Lionel Messi trained with the Argentina national team.
Messi was brought on as a substitute for Argentina in their 1-0 win vs. Paraguay on Thursday and trained with the team on Saturday. According to TyC Sports, Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni will not be able to have Messi for the entire match against Peru on Tuesday but the goal is to try and see if he can play 60 minutes.
If Messi were to start, it would be in place of Julián Álvarez or Lautaro Martínez. Here is the rumored eleven:
Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Nicolás González; Julián Álvarez or Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez or Messi.
Lionel Scaloni will not be able to have Messi for the entire match against Peru – what is meant by “will not be able to have”?
The long time off will only do Messi good to recover, rest and recharge for next season and for Copa America. AS I said many times before, ARGENTINA is in a much better place now than just few years ago with talent on both sides of the ball and that will only get better providing that talent is used properly.
They should play vs Peru as if Messi is not even in the stadium plain and simple, let them depend on themselves from the word GO and not expect to be bailed out. Peru will be super aggressive at home and will only tackle, push and trip Messi every chance they get.
Scaloni is not Sampaoli or Diego type of manager that he will field a new startup line up every match. He just does not wants to not lose any match because of crazy experiments. Not sure how many of you are following Fiorentina this season but Nico is killing it in the serie-a. Yes his finishing was quite off last match especially in the first half, he held to the ball a bit more and ran extra yard instead of delivering the crosses which why it they were all blocked. But his positioning and blistering pace was quite good. He reminds of early Dimaria who also struggled to provide clean crosses.
However, I would like to see a bit of Garnacho and Locelso next match. GLC needs some mins if he is to get back to the Spurs bench. Like usual, he will most likely wait until we have comfortable lead in the match before experimenting with subs. COPA America is the second biggest competition for any South American nation and he is preparing his team to retain the trophy, which means Messi again will play an important role if we are to win and with Julian Alvarez transitioning into a false 9 with City, he seems to be player taking over Messi once he is gone.
I do not see the Di Maria and Nico Gonzalez comparison.
Di Maria was far more naturally talented. He was a fantastic dribbler and a wild player. His crosses were always great. See his incredible seasons with Benfica. He is not a system player at all. He is a disequilibrating player. He likes a lot of freedom to move into different zones on the pitch – left, middle, right, back and forth. He has a devastating long range shot. The reason he was criticized early on was because of his erratic style and because every great Argentina player is criticized, for example Riquelme and even Messi.
Nico Gonzalez is a smart player who plays well in a system. He is smart off the ball. He has trouble puncturing a defense individually. He is dependable but not spectacular. He is also surprisingly good at holdup and competitive in the air on both sides.
The only similarity is their ability to press and move up and down the pitch at speed.
Against Paraguay the team played better and faster without Messi in the 1st half than with him in the 2nd half. Clearly a sign Leo is not fully fit yet. Maybe give him a rest until February.
Hopefully Scaloni substitution tactics improve. He hardly uses the talent available to him.
I don’t get Scaloni’s obsession with Nico G. He is a good player when he clicks but we need consistency more than anything and. In his position consistency means creating and scoring – he missed chances in both departments.
Either he discovers his best form or Scaloni needs to give more chances to Garnacho.
Agree with the Garnacho idea. But he is still very young and learning. Off late, he has not been up to the mark at the club level. At least Nico could keep the pressure on the left, which was important for some of attacks through the middle. So Scaloni should not rush to bring in Garnacho for long durations.
Nico scores well for a winger. He missed a few good chances but our bigger worry in that aspect is Julian and Lautaro. Neither of our strikers have scored in long time. It is bound to affect their confidence, especially since neither are a fixed starter.
Nico also moves well without the ball, presses, is good in buildup, and can even do well in the air. He is a smart player. Only problem is he is not great at one v one against the fullback.
Most importantly, ever since Nico plays, the team has played well. That begin in the 2021 Copa. He works well with the team. Just like Julian.
Di Maria cannot play fulltime in a short tournament. Garnacho has to prove himself with his club. At this point the only thing I have seen Garnacho do better than Nico is dribble.
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