Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni: “The idea is to always call up the best”

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni held a press conference on Wednesday.

Lionel Scaloni has all of his players for the match against Australia and with the team having trained on Wednesday, Scaloni held a press conference. Here is what he had to say:

“The team is not yet confirmed (match vs. Australia) but it is almost the same as the one that ended up playing the World Cup. I’m going to see how Julián (Álvarez) is as he is coming from a well deserved celebration.

“We have a good base of players to continue for a long time. The idea is to always call up the best. The goal is always to complete and to take advantage of these matches to try some things. Have meetings and chat with all the players, especially the younger ones.

“We are doing well. It’s an interesting match, nice to play, against a good opponent. We are prepared even though the trip has been long and we had some setbacks. We are looking forward to playing the match, to give a good image and to continue enjoying the team.”

He also spoke about the generational change:

“No generational replacement, we call up those who we believe are good now and we have a base to continue for a long time. The rest of the players, if they are well, will continue to come.

“They are high level players, they make a difference at their clubs and we believe they can contribute to us. We are always thinking about the good of the team.

“If we see that there are players of a different level and that they can be there and change something in our performance, we are willing to call them. The idea is to continue calling the best players.”

Scaloni also spoke about the World Cup:

“The memory of the World Cup is indelible. It is the greatest joy of our lives. But the Argentina national team must look ahead and keep on competing.”

In regards to players from the local league in Argentina:

“From the Argentine league, we have no doubt that if we have to call up players who are at the right level and can contribute, we will do that. We always have to think about the good of the team.

“If there are no local players, it is because we consider that others are better, not because there is no talent, because Argentine football has good players that at some point can be part of the team.”

“The Armani case was clear, you what it it is like to come here. I am just recovering and I arrived here a week ago. We had experience from other trips, we know very well what the time change is like.

“We considered that it was not worth it but he is a player that we appreciate very much. He is in consideration, he is in the national team.”

Regarding the welcoming in China:

“The reception and affection of the country is very good, it fills you with satisfaction that a country as big as China supports the Argentine national team.

“We have had some nice days, except for the first one that we had to cancel because we could not go out to train. But if it is because of the people’s affection, it is very welcome.”

The World champions play Australia in Beijing on Thursday.