Santiago Castro scored for Bologna in the 2-2 draw against Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi Stadium on Matchday 8 of Serie A.
The 21-year-old opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a powerful right-footed volley inside the box. The goal gave Bologna an early lead and earned praise for the former Vélez Sarsfield striker, who continues to gain confidence in Serie A.
Martinez, RB, Cuti, CB, LB, Enzo, MacAllister, CM, Messi, Alvarez, LF/RF ! There are 4 positions in the team that could use new players! So far Scaloni is indicating his tried and tested players will be playing in these positions. For the LF/RF forward, depending on who the opponent will be I highly doubt he will play both Lautaro and Julian once the knockouts begins! Nico, Alamada, Paz and Mastantuono are all capable of playing the 3rd forward/ attacking mid role! But our defense needs reinforcements and no new CBs and FBs have convinced the fans or the team management.
Looks like Tagliafico is almost certain but we dont have a back up. Soler could be tried but he is still not ready for NT.
Molina and Montiel neither are good anymore. Gorosito could be tried. Foyth is there but Scaloni does not trust him. Almada can easily be the AM. If Messi does not play, Almada can give us the creativity.
For RB and LB Scaloni should look in Brazil for Giay and Barnebei respectively but for some inexplicable reason he isn’t.
For CM I think either Perrone or Barranechea (Benfica doing awful in the CL but Barra is playing really well) to play behind 2 of either Enzo, Alexis or PAz like this:
———————-Enzo/ Paz————Alexis/Paz——————–
——————————–Barra/Perrone—————————–
One defensive minded midfielder behind 2 offensive minded, all rounded midfielders, which allows the latter 2 creativity to bomb forward and join the attack.
Up top, I know this will be controversial but I don’t want Messi starting, I think in intense games against top opposition he will be a liability, instead I want to see him come in the last 20 mins and inject creativity into the team and fear into the opposition.
so I would like to see:
————–Almada—————–Julian/Lautaro———————Soule (atleast I would like to see him tried there)
100% agree on Messi’s usage. It is time for him to be a 2nd half lethal weapon. Come in post 60th minute & stay across the extra time.
On fullbacks , while our NT level is low now, cant fully blame Scaloni. None of the probables ( Giay, Soler, Bernabei, Maffeo, Blanco from Boca) look an upgrade to current selections. Optimal solution is if Molina gets more minutes in Atleti & NicoG double as an offensive replacement to Tagl. Soler & now Giay also low on club minutes. Maybe Scaloni feels temporarily Acuna can deliver more than Soler. Barco being discovered as a club midfielder also puts him out of Scaloni’s conservatist FB selection criteria, Montiel as a late game sub & targetted for penalties is again tough to ignore.
I really dont mind Messi coming off the bench in some games. We also have Simeone now. Him, Soule and Mastantuono could be tried on that right side. Depending on tactics and opposition.
Yes I agree.. I especially on the CBs.. on every forum people just seem to curse Scaloni, but I dont think the coaching staff (most of them defenders) has been convinced about any of the available options. Acuna has all the experience and is reliable. He would be 33+ during the wc, so not super old nd can be a good back up option if he is injury free. I think based on the options we have, Scaloni thinks Tag as the starter and Acuna as the back up and if required nico or facundo medina can play there as well.I think that makes sense
Amit, I’m not saying that Giay or Barnebei or Maffeo or whoever is a better option than what Argentina currently has, what I’m saying is that those guys deserve a chance to prove themselves and they’re not getting it. Scaloni finished first in the WCQ with 3 games to spare, add the 2 recent friendlies and that’s 5 games worth of experimentation yet he did none, THAT is the problem.
As for Giay he’s playing regularly for Palmerias so I doubt he’s lacking playing time, infact he was a sub last game because he needed a bit of rest and rotation due to all the playing minutes he accumulated.
Personally i am in full agreement that these fullback youngsters should have been tried out in last 1-2 WCQ or atleast these dead friendlies. It doesnt make any sense to have say a Montiel in sub bench in a non knockout game that will not have a penalty shootout. I was just trying to find an answer on why Scaloni would be not calling them. His assessment must be that the new kids wont be an upgrade & hence why experiment before WC. Scaloni has always been more conservational in team selection. Again as a fan , i would love to see Soler, Gorosito & even Barco as a LB in Nov friendly with decent minutes.
On Giay ( again someone i am betting since U20 captaincy days) , he has been losing starting spot in Libertadores in recent past. Hoping to see him move to Europe like Valentin Gomez at end of this season
Perrone and Barrenechea are performing admirably for their respective clubs; however, I believe Equi Fernandez of Bayer Leverkusen surpasses them in skill and is likely to anchor the midfield trio in the 2026 World Cup.
Panichelli is peaking at the right time.. I think he will be called up and will make the squad if he continues like this. However on the midfield, Buendia is really doing well now. He is a creative player but also runs a lot, does his defensive duties as well. Not too old. He should be at his peak physically. Does anyone here think he can replace Depaul? Is it possible to have a midfield trio of Enzo, Mac and Buendia? If we want to be defensive then may be replace one with Paredes or may be Equi or another DM. I mean depaul will definitely be in the squad, but can this be an alternative?
Buendia is doing good. He can play in Mid with Mac and Enzo but its still too early to think permanently. I believe we are going to have more candidates. That being said I do want Scaloni to give Buendia a chance and try him out. I think when Almada cones back we may see 4:4:2 occasionally. The kid is creative and have been good for NT. Panichelli on the other hand deserve a straight call up. He is clearly better than everyone we tried so far barring Julian and El Toro.
Really happy to see Buendia do so well, I’ve always liked him and felt bad when Emery seemed to freeze him out and then loan him to Leverkuzen. I have to admit it’s quite surprising to see him do well out of position on the left side of the attack because he’s always been at his best on the right (and occasionally in the middle).
Can Buendia replace DePaul? Well technically speaking they are both very similar in many ways but I don’t see it. As I commented in the post above I would like to see a DM take up the role behind Enzo and Alexis and I would like to see Paz compete with either (or both) of Enzo and Alexis.
Buendia, as of this moment, would be competing with Nico Gonzalez as a backup for Almada on the left but to be honest it’s too soon to say because who knows what the season holds for our boys.
And Panichelli scored again. This guy is not a fluke. He is a real threat in the box. Ariel or ground. 6’3” monster targetman or a poacher. We need him. He reminds me of a lil bit of Bati. We dont have anyone like him in NT right now. Lautaro and him are close but still different. Barco is playing good in the mid too. They are making me to watch Ligue 1.
Yeah I love it when a player comes out of nowhere and gives Scaloni an enviable headache. He is the livewire, poacher type and you’re right, Argentina doesn’t have a striker like him hence why Scaloni tried Lopez there recently.
Judging from his great form I would like to see him called up for the upcoming friendly, if for nothing else to keep Julian and Lautaro on their toes.