role ,he needs to help in front also.Our midfield try some longranger experience before WC. Depending lautaro & Messi more is not good. Others should try thr luck from outside of PB is also gud.

  5. I have some questions.
    Can Enzo play on the left side of the midfield as lo celso sub? because lo celso has stamina problem.
    Can papu gomez do defending if deployed as an attacking midfield.
    Can A correa play as a winger in the right side?
    Can Julian Alvarez play on the left side of the attack?

    • Enzo can play anywhere in midfield and is good at it. Scaloni already confirms it.

      Papu can defend. He is not the best at defending but is not Riquelme who won’t defend.

      A Correa played right wing most of his career in Atletico, so he can.

      Julian Alvarez played left winger against Jamaica. Lautaro played 9.

      All of the players u mention are extremely versatile. Plus Thiago Almada now who can play anywhere in attack and midfield (except DM).

  6. Ricky Villa,

    In regards to your reply to my friend Cox4 and myself in the previous thread, i felt the need to tell you the following:

    You have said that despite you have made some bets (in order to earn money in case the bet is successfull) in favour of club teams at times, you would never make a bet when it comes for Argentina, because supporting our beloved team is something like being sacred, therefore we put all of our love, heart, lotalty instead.
    Well my friend, this is exactly the case with me too! Although i have made bets regarding other teams and edpecially club teams or national teams competing in a Euro tournament, i have never made a bet regarding Argentina, for the exact reasons you mentioned!

    When reading your posts my friend, i feel that many times there is something like “emotional alignment” between us and that is the main reason that you are among the members in here that i respect the most!

    Thank you my friend and i wish this time is our time!

    • my friend i don t play money in bet games but it is IMPOSSIBLE for me ever to bet even 1 peso against Argentina national team or River plate.
      if i suppose to play bet games sure i could play only football matches without those 2.

      • Cox4 my friend, Ricky and i meant to bet in favor of Argentina and not against them. We actually meant, that because we support our beloved team with all of our heart and loyalty, this is something like sacred and no bet has any place in it, even though if we would bet for them to win (betting against to our beloved team is out of question) and somehow i am almost sure that the same applies for you too.

        • Cox4 my friend it is, Yes exactly like Wawe our friend explained…@Waweride ” betting against to our beloved team is out of question) and somehow i am almost sure that the same applies for you too.

          Yes, i do also assume like Wawe did, though let me poligizy if we are wrong. etc…

          Actual i do not bet for River too, never ever i have did so, because i learned betting from my dad, but with 2 conditions that no bet’s will ever be placed when Arg NT and River play, because from all of South Americas great teams River was THE ONLY CLUB TEAM as ARG NT too for my dad and obviously came same for me, though i wish i could have seen those games, when u once wrote to me about u being regular at the stands of River’s Monumental and it was so great and made me so happy for u been able to watch your favourite club football team for so many great year’s and even visiting their away games, that goes way beyond my imagination as i could only dream about something like that, or actually it has been included in my dream about visiting Arg as country one day, perhaps and now my kids are building also pressure on me for that topic, lol!

          Anyhow ii have placed a bet for other teams that play in Argentine premier etc…but never when Arg Nt or River are playing no matter against who as i do respect them both deeply in my heart and alao impromised my dad that i would never too that in my life and also my kids won’t do that also, lol!

    • Well, i’m very greatfull and have a lot of respect and txanxgivingness for your very unique way of writing to me as if it allmost feels like we could have easily met allready in the past and like knew each other for long time allready as also in way that is a at least a kind of way that i have allmost felt since the first contact i made with u and Cox4 as both u have allways been more than kind and super polite too, towards me and also my family too, and that is why i truly feel like inside myself and in my heart that even we have never met and only talked to each others through this great Forum indeed and that made me felt since the first contact with both of u that even if i will never be able to met both of u etc… Still since the first contact u and Cox4 have allways remained in my heart and alao both of u will allways remain in my heart as i will never forget this kind kindness and being so polite towards me and my family from anyone, but specially from u 2, because so far we have being just writing to each others through this great Forum so that make’s it even more special for me and also for my family too, because now both of my kids are playing football and if they do not have a official game against any opponent or those that they normally play against, they most oftenly enter their training with full Arg Nt gear on as i mean both of them have a shirt with KUN’s name as we decided together to have that name written in the back of the their Arg Nt Shirts afterwards when KUN sadly found out that he could not play never again so, that was our decission that we made together to allways alao support KUN too with obviously supporting Arg for life( so both have socks, shorts and shirt offcourse with KUN’s name at the back) and now in my daughter team, who actually kind of funnily had eleven year old birthday at The 30.9 and when i told her about your latest post and kindness towards us she became so happy, because i have also told them a parts of that great experience u once had in Greece being able to watch from the stands EL DIEGO’s last game and they are very aware as both of my kids have studied by their own will about Arg’s great football history and they are constantly bombarding me with so many questions that actually i wish that Cox4 could be here to explain and teach even more proper way and also teach them about Argentine culture too and from. the countries history and so on as i can Aonly talk like footballwise to them about Arg and only whatbi have seen with my seen own eyes etc..

      So, Yes what i wanted to add for the end of this post of mine and their’s too was that now there are many more youth’s from both of their team’s that are becoming more and more Arg NT fan’s and are also targeting me about with many questions as kids are allways very curious and want to learn about things that they do like and also love!

      And the main coach from my daughter’s team is quite good coach as being very humble and kind, but also seems to be very wise too, so even he may not be an Arg Nt fan Still they actually use many examples from either Messi’s games from Barca or PSG and also lately they started to use Arg Nt games just to show their players, i mean those who play together with my daughter as the group is quite big with more than 50 girls in it as some are more older as 12 and some arenow 13 and will make the next step by moving to play with 14 and 15 year’s old girls etc…so every now and then they have alao video watching practices like kind of theory of football, that first they look at some different sampleja and lately they have used Arg NT samples to show them glimpses of different games and then afterwards every player will have to answer to some questions about those video samples which lately been from Arg Nt and then they will all look at everyone’s answers together and analyyseja them and see if there is kind common things amongst their answers etc.. and by this+because of other methods to from training together on the pitch 3 times a week+ 1 physical exercise day too which is being hold at different time and in different place as they normally do it inside, but sometimes when the weather allows they do also the physical exercise day at outdoors and because we live a bit far from where the teams training facilitues are so ihave to be involded by driving them there and waiting obviously to bring them back home so i do get follow not only my kids teams, but different age groups from same team and also different coaches and get to know them and also some theirbpkayers too which are not originally not from my country as try been born somewhere else and moved to my country afterwards an so on. So i do get to meet many different players from different irigins and culture’s and the closest so far to South America being some Bolivian family, but now they moved to another City, but not that far so now their kids play as my kids rivals, lol!

      Anyhow i had a feeling that if u sometimes place a bet, that u will never place a bet when Arg is playing like i do and i’m so happy to hear that as i do not have against anyone who does places bet’s when Arg is playing obviously there must be many in this world, but it is not my concern really and if someone want’s to do it it’s completly fine for me, though i do not do it like u and like u said so nicely in your post which made us all so happy, truly indeed!

      @Waweride ” When reading your posts my friend, i feel that many times there is something like “emotional alignment” between us and that is the main reason that you are among the members in here that i respect the most! ”

      Well, my friend tai alao the exact feelingvthat i have had without and with Cox4 too since our first contact !

      All the best and thank u so much for making my daughters bitrthday even more better and her so much more happier also my son like my daughter both send their greetings to u and thank you for your extreme kindness towards us !

      Saludos ! Rivky

      Stay well my friend and TaKe care !

      • Sorry, for some ERRORS in my writing/typing so just fix them quickly to be more precise and correct this is for last and main important part fot me and my kids !

        @Waweride ” When reading your posts my friend, i feel that many times there is something like “emotional alignment” between us and that is the main reason that you are among the members in here that i respect the most! ”

        Well, my friend this is also the very exact feeling that i have had with u and with Cox4 too since our first contact !

        All the best and thank u so much for making my daughters bitrthday even more better and her so much more happier also my son like my daughter both send their greetings to u and also to Cox4, thank you both for your extreme kindness towards us and for your truly wonderful words from your last post !

        Saludos ! Rivky

        Stay well my friend and TaKe care !

        • Thank you my friend, i really much appreciated! Tell your beloved kids that it is my honour sending me their greetings!
          May God always be with you and your beloved family and always light your way!

  7. For the last 35 games brazil played they were beaten by three times. 2 games defeated by Argetina and one game by Peru. They have scored 76 goals which is six goals more than Argentina. their goal scoring ratio is one goal for each 41 mins they played which is slightly higher than ours,They have also conceded 17 goals in the last 35 match same as ours. They also have 18 clean sheets for the last 35 games they have played,which is pretty impressive but they have been defeated three times in the run.For the last 10 games they have improved scoring ability, 28 goals, 2.80 goals per game compare with argentina 2.2 goals per game for the last 10 games. However they have conceded 3 goals in the process (conceding a goal for every 300 mins). We have conceded one goal for 450 mins played. So my conclusion is Brazil is the strongest side in this world cup Along with Argentina.But still we can neutralize them any given day, but be aware that they are stronger than copa 2021.

    • Yes much stronger. I like to avoid them at all cost. They are strong in the wings and our fullbacks are mediocre at best. We will struggle containing their wingers maybe we have a chance if we have foyth. If we play them we have to be super defensive like we played in copa final

      • Not stronger, defense is the same, Gabriel Jesus is neglected by Tite and wont be in the squad, Vinicius wont play in the starting 11, he can only in Neymar position. Midfield have still no creativity. Richarlison will be the CF again, Raphinha is nothing extraordinary. And no Brazil home soil tax this time. After 2007 Copa Brazil couldnt reach even a single semi final neither in Copa neither in WC outside Brazil.

        • The only concern is the right back and if Scaloni opts for Foyth against strong teams who have pacy wingers then we will be fine. Acuna and Tagli can deal with any winger. Foyth is a must for Argentina. He seems matured and lately faced super stars and kept them at bay. Hope he recovers very soon.

          • If we are going to worried about opponents wingers, how we are going to attack then…… We have to utilize molina’s pace. Brazil lacks creativity and they have just ok full backs. They have extremely gifted forwards no doubt but only three will play(and i don’t think they have any no. 9 better than our own lautaro) , and if they play 4 forwards then our midfielders will find those gap in midfield to hurt brazilians.
            The thing about brazilian is they look together more so ever and they are enjoying their football. No doubt they will be our toughest opponent in the WC.
            P. S. – Christian romero is the best defender in the world.

        • @all Please let’s not get butt hurt and start screaming profanity but the Brazilian player that worries me the most is not Neymar or V.Junior or Richarlison or Rodrigo, Its Rafinha. He is the one that will be the least marked out of all their forwards and he has already proven while playing for Leeds and now Barcelona how dangerous he is.

          • @Shuvam_V this is not FIFA. This is fifa wc. You can’t be weak defensively in any portion. There is a reason why scaloni didn’t play Molina in copa final and played montiel. Molina will be killed alive against any decent fast wingers let alone the fearsome Brazil attack. No team until now won by just attack attack and attack post pele era. We need to sit deep soak the pressure control the midfield and try to hit them hard on counters that’s the only way we can win against them. Tunisia ranked 30 in the world and they scored 5 on them. I hope Uruguay or spain or Germany will knock them before we face us

          • Fearful Brazil attack? Their last 3 games against us 0 goal, Copa KO vs Chile 1, vs Peru 1, vs Columbia WCQ + Copa 1+0+1 goal, vs Ecuador 1+1+2, they can only own Uruguay. Fearful against weaker teams only and struggle against stronger. ARG attack is more fearful and versatile. BRA attack wo space is dead.

  8. @roy

    Excellent breakdown of Dybala and like how much respect you give to this gifted player – it’s no secret I’m a huge fan :).
    I totally agree about the luck factor. It’s really unfortunate to be the NTs “next messi” but miss out due to luck, injuries, multiple managers in just few years, participating during the national teams “dark period” 2016 – 2019, etc. I hope and mundoers like canadienroyal expect Dybala to be in the WC.
    i think his best NT role is a 9 next to Toro with Messi in the hole. 4312 narrow has its limitations but excluding Di Maria, we really do not have complete supper pacey wide players capable of pinpoint crosses and razzle dazzle dribbling. So why not leverage the heck out of our best central attackers? Its worked beautifully in the past so i’m sure it would work again. He’ll be our gotze 🙂 Vamos.

  10. As what i understood from theese last 2 games that Arg’s coaching team knew most certainly that both Honduras and Jamaica would not be able to create much chanches against Arg, right ?

    So i know that now it is certainly too Late to try it and maybe they should have tried allready against Estonia and in theese 2 last games in states and in the final one against UAE, if it would have been so at least it would have maybe only benefitted Arg, though i’m not saying that Arg should start the WC with this formation and with this players if not injured etc.

    Why ? Well, it would have been just a test and try it as specially all Arg’s last 3 opponents respectively could not create much against Arg so it would have given just another possibility in case if Arg is Trailing or also tactical wise to try confuse our opponents in WC as they pretty much will know how Arg will be playing, right?

    And i know this discussion was discussed allready and i do know also the conclusion and why so etc…

    But, i think Arg would have Still beaten all last 3 opponents even if they would have played this formation+at least it would have given an xtra opportunity for Arg even if Arg would have not used it against every team in the coming WC, but if in case of injuries or poor form Arg’s LCB and RCB, which kind of seems to be the issue at the moment, though i truly hope it is just temporaly one and not even a issue as i called it only, because there is allways good to have options and sometimes u might need theese options either to surprise your opponent or specially of u are trailing down etc…actually there is quite few reasons why it would have been good to try it even Arg would not necessarily need to use it at all, but u never know the future so at least i don’t see any harm in it if Arg would have try play like this in the last 3 friendlies, but obviously now it is too Late for that, but actually i wished they would have tried it, why? Well, firstly to just have an xtra option and secondly make your possible opponents which Arg may not know yet as none can see the future etc..

    Well, it did not happen and now it is too Late for it as i don’t know how much time Arg even has time to train together besides the UAE game before the WC starts etc.

    But, anyhow this is what i wished from last 3 games even, though Enzo was included only in the 2 last games etc..but, just in theory i would have loved to see something like this :

    Rulli not meaning that i would start him in WC ahead of Dibu!

    RCB Cuti/ if not able to play then Foyth/Perez/Pezzella not meaning that i would have left Pezzella out from 26 list…

    CB Otamendi/Cuti/Perez depending on who could have played, but just as test and nothing really to do with 26 list either….

    LCB Licha/Medina/Tagliafigo also this would have been just a test like same like 2 above etc…

    In the rest order of the names which comes first is not that important, though if Arg would Play like this, then the first name for starting eleven and other as subs, but like for example i would have tried may the back up’s even as starters as fairly the last 3 opponents with respectively were, maybe not the strongest in attacking wise, lol!

    RW Molina/Di Maria/A.Correa

    LW Nico G./Acuna/Alvarez

    DM Paredes/Guido/Licha

    LMC Lo Celso/Papu/Almada

    RMC De Paul/Enzo/ and Enzo again, lol! Palacios if he would have been fit!

    Nro. 10 Messi/Dybala/Lamela, lol!, because he would not be selected as we have seen so, maybe as third option either Lo Celso or Papu, but theese are just more back up’s of up’s for emergency scenarios etc..

    ST/FW Lautaro/Messi/Dybala/Alvarez/A.Correa

    So, Yes the very well allredy discussed 3-2-1-2-1-1 or 3-2-1-2-2 or 3-2-2-2-1 or 3-2-2-1-2…etc.

    So if this would have been tested and Arg would have been somekind of force to use it in WC then the starting 11 would have been this, but only if all players fit and in form!

    Dibu

    Cuti/Foyth Ota/Cuti Licha/Tagliafigo/Medina ?

    Molina/Di Maria/Alvarez/A,Correa

    Acuna/N.Gonzales/Alvarez

    Paredes/Guido/Palacios/Licha

    De Paul/Enzo/Palacios

    Lo Celso/Papu/Almada if selected other wise EnZo/Palacios

    Messi/Dybala/Lo Celso/Papu/A.Correa

    ST/FW Lautaro/Messi/Dybala/Alvarez/A.Correa

    Now / is a bit more in order, but Still depending on fitness and form+if trailing depending who is a starter and who might come in as sub to bring more Fire power and that is why also so many same names in various position etc.

    Also if this system would have been used for more longer period than only 3-4 friendliess, then perhaps as maybe can notice is that many names in various position also meaning swapping position during game to try confuse opponent etc…

    But, i don’t even know why i posted this, because most propably will never hapoen, lol!

  11. Everyone please stop talking about Mac Allister topic. He is not such a player that we can’t win the World Cup without him!

    Again, he is not such a player that if he is in the team, it will be a huge loss for Argentina team.

    Scaloni understand football better than u or me, Also Scaloni understand national team better than mundo people. I leave this decision to Scaloni.

    Scaloni will pick whichever player he sees fit to execute his game plan. Its all about situation and game plan. Scaloni, Aimar, Samuel….knows better

    • Totally agree, stop the debate!! Scaloni knows better than us. Judgment can’t be made just on 1-2 games performance but on how useful a player can contribute to team spirit and sparring partner during training and back up. The harmony of the team is ultimate. Why Buendia is not selected or Alario is not on the radar anymore, it’s all in consideration. All the selected players should be picked and evaluated to be at their best moments. Scaloni and the whole team want to win the world cup with this golden generation. Besides Scaloni did call new faces such as Enzo and Almada, and he did not close the door yet, regarding this as an open-minded fellow.

      Hope everything goes well and according to plan.

  12. Regarding the player’s outfit, I see a small detail that over time, knee-high socks are released by manufacturers perhaps for commercial purposes. I think it is not very useful in protecting the knee, on the contrary it can somewhat hinder the movement of the player’s knee joint. Also aesthetically it looks very ugly. Dybala and De Paul even opted for short socks. In my opinion, just longer shorts than old shorts are better.

  13. Ok lets do some analysis. In this 35 match unbeaten streak we have played 3150 minutes and we scored 70 goals which, the goal scoring ratio is 2 goals per game or a goal for every 45 mins our team played, which is pretty impressive in a long run. We have scored 6 goals and 5 goals in some games.So my conlusion is our forward line is pretty strong as these statics are impressive. Out of last 35 games we played on this unbeaten streak we have conceded 17 goals, which is 0.48 goals per game, one goal for each 185 mins we played, and we have played 18 games without conceding a goal. We completed 51% games without conceding a goal. So in my view our defence is pretty tight and relaible. In this note i would like to remark that only two goals have been conceded to our side for the last 10 games we played hence scored 22 goals in the process. Our defence have imporved significantly since Emi, Romero and Lisandro joined our squad.My conslusion is our forward line is the best and most fearsome in the world and have one of the best defense line in the world right now if not the best.

      • Yes Emi-Cuti-Otamendi make the defense super strong. It is strange anytime I watch the Spurs or Villa, their defense is very weak compared to Argentina. But when Emi and Cuti together they become like a perfect partner, super strong.

        No wonder Emi always posts on Cuti instagram saying “mi central” to Cuti’s picture. Maybe in Emi’s mind he wishes to have a defender like him week in and week out instead of Konza or Mings. The same, watching Lloris is like a super downgrade from Emi.

    • Make other top teams comparison in that time frame interesting to see in comparison to Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, spain, Germany, france, England where we stand

      • For the last 35 games brazil played they beaten by three times. 2 games defeated Argetina and one game by Peru. They have scored 76 goals which is six goals more than Argentina. their goal scorimg ratio is one goal for each 41 mins they played which is slightly higher than ours,They have also conceded 17 goals in the last 35 match same as ours. They also hve 18 clean sheets for yhe last 35 games they have played which is pretty impressive but they have been defeated three times in the run
        For the last 10 games they have improved scoring ability, 28 goals, 2.80 goals per game compare with argentina 2.2 goals per game for the last 10 games. However they have conceded 3 goals in the process (conceding a goal for every 300 mins). We have a goal for 450 mins played. So my conclusion is Brazil is the strongest side in this world cup Along with Argentina.

  15. @elpricipe,
    We asked you before, If Allister subbed off and subbed in is Messi or DiMaria what you think this status is correct?
    Also, in the last match, J.Correa’s stat, 2 goals with him in 11 minutes and 1 goal without him in 79 minutes. These types of few small sample becomes a big sample. So it becomes pointless.
    Suppose we played with Aguero, Lautaro and Messi then the chance of scoring is more. Still, coach used/uses Nico Gonzalez with Messi and Lautaro, then the goal scoring probability is less, but we have a balance because of Nico’s hard working and helping the defense. So, the goal against also important.

    As per your stat, Our best player is Paredes and worst player is Montiel. I hope you believe in that.

    These stat may be near the truth if, say Allister subbed off and subbed in is, say Palacios plus he’s instructed to play the same role, and without any formation change or players change. This is also not correct because the opposition may have substitution,or tactical change, it may change their balance as well. So, this is also not true.

    Instead of with him and without him stat, the goal scored and conceded by the team during his presence would have been better. Minimum, 10 matches or 900 minutes for a player, sample, would say at least something. Just my thought. Again, This one also won’t reflect the actual picture. So many factors needs to be considered.

    So over all, your status is worthless. As you said, may be it’s correct in Basketball, I don’t know that sport.
    I am not writing many points again as many friends here already pointed those before, and you still come with this funny stat only because you lost sleep because of your own hate writings against Alexis.

    Finally, I think, Argentina didn’t concede a single goal when Alexis on the pitch. So, by stat he’s the best.? I don’t believe in these type of stat

    • Sorry i dont reply to a biased poster like u. Dont even read what u were writing about.

      Just like back then I skipped all the posts from outlaw as they are rubbish, now I do the same.

      • This final comment is akin to when a party is going off and someone knocks the dj booth abruptly halting the music. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the back and forth. A bit disrespectful at times but popcorn worthy.

  16. Dybala and Foyth are two of my favorite players but with Argentina it seems they’re always injured. It wouldn’t surprise me if they end up being the unlucky players who don’t go to the World Cup. Every world cup some important player misses out. In 2018 it was Sergio Romero and Lanzini.

    I really hope Dybala is healthy enough to play in the World Cup.

  17. Again I am forced to write this because of the never ending hate comments from the big gun towards a player he doesn’t like.
    @elprincipe,
    I am just keeping TyC, Ole, Transfermarkt sites are away, as per you only fools will believe them. So, you pundit will believe Sofascore? They given 7+ ratings for Alexis against Jamaica( note:you said before “he never gets 7 or more ratings”). And they say he’s second best against Jamaica in key pass generated. You told “he’s the worst on the pitch and only giving back passes”. May be you are true, because you said only fools will believe in those sites/analysts. May be, you are better than them. But I stick with those sites, analysts and their artificial intelligence.
    As I told many times I am not considering Alexis as next super star or a super man. I consider Enzo has great potential than any other midfielders we have.
    But Mac Allister doesn’t deserve this hate. Saying “he is below average and will never improve” is showing your attitude. At least, all the coaches he played with won’t agree that. They all see something. May be they
    all are wrong and you are right.

  18. I didn’t expect to see so many injured or out of form players at less than 2 months from the world cup: Foyth, Nico Gonzalez(injured), Acuna, Dybala(minor injury), Palacios, Molina, Montiel, Acuna, Angel Correa, Joaquin Correa(out of form, limited playing time at club). Papu was ok but as he doesn’t play much with his club, not sure if he can still be good on November. Julian Alvarez is in different scenario, the turnover at City is so high. Only Acuna and Dybala situation is better but not sure anything can change for the rest. Scaloni really need a plan B,

    • > Foyth, Nico Gonzalez(injured), Acuna, Dybala(minor injury), Palacios, Molina, Montiel, Acuna, Angel Correa, Joaquin Correa(out of form, limited playing time at club)…Papu…Alvarez…Dybala.

      This list is just alarming. 2 months doesn’t give much room and we no other friendlies to practice.

      Foyth best defensively and is getting plenty of minutes and was in good form prior to injury. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started some games.

      Mr swiss army knife Nico important squad player and i do agree. with Olive, hes of lesser quality than staters of course.

      Montiel is great direct sub for Molina.

      Acuna was a starter but glad Tag stepping up.

      Angel and J Correa not very involved so it’s not the end of the world.

      Papu can start and or is easily the best sub for GLC given his progressive quality.

      Alvarez and Dybala should be 2 other central attackers called to the WC. Best choices by a mile right now.

  19. Every 4 years English newspaper The Guardian (a quality news paper, not some dumb tabloid) ranks all the teams going to the WC. Just Google ‘Guardian WC ranking’. The top 5 favorites to win it are Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Netherlands and Germany (in that order). A nice short read.

    Our first opponent is ranked last.

    • I consider Denmark and Netherlands slightly above Germany and Spain. Argentina may need to play against them if Denmark finish 2nd and Netherlands finish 1st. From what I saw Denmark-France recently, this Denmark is really good, they dominated the France midfield, looks more powerful and more physical than the French players. It’s like the vintage Denmark team who was very lethal in attack and can win a match with few shots, very strong in the midfield and solid behind, play fast transition. Netherlands under Van Gaal is very different now with a very clear football philosophy. He is able to put the stars on the bench and play high quality football with unknown players.

      • I can’t believe in about a month and a half it is the World Cup. Been waiting since 1986 to feel that excitement again. My greatest happiness being a fan was 1986, 1991, 1993, 2014 (after the SF shootout), and of course 2021.

        I got sick fever when we lost in 2014 final. Hope this time we’ll do it. Messi leading the way playing his best futbol in his career for Argentina. He has never been that good wearing Albiceleste jersey, not even when he scored 91 in a year.

  20. el_principe

    call me troll or however you want but i have to say this.
    Normally i don t reply to people with different philosophy with mine but for some reason i can t hold myself this time.
    for you football is numbers but for me is not.
    for me football is heart, talent and “fight”.

    the stats don t play football. that is why football is different and people around the world love it. the best not always win and one team which is look awful can beat one team which have everything.
    i respect your job about statistics and more important i respect your profesional because this way you earn your living.
    just allow me to tell you what some old people which they don t live anymore was saying to me when i was child.

    “if you want to trick somebody and guide him in the way you want then speak to him/her with numbers. you can cover even a lie with numbers”.

    so about the football numbers the same way can guide you see things wrong.
    so for me personally statistics don t mean anything.
    who enter the pitch and give his heart his talent and fight for win he usually (not always) take the win.
    with all the respect this is my philosophy.

    • You are not stats guy. I am a stats guy. It doesn’t mean it is 100% correct but it does help you to see futbol from different angle. It is as simple as that.

      Guys like Insider, Jewel, tom, som and a couple more won’t be happy seeing this stats because it exposes their favorite player but it is what it is. I don’t make up those numbers, the players themselves make those numbers.

  23. Warning: For those interested only. Trolls please stay away.

    I have been doing this for several days as I also work as statisticians. For me all the statistics on the website are very “mild level”. They just show how many expected goals, unexpected goals, progressive passing, tackles, headers won etc. I mean they are so mild. I wish one day they learned more from the American stats. They are much more detail, explicit, and complete. For example in basketball, the last 2 MVP is Nikola Jokic. If you check his detailed stats from A to Z (offensive rating, defensive rating, def box plus minus, off box plus minus, true value, shooting value, defensive impact, off impact, true replacement value, PER rating, and many more), it is very obvious why he won the MVP. Not just his numbers but his impact when he was on the floor and off the floor is just crazy.

    I agree though in futbol, you can’t apply exactly the same thing as futbol is played 11 vs 11 unlike basketball who is just 5 vs 5, but it does NOT mean that it is totally invalid.

    I do my stats on Argentina players in the last 11 matches. Why 11? Because originally I did it on our last 10 matches a day before the Jamaica match, but then there is the Jamaica match. So I decided to add it and it took me around 48 hours for this. Maybe it is still too small sample size, but I think you can get an idea which players really have positive and negative impacts on the team, especially when it comes to scoring.

    I decide not to include: Goalies, Center backs, back ups that play too few minutes such as Dybala, Palacios, A Correa, J Correa, Enzo as it won’t make sense to include players playing less than 10-20% of our whole matches in the last 11 games statistically. As for goalies and center backs? They have quite limited role when it comes to us scoring goals. So again, their involvement does not make a lot of sense.

    Here is the complete number.

    Top 10 of the most impact on and off the pitch (The higher the (+/-) number is the better the value of the player when it comes to Argentina scoring):

    1. Paredes 438 minutes/9 goals.
    A Goal every 48.67 min without him 102 mins and 1 goal. A goal every 102 min (+53.33)
    2. Messi 678 minutes/18 goals 37.67 without him 132 and 2 goals 66.0 (+28.33)
    3. Molina 715 minutes/19 goals 37.63 without him 95 and 2 goals 47.5 (+9.87)
    4. N Gonzales 291 minutes/8 goals 36.38 without him 340 and 8 goals 42.5 (+6.12)
    5. Papu 349 minutes/9 goals 38.78 without 101 and 3 goals 33.67 (+5.11)
    6. Alvarez 317 minutes/9 goals 35.22 without him 313 and 8 goals 39.13 (+3.91)
    7. Lautaro 520 minutes/10 goals 52.0 without 202 and 4 goals 50.5 (-1.5)
    8. De Paul 741 minutes/18 goals 41.17 without him 159 and 5 goals 31.8 (-9.37)
    9. Di Maria 545 minutes/10 goals 54.50 without him 176 and 4 goals 44.00 (-10.50)
    10. Lo Celso 603 minutes/11 goals 54.82 without him 119 and 3 goals 39.67 (-15.15)

    The Worst impact on and off the pitch:
    1. Montiel 263 minutes/4 goals 61.3 without him 97 and 3 goals 32.33 (-28.97)
    2. MacAllister 284 minutes/6 goals 47.33 without 166 and 9 goals 18.44 (-28.89)
    3. Guido 356 minutes/6 goals 59.33 without 274 and 7 goals 39.14 (-20.19)
    4. Acuna 433 minutes/7 goals 61.86 without him 87 and 2 goals 43.5 (-18.36)

    Notes:
    1. I can not put Nicolas Tagliafico as his stats is like this
    Tagliafico 540 minutes/15 goals 36.0 without him 0 (never come as a sub) If he never comes as a sub meaning he has 0 minute off the pitch.

    2. MacAllister has the worst impact off the pitch as our team scored 9 goals in 166 minutes without him. I did not count the game vs Italy when doing his stats as he did not play because if I did count, his number would be a lot worse.

    3. Paredes number is unique because in the last 11 games, our team just managed to score 1 goal when he was substituted.

    4. Acuna numbers is bad because of his recent injury so he did not take part in 3 of our last 4 matches.

    I agree there are combinations of who were you playing with and so on. But all these players above also have different teammates in each game so it is pretty fair.

    The most productive winning 11 (not saying the strongest one) would be something like: Emi; Molina, Cuti, Otamendi, Tagliafico; Paredes, De Paul, Papu; Messi, Nico Gonzales, Lautaro.

    • Very low sample size, doesnt count the type of matches, the level of opponents, the teammates (how many starting players played with etc etc etc.) it would be useful imo in at least 100+ matches sample size with a player who plays in every second match and not in others, plays in 1-3-5-7-9…and not in 2-4-6-8-10 and so on matches, so we can exclude the team evolution. G-GA-xG-xGA-xGdiff/90.

      • Yeah Casablanca I wish I could do more than 11 last matches but it is too much work for that.

        These numbers from the last 11 matches although not completely 100% proven, it does show us a clearer picture to see the real value of a player on the team. For example, the likes of Messi, Molina, Paredes, De Paul, Lautaro and few more. When you put them together, we will likely see more goals than if you see a team of Montiel, Acuna, Guido, MacAllister, Lo Celso, and Messi and so on. I am not saying the second group all are trash but their “offensive rating” is not as high as the first group mentioned.

    • Some nice work, but stats can be very misleading.
      Remember Walter Benitez stats at Nice? Based on stats he was among the worlds best keepers. At PSV his mistakes cost the club around EUR 35m for missing the Champions League, but more important he does not stand out compared to other keepers in the same league.

      And talking about stats – 82% claim they are a better driver than the average driver… 🙂

        • Simulate your data to increase sample size. But it is computationally intensive

          – Maybe one day I will do the stats from all the matches of Copa America 2021 until the World Cup. But we will see. One thing for sure I will keep updating this stats anytime Argentina play.

          Before the match of Jamaica for example, Di Maria number was quite fantastic. Argentina managed to score only 2 goals when he was off the pitch in more than 100 minutes. Too bad against Jamaica, he played bad and the team scored 2 more after he was substituted.

    • Maybe you could accomplish what youare trying to do with an A.I. model but there are so many factors you are not controlling for that it makes the stat very misleading. I use stats for experimental design and you are only controlling for one variable. anyways its out of your hands and we most likely will not be saying that we lost the wc final (or a different important gamr) because we brought macallister and not enzo fernandez. In fact it is statistically quite unlikely because they will be 3rd string players. HOWEVER, Enzo madea great case for himself and if he continues to impress it is likely that he will go over MacAllister in the case that Palacios recovers well.. If not they will both go and I think that we have to think back to what Scaloni is trying to accomplish. In the case we have any last minute unfortunate injuries we even have tested backups to our backups. Which we lacked last WC when Lanzini got injured. This staff has plans a-e covered which is reassuring. These plans are not as appealing but in a competition like the wc sometimes you have to use your third string. Also macallister over enzo will not be the same as palacios over tevez in 2014. tevez was an old school legend in that moment.

    • I think we can get something out of these stats – not that it’s all garbage. Actually, all stats are wrong but some are useful. It’s just not a coincidence that our regular starter has a better number, says something.

    • Firstly, I would recommend “stats fbref” to get more detailed stats if you’d like.

      Now I think you are recognizing more that these stats go more for the full team than a single player. Good. They do show a meaningful difference between our full starting 11 and experimental/rotational games. It’s much better to look at individual stats AND do the eye test on a player to determine things. Like I’ve said, Mac Allister could be brought on to test a different approach and the point may often be to defend better rather than attack better, so team stats aren’t fair. If you notice Mac Allister playing well, normal, or bad with your eyes and also evaluate the underlying stats to those same degrees, then a better conclusion can be drawn. When looking at possession, goals, etc of a whole team there are too many confounding variables to attribute that to a single player.

      • “Allister could be brought on to test a different approach and the point may often be to defend better rather than attack better,”

        You could easily tease it out by doing a stratified analysis: calculate the number in matches when McAllister started vs matches when McAllister played as a sub. We do not go in defensive mode when we start the match.

        However, your point is valid. But, I don’t think what calculations el_principe dis is all garbage. You can get out some information and make an inference, which may not be accurate but still useful.

        • It is still very small sample size but it already shows something. One really bad match or one really good match might change a lot in the standing. But with more matches, probably when it is around 30 or more matches. The stats will show the reality even more.

          I agree with El Torero its not 100% accurate but come on why those numbers show we scored a lot when Molina and Messi on the pitch and score very few when Montiel and MacAllister on the pitch? That’s the reality right? For me the stats show the “offensive rating” of each player.

  24. Hello guys…
    Am from Nigeria but I hv always been a fan of Arg FC since 2009/2010 just bcs of La_Pulga_Atonica.

    There is something I noticed about this team especially in this their last 2 matches…
    1)Lack of natural right footed wingers that can always drift in from d left side to score, cause problems or dribble and give a pass…
    I didn’t see one…I only saw Alvarez there and I know him as a centre forward.
    This made d team to always depend on the right side of d attack when attacking bcs of d left footed player’s there.

    2) Some guys in this team feels that…..not only they are part of the world cup team but they are sure starters… especially d advanced midfielders, RDP, & GLC. This is bad for d team.
    The coach should find a way to resolve this especially by creating serious competition for every position in d team except Messi’s, if not it will create complacency in d team which I hv started seeing…Bcs d team I saw some days ago hv started loosing there agressiveness, quick recovery of the ball and quick counter attacks as they used to.

    Thaz my humble submission…
    @Breno Frm Nigeria…
    God’s willing, d world cup belongs to Argentina!

    #Good day!

  26. I am assuming that Scaloni has Nico and Dybala are already considered for the final 26. They are very dangerous weapons when fully fit. It would seem like these 2 were just summoned to be present and further bonding with rest of the group.

  28. I read somewhere in the net a quote from De Paul “If Scaloni says good night to us at 10:00 a.m, then it’s a night and we go sleep”. I really like how the players respect Scaloni and how he handled the locker room that once was a messy place (Bauza & Sampaoli eras). Winning a trohpy starts from the locker room.

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