Joaquín Panichelli, Máximo Perrone, Gianluca Prestianni and Kevin Mac Allister all made their Argentina national team debut against Angola.
The trio of Panichelli, Perrone and Prestianni were substituted into Argentina’s 2-0 win against Angola at the same time and played five minutes in the match. For Panichelli, the Argentine leads Ligue 1 in goals, scoring nine goals in 12 matches.
Máximo Perrone has been in good form for Como while Gianluca Prestianni impressed with the Argentina U20 national team at the U20 World Cup and has done well with Benfica.
Kevin Mac Allister was substituted into the match for Gioani Lo Celso, playing 30 minutes.
One of the biggest question marks for me is De Paul’s current form. He is like half of the player he used to be. As things stand right now, he can come off the bench at best. A possible solution is to play Enzo in his position alongside Mac Allister and have Paredes who is still playing at high level as a pivot. Or try another DM instead of Paredes, not sure who is ready, is Perrone someone who can be tried?
Fullbacks continues to be an issue, but we don’t have that many options. Foyth was decent vs Angola, as was Kevin Mac Allister who I thought did OK in his cameo.
We also need to sort out who is going to partner Cuti in central defense. Is Licha going to regain form after a long injury? Can Senesi be a solution? Balerdi is an option but I prefer a left-footed partner for Cuti.
Which 7-8 midfielders for the WC ?
Enzo
Alexis
Parades
Paz
Almada
RDP
LoCelso ?
Argenita problem at any level under 17,under21,and this team is coaching staff,this taems needs clever and world level coach such as ancheloti,I think Argentina needs foreign good coach to manage this team,by scaloni and players such as acuna,montiel,parades,loselso,otamendi….. This team not reach to even semi final on world cup
Yes Scaloni is the problem LOL Ancelotti is calling in Casemiro, Fabinho!!!!! Alex Sandro and Danilo!!! cmon man be serious!
France reached back-to-back World Cup finals because almost their entire 2018 core was injured in 2022, and the replacements came in hungry and motivated. When a team keeps relying on the same players for too long, the motivation drops and it usually leads to an early World Cup exit. Prime examples Argentina 2018, France 2002, Germany 2018, Spain 2014.. No country has managed to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1962, and Scaloni’s 2026 Argentina squad could be very low in motivation if he doesn’t integrate hungry competent players.
This is exactly what I said a few times in the past. I used the examples of France, Italy, Spain, and Germany, who all failed in their next World Cup campaigns after winning the title in the previous tournament. What made the 2022 France team so different from previous champions as you mentioned was the huge number of newcomers the coach selected, along with the long list of injured players imposed on him. Only eight players out of the 26-man squad had taken part in 2018; that’s a whopping 70% change.
Look, Carlo Ancelotti has turned Brazil into real contenders for the World Cup in a very short time. He ignores injury-prone players and relies on fit, strong players who are ready to fight until the last minute. Does Scaloni have the time and players to do the same thing? Yes, of course. But for some unknown reason, he won’t do it.
To be honest, I have very little hope for Argentina reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
We should make it to the Quaters but if we advance past it then we will reach final for sure, as historically Argentina has been unbeatable in the semis. However It also depends on the bracket and path to the finals. 2018 was a very easy path to final but we screwed up and Croatia from our group reached the final.
Can someone please explain why Kevin MacAllister was picked? I haven’t watched a single game of his in Belgium league. How was Depaul? Is he still good enough to start for us? Scaloni’s world cup first round lineup will be below formation barring any injuries. Can we retain the world cup with this starting lineup? Last time, a team won back to back world cup was Brazil in 1962, almost an impossible feat!
Martinez
Molina Cuti Licha Tagliafico
Depaul Enzo MacAllister
Messi Nico
Julian
No clue to be honest, I haven’t watched him play either but Scaloni must’ve seen something in him.
The game itself wasn’t great, the formation of 3-5-2 did not work and the team was wide open for counters (Angola could’ve scored 3, although Argentina could’ve scored 5).
De Paul was -yet again- off his game and made multiple misplaced passes and I think it’s safe to say that he should not start anymore, infact if he continues like this till next year then he should be dropped.
Nico Gonzalez as a wingback/fullback doesn’t work.
The team you listed before is very likely to be the starting team at the world cup and that team won’t be able to get to the latter stages of the world cup (QF and beyond) let alone win it all again. Changes are a must.
De Paul’s inclusion in the starting lineup is no longer warranted. Conversely, Thiago Almada’s consistent presence in the starting eleven is imperative, as his performance makes him an indispensable asset.
Agreed, Almada’s inclusion is the single best thing Scaloni has done since copa 2014.
Scaloni is also trying to find a sub for Licha (assuming he’s unable to regain fitness) but really needs to think hard about LB, RB, a CM to replace De Paul and a RFW (Soule or maybe Buendia) because while Messi played well I still don’t think its wise to have him start every game.
Ah yes, classic Scaloni tactics. He gave debutants a glorious five minutes. Revolutionary stuff. I’m sure Panichelli, Perrone and Prestianni learned so much from jogging onto the pitch just in time to hear the final whistle.