Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni has said that he will wait before naming Leonardo Balerdi’s replacement.
Lionel Scaloni is going to wait before naming who will replace Leonardo Balerdi in the Argentina national team for the World Cup. Scaloni spoke at a press conference after Argentina’s 3-0 win against Iceland and he commented on who will replace Balerdi. Here is what he had to say:
“We have an idea on Leonardo Balerdi’s replacement but now we are talking and maybe in a day or two we will take it because today’s test left me satisfied.
“It cleared up a lot of doubts for me regarding what the team was lacking. There are two options.”
I will not be surprised if it is Guido Rodriguez for Balerdi.
I was not as pleased by yesterday’s performance. We really struggled in defence and creating chances.
Yes it could have been 5-1. What I like is Barco and Paz stepping up and getting close to be an integral part of the team
The performance against Iceland showed that the team is prepared to start the defence of the world title. Very happy to see plenty of movement from players without the ball. This is crucial when Messi is on the pitch. He still has the best vision of the game and the technique to drop the ball everywhere he wants. So if players start a run, he can give one his defence splitting passes. The strategy to start with Paz for the first hour and bring Messi in the last half our is perfect. Messi against tired defenders is the way to go.
Barco will probably be part of our starting midfield (DePaul, Enzo, Mac and Barco). The way he does tackles could be a problem. He jumps forwards with 2 feet. That is dangerous and if he lands on a player it will be a red card.
The 4th minute was a scare. Against a good team, we would have gone a goal behind very early in the game. Our defenders should be awake from the start. We often start slow from the kickoff and pass the ball around for the first few minutes to get settled. Not sure if we should continue that in the WC. Algeria will be eager to score in the first few minutes, as they have done before.
However, feeling more optimistic than after the last games against African teams in Bombonera. Vamos Argentina!
I think 2 changes are must
1)Giay for Montiel
2)Any tall CB for Balerdi because Otamendi is too old
If Montiel is fully fit, I would not be very sure about Giay.. the way Iceland attackers got past him initially left me worried. Montiel might be mediocre but a fit Montiel is a warrior and is good defensively. He is also a good penalty taker and also has experience of playing in big semi finals and finals. Plus he is not too old either.
Giay is hopeless. I do not understand why Nicolas Gonzalez keeps getting into the team! I’d take Capaldi to back up Molina and Montiel.