Nahuel Molina is set to start for Argentina against Austria at the World Cup.
Molina did not start in Argentina’s 3-0 win against Algeria at the World Cup but he was substituted into the match for Gonzalo Montiel. According to Diego Monroig, the 28 year old will be in the starting eleven for Argentina’s match against Austria on Monday.
Are we all forgetting that Montiel scored the winning penalty? LoL….
But ok that a few years ago and we should be looking at the now. Yeah there were other options (Froyth?) so not sure why Scaloni didn’t explore or start integrating them earlier… Nothing we can really do now – this is really in blind faith we trust Scaloni then.
He tried Giay, who wasnt convincing, Capaldo shouldve had more than one match but he has Giuliano Simeone who’s started his career as a wingback and certainly can fill up for us if Molina is unavailable or if we switch to 3 centre backs
Ah ok… these trials if anything were fleeting I guess.. I wouldn’t want Simeone as a wingback though. Has not been particularly convincing for A. Madrid. Plus don’t think he was called up for that role. In a 5-3-2, may be ok but certainly not 3-5-2.
Just watched a 10 man Paraguay send Turkey home! I love South American teams! Almiron got a red card for covering his mouth when he was talking to an opposition player. Paraguay had to play a whole half down a man. It was amazing to watch.
I was going to say Messi, DePaul and Paredes has this habit of covering their mouth. I hope it doesn’t bite us as we progress.
The covering the mouth rule is just stupid. Makes no sense. Apart from that 1st half against USA, Paraguay actually have been good.
BTW, is Turkey really out? Can’t they still qualify as 3rd place team? Of course that would require Turkiye to beat USA by many goals and hope that Paraguay-Australia don’t end in a draw. Very unlikely, but by my calculations they still have a faint chance to qualify for next round.
The new rule is Head-to-Head results matter before goal difference. Since Turkiye lost to Australia and Paraguay, even if they are level on points they will be below one or both of them. And both Australia and Paraguay have at least 3 points.
I see. Thanks for clarifying.
What need to be observed is how we played the first game. We played by congesting the middle of the pitch. Did not go wide to widen the game but dragged all to the middle and then looked for outlet or dribble. Less energy spent and on the belief that we are technically better to play in narrow space. If we lose the ball we can get it back as it is not far. Can be risky but worked. First goal came through the middle. Others had middle dominance too. Bringing opposition defenders and midfielders too close to each other and creating congestion among opponents.
Have to see if this is a pattern in the second game too or not. I will be in the field. Easier to see these in field. Also we played percentage football. More to come. This could be interesting. Nothing guarantees World Cup success but I feel the coaching staff and the team have a tactical surprise up its sleeve. Let’s see how it unfolds.
I feel this is a big reason why Scaloni didn’t get a lot of new players. Create an impression that it’s the same team, same game but that won’t be the case.
Let’s see
Nice imagination 😁
I understand Scolani doesn’t want to break winning squad. I also don’t have any problem on this decision. But selecting Montiel is crime. Any RB is better than Montiel. He is the only undeserving player in this squad.
Yes scaloni selected him due to his past performances and penalty shootout prowess.i believe he has 100% record on penalties.argentina and messi won 1st copa against brazil the major reason was montiel who completely shut down the right side if he can regain that defensive form he can really be useful.
Best option.he is the only decent fullback we have.molina is a must.also tagliafico is a must in big games atleast but he provides nearly 0 output offensively
Why not Simeone,barco and paz? This team nead fresh and young players
They will get their time, especially if we beat Austria, then against Jordan we can use them for sure. Enzo and Mac Allister are still young, so they are fine. De Paul is older but he played really well vs Algeria, I don’t see a need to change much, unless we do it for tactical reasons. Nico Paz also just recovered from his injury and you can tell that he’s still a bit rusty.
Molina might be the best RB we’ve had since Zanetti. Is that an exaggeration? I don’t think so, I’d take him over even prime Zabaleta. Why? Because he gives you options, he overlaps like the classic flying fullbacks of old, he crosses the ball well, he can beat his man, he’s quick. More importantly, how many modern fullbacks can score from distance they way he does? Scoring in general, he’s the most prolific RB we had in terms of goal scoring ability. Sure, he might not be amazing defensively, but he’s not that bad in that department either. At 28 years old, he’s still in his prime or at least the tail-end of the physical prime when ability and experience converge at the best possible rate.
I agree with most of the points. However, over the last few years, his defensive qualities both at club and national level have not been top notch. But the way Montiel played for the first 20 mins or so, I don’t think Scaloni is left with any choice but to play Molina. IMHO he should be coupled with Simeone because over the last one year they showed some very good onslaughts from the right. Also Simeone can help him defensively.
I really like Molina, but Montiel is terrible; it should be Molina and Giay, not Montiel.
A lot of players in Argentina squad have the ability to score from distance. Enzo, MacAllister, Paredes, Messi, Lautaro, Alvarez, Almada, Paz and even Molina – they all have good long shots.