Nicolás Tagliafico progressing well from injury with Argentina national team

1. Honestly, I think some people here are being too harsh on Almada. Yes, he was mediocre against Algeria, but he was only there for 50 minutes or so and didn’t get many touches. We always have the option to replace him. I think it was his first start at the world cup, so perhaps he was a bit nervous.
   I don’t think anyone can truly fill the gap left by Di Maria. But we can try out many options:
   1> If Alvarez is fit, play Alavarez in that position. So, both Alvarez and Lautaro plays.
   2> Play Gonzalez as the starter.
   3> Play G.Simeone in that place. He prefers the right side, but he may very well adapt.
   4> Try out Paz in that position. It may just work out. Perhaps Messi and Paz can both play together.
   5> Play Lo Celso in that position. He actually kind of played in that position in the 2022 Finalissima. He was decent(though nothing extraordinary).
   6> Try out Barco in that position. Barco generally plays much deeper, but he is versatile – it may just work out.
   7> And last but not the least, give Almada a couple more chances as starter.

   • Many options, all good ones!

2. Based on the match data from the 2025/26 season, Medina has made 28 appearances across all competitions for Marseille,18 as a CB and 6 as a LB. So he is a CB prinmarily who can fill in for a LB role if needed. However, I’ve watched him wear the Argentina shirt as a leftback, I get genuinely nervous whenever he plays. Also as a CB I don’t rate him very high.
   TBH, he’s been the biggest liability on the pitch when deployed as a LB specifically. Positional awareness is very poor, gets caught too high up, and doesn’t have the recovery pace to track back. Imagine him up against someone like Olise, salah Yamal or Saka cutting inside or running at him.

   We abosultley need Tagliafico to be fully fit for the knockouts. With the way the group stage is shaping up, the big teams are all dropping points and our side of the bracket could have too many big teams than we ideally like and if we have to rely on Medina as a LB against any top-tier winger, we’re cooked. Praying Taglifico becomes match fit before the knockout rounds begin!

   • Its really true, without improvement, support of Nico is only solution until now.

3. Almada should be benched against Austria. Nico / lo celso should start. And why not Barco? He can contribute to the defense as well.

   • Salam and hola Mohammad.
     I agree. Not that Almada is bad. But I feel that his energetic movement would be more beneficial as a sub late in the game. I think nico G is also more natural in that area of the field then Almada, but scaloni see something we don’t maybe, and for sure he knows what we don’t

     • WalaikumusSalam
       Almada was superb in qualifiers . Thats why he is starting and nico is not fully fit as well. Almada dropped his level,thanks to simeone . Missing Buendia badly anyway.

       • Don’t think Almada’s form in Atletico has anything to do with Simeone senior. He got ample chances, where he was outplayed by opponent defence and midfield. He combined well with Simeone Junior a few times, but his quality has deteriorated significantly.

   • I have seen many comments about Almada being benched. While I do not disagree with these, I wanted to give my two cents on the issue after watching the first game. This post has more to do with Scaloni’s genius than Almada per se. I should post the disclaimer that I love all our players (Almada, Soule, Buendia, Lo Celso, Barco..).

     The issue Scaloni faced was how Argentina would break down defenses after Di Maria retired. There was no natural replacement, and for a decade or more, Di Maria was really the other main attacking threat apart from Messi. And the game against Algeria was our first glimpse of seeing Scaloni’s solution in a first competition game after Di Maria’s retirement. Play highly technical, gifted midfielders, and simply pass the ball through tight spaces. It was GLORIOUS! I didn’t think any coach had the balls to try such a tactic in 2026 (and I really hope it works against better teams, but Algeria are no mugs). Most other coaches try to play with wingers since their teams cannot pass the ball through the center. But with the midfielders we have, plus Messi, Scaloni threw in Almada to carry the ball with our players close to one another and pass packed defenses this way. And based on Algeria match it worked, and for football purists (and Argentina fans) lets hope it keeps on working.

     This brings me to why I think Almada was chosen ahead of Buendia, or Barco not starting etc. This style of playing requires almost psychic connection between players, and these take a long time to build. Almada was fully integrated in this style, so it made sense to have him have the first go. Buendia can obviously play in this system, but the coach had to balance if there was time enough to bed him in this system, and the answer Scaloni came up with was a no. And, while I love my Barco, I am not sure how adept he will be playing this system. Lo Celso can obviously do it. With Nico, I guess we are back to playing more similar to Di Maria style attack (with more defensive cover, since Nico runs his ass off). Buendia does not fit style either, so I can see why he was left out.

     We should also remind ourselves how many people doubted RDP. His thru pass is what turned the match completely (the first goal is always the most important in a nil-nil situation). So, Scaloni nailed that one, and perhaps the idea with Almada didn’t work. But I doubt anyone could have predicted either without trying these out on the field. I hope either Almada finds his form, or his replacement shines. Scaloni has shown in the past he is more than capable of taking such decisions. Can’t wait for the second game!

     • I like your post and tend to agree with you.

Comments are closed.