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Emiliano Martinez set to start for Argentina in World Cup qualifier

Roy Nemer
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Emiliano Martinez is set to receive his first ever cap for Argentina on Thursday in a World Cup qualifier.

Despite the initial rumors being that Franco Armani would be the starting goalkeeper for Argentina vs. Chile on Thursday, reports out of Argentina are now stating that the Aston Villa goalkeeper has impressed the Argentina coaching staff more than his counter part.

Martinez, who kept a club record 13 clean sheets in his first season with Aston Villa, has previously been selected for Argentina but never played. In addition, coach Scaloni would have reportedly decided on a few other changes in the starting eleven.

Per a report by TN Deportes, here is the starting eleven for Argentina:

Emiliano Martinez; Foyth, Martinez Quarta, Pezzella, Lisandro Martinez; De Paul, Paredes, Acuña; Ocampos, Lautaro Martinez, Messi.

Sergio Aguero: “If organizing the tournament in Brazil is complicated, then we cannot play in Brazil”

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Sergio Aguero arrived this morning in Ezeiza and had the kindness of stopping a few minutes to talk with the Argentine press. He spoke about coming to Barcelona to play along with Lionel Messi, Copa America in Brazil, and the national team.

Here is what “Kun” had to say regarding the Copa America:

“If organizing the tournament in Brazil is complicated, then we cannot play in Brazil.

“It is clear that we are not having a good time here (in Argentina) and I think it is a very correct decision by Conmebol not to play it here. We want to play, but we have to find a suitable place to organize the tournament.”

With this statement, Sergio Aguero is the first player to speak out against Brazil hosting Copa America. Argentine journalist Sebastián Vignolo said this Monday on ESPN F90 that some important players from different national teams are thinking of together speaking out against the designation of Brazil as the new host.

The news caught everyone by surprise and, as stated in a previous article (Copa America in Brazil: Possible venues, current sanitary situation, Argentina reaction | Mundo Albiceleste), Brazil’s current Covid-19 situation is as bad as Argentina’s. A possible reaction of the greatest stars from the national teams could be extremely decisive for the realization of Copa America in Brazil.

About his recent arrival in FC Barcelona, this is what Aguero had to say:

“I am very happy. It is a new challenge for me, I hope I can enjoy it.

“I always talk with him (Messi), but I can’t say what we talk about. Secret, heh. First he has to sign his contract, let’s see what he’s going to do. Obviously, I would like to play along with him.”

Kun Aguero will shortly join the national team. With this, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni will have all the players at his disposal.

Emiliano Martinez, Franco Armani in goal for Argentina during training

Roy Nemer
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Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni tinkered with twelve players in training with both Emiliano Martinez and Franco Armani playing.

Lionel Scaloni made some changes to the team during training on Monday. Both Emiliano Martinez and Franco Armani trained with the team as Scaloni appears to have made some changes to the left side of the pitch.

Armani and Martinez; Foyth, Martinez Quarta, Pezzella, Lisandro Martinez; De Paul, Paredes, Acuña; Ocampos, Lautaro, Messi

Marcos Acuña and Lucas Ocampos came in for Angel Di Maria and Gio Lo Celso as the pair were rumored to be starting vs. Chile on Thursday. Lisandro Martinez was also in place of Nicolas Tagliafico. On the right side, Foyth got the start ahead of Montiel.

Copa America in Brazil: Possible venues, current sanitary situation, Argentina reaction

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With the Brasileirao in progress, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Recife, Natal, and Rio de Janeiro, with the latter one hosting the final, would be the venues of Copa America 2021, per a report by TyC Sports. Being the country with the most Covid deaths in Latin America, Brazil’s current sanitary situation is not better than Argentina’s.

According to the New York Times Coronavirus database, an average of 61,695 cases per day were reported in Brazil in the last week. Cases have decreased by 2 percent from the average two weeks ago, while deaths have decreased by 4 percent.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 1 in 13 residents have been infected, a total of 16,515,120 reported cases. At least 1 in 457 residents have died from the coronavirus, a total of 461,931 deaths. March 2021 was the worst month for cases, while April 2021 was the worst month for deaths in Brazil.

The main difference regarding Covid between Argentina and Brazil would be that in the latter, cases and deaths seem to be lowering; while in Argentina, infections have risen since last week, despite the restrictive measures taken by the government. But actually, the main difference is political: Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro doesn’t care about hosting a Copa America in this context.

As it happened to almost everybody, this morning’s news caught the Argentina National team by surprise, per a report by Mariano Antico in TyC Sports. If Argentina was the candidate to win the cup when it was going to be played in the country, now it’s clearly Brazil who are the favorites to raise the trophy, as they did 2 years ago.

CONMEBOL confirm Brazil as hosts of Copa America

Roy Nemer
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CONMEBOL have confirmed that Brazil will be hosting the Copa America.

It was confirmed on Monday morning that current champions Brazil will be hosting the Copa America in June and July. The tournament was originally supposed to be hosted by both Colombia and Argentina but Colombia withdrew from hosting duties several days ago.

Argentina were rumored to be the sole hosts but CONMEBOL announced on late Sunday evening that the country will not be hosting. An emergency meeting was held on Monday where it was announced that Brazil will be hosting it. Cities and match fixtures will be announced in the next few hours.

They also hosted the tournament in 2019 where they were crowned champions.

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