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Gabriel BATISTUTA on Argentina: “The only number 9 we have is HIGUAIN”

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Gabriel Batistuta Argentina
Gabriel Batistuta with Argentina at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

The legendary Gabriel BATISTUTA gave his thoughts on the Argentina National Team and stated that the only number 9 we have is Gonzalo HIGUAIN.

Gabriel BATISTUTA knows a thing or two about scoring goals. He also knows a thing or two about scoring goals at a FIFA World Cup. Speaking with Tiempo de Colombia, the former Argentina international spoke about HIGUAIN and the National Team. Here’s what he had to say:

“The only number 9 we have is HIGUAIN. One of the skills that a complete number 9 must have is to be able to adapt to his team mates. The number 9 wants to score goals but before anything, he wants the team to win. What he was missing was luck.”

Gabriel BATISTUTA on Argentina not winning the World Cup:

“If we think that not being champions is a failure, we are wrong. Today, we are not a machine. And when we were a machine, we exited in the first round (the 2002 FIFA World Cup). The World Cup is not always won by the best, even though Germany always make the semi-finals.”

Another former Argentina number 9, Hernan CRESPO posted the following picture of himself alongside Gabriel BATISTUTA.

Gonzalo HIGUAIN could start for Argentina at the World Cup

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Argentina team training
The Argentina National Team training in Russia.

Gonzalo HIGUAIN could get the nod ahead of Sergio AGUERO versus Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Argentina coach Jorge SAMPAOLI looks to have found his starting eleven for his team’s opening match. In place of the injured Manuel LANZINI would be Maxi MEZA and HIGUAIN would start ahead of the Manchester City man. Here is what TyC Sports is reporting to be the rumored eleven:

CABALLERO; MERCADO, OTAMENDI, ROJO, TAGLIAFICO; MASCHERANO, LO CELSO; MEZA, MESSI, DI MARIA; HIGUAIN

That would mean the starting goalkeeper would be Chelsea’s Willy CABALLERO while Manchester United’s Marcos ROJO starts instead of Roma’s Federico FAZIO beside Manchester City’s Nicolas OTAMENDI. In midfield, it would be the same pairing as the one versus Haiti, it’s Javier MASCHERANO with Giovani LO CELSO. Maxi MEZA in for LANZINI with MESSI, DI MARIA and HIGUAIN spearheading the attack.

World Cup countdown: 50 days, Argentina moment number 4, Uruguay in 1930

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Argentina Uruguay 1930
Argentina in the final of the 1930 FIFA World Cup.

As part of the 50 days, 50 Argentina World Cup moments, we will be counting down the top 50 Argentina moments at a World Cup using the daily number.

We are just 4 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup and in 4th place we have Argentina losing to Uruguay at the 1930 FIFA World Cup final where Uruguay scored 4 goals.

It was the first ever FIFA World Cup final held in Montevideo, Urugay. In the battle between the two neighboring countries, Pablo DORADO scored the first ever goal in a FIFA World Cup final in the 12th minute. Carlos PEUCELLE drew level in 20th minute and Guillermo STABILE netted Argentina’s second to give his country a 2-1 lead going into half time.

Uruguay started off the second half in strong form when Pedro CEA scored the equalizer. Santos IRIARTE ended up scoring the match winner in the 68th minute before Hector CASTRO sealed Uruguay’s FIFA World Cup triumpth.

Here was Argentina’s starting XI for the match:
Juan BOTASSO
Francisco VARALLO
Jose DELLA TORRE
Juan EVARISTO
Mario EVARISTO
Manuel FERREIRA
Fernando PATERNOSTER
Pedro SUAREZ
Guillermo STABILE
Luis MONTI
Carlos PEUCELLE

If you missed it, here are our 50 World Cup moments:
50: Sergio ROMERO gets 50th cap vs. Switzerland at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
49: Roberto AYALA scores in the 49th minute vs. Germany at 2006 FIFA World Cup.
48: Angel DI MARIA’s 48th cap for Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
47: Mario KEMPES scores Argentina’s 47th goal all time at the 1978 FIFA World Cup vs. Peru.
46: Jorge VALDANO scores in the 46th minute at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
45: Javier ZANETTI scores in the 45th minute vs. England at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
44: Gabriel BATISTUTA scores goal number 44 in his Argentina career at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
43: Gonzalo HIGUAIN receives cap number 43 for Argentina vs. Germany in the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
42: Pedro PASCULLI scores in the 42nd minute for Argentina vs. Uruguay at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
41: Maxi RODRÍGUEZ scores in the 41st minute for Argentina vs. Serbia & Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
40: Roberto AYALA plays in his 40th match for Argentina vs. Jamaica at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
39: Pablo ZABALETA plays in his 39th match for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
38: Javier SAVIOLA scores in the 38th minute for Argentina vs. Ivory Coast at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
37: Maxi RODRIGUEZ plays in his 37th match for Argentina vs. South Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
36: Mauricio PINEDA scores in the 36th minute for Argentina vs. Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
35: Ezequiel LAVEZZI plays in his 35th match for Argentina vs. Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
34: Diego MARADONA scores his 34th goal for Argentina vs. Greece at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
33: Gonzalo HIGUAIN scores in the 33rd minute for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
32: Hernan CRESPO scores his 32nd goal for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
31: Diego MARADONA scoring in Argentina’s 31st FIFA World Cup match vs. Hungary.
30: Argentina loses opening match of 1982 FIFA World Cup vs. Belgium.
29: Argentina are knocked out of the 1982 FIFA World Cup after playing their 29th ever group stage match.
28: Claudio CANIGGIA scores in the 28th minute for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
27: Pedro TROGLIO scores in the 27th minute for Argentina vs. the Soviet Union at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
26: Diego MARADONA scores his 26th goal for Argentina vs. Belgium at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
25: Sergio AGUERO plays in his 25th match for Argentina vs. Germany at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
24: Diego MARADONA scores his 24th goal for Argentina vs. England at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
23: Ezequiel GARAY plays in his 23rd match for Argentina vs. Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
22: Argentina defeat Greece 2-0 on June 22 at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
21: Lucas BIGLIA plays in his 21st match for Argentina vs. Iran at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
20: Rene HOUSEMAN scores in the 20th minute for Argentina vs. East Germany at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
19: Diego MILITO wears the number 19 shirt for Argentina on his World Cup debut vs. Nigeria at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
18. Javier MASCHERANO plays in his 18th match for Argentina vs. Netherlands at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
17: Claudio LOPEZ scores for Argentina in the 17th minute vs. Netherlands at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
16: Gabriel BATISTUTA scores for Argentina in the 16th minute vs. Romania at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
15: Leopoldo LUQUE scores for Argentina in the 15th minute vs. Hungary at the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
14: Diego SIMEONE wears the number 14 shirt for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
13: Argentina play in their 13th draw all time at a FIFA World Cup vs. Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
12: Guillermo STABILE scores for Argentina in the 12th minute vs. Chile at the 1930 FIFA World Cup.
11: Juan Sebastian VERON plays his last World Cup match for Argentina in nearly eight years vs. Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
10: Angel DI MARIA scores his 10th goal for Argentina vs. Switzerland at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
9: Argentina number 9 Gabriel BATISTUTA gets his last ever yellow card for Argentina vs. England at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
8: Argentina played in their 8th all time knockout match at a FIFA World Cup vs. Yugoslavia at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
7: Claudio CANIGGIA scores his 7th goal for Argentina vs. Italy at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
6: Claudio CANIGGIA scores his 6th goal for Argentina vs. Brazil at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
5: Argentina win by 5 goals vs. the United States at the 1930 FIFA World Cup.

Argentina National Team lands in Russia for World Cup

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Lionel Messi Sergio Aguero Argentina
Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero with the Argentina National Team.

The Argentina National Team have landed in Russia.

Lionel MESSI and his team mates boarded a flight from Barcelona to Zhukovsky International airport in Russia on Saturday afternoon. The entire squad and staff were on the place bar for Enzo PEREZ who will arrive in Russia from Argentina on Sunday.

The team kicks off their World Cup next Saturday versus Iceland.

Enzo PÉREZ named to Argentina World Cup squad

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Enzo Perez Argentina
Enzo Perez playing for the Argentina National Team.

Enzo PÉREZ has been named to the Argentina World Cup squad.

With Manuel LANZINI out injured due to an ACL injury, the River Plate man has been named as the replacement. PÉREZ is no stranger to the Argentina team nor the World Cup, having played 22 matches for his country, three of which came at the 2014 FIFA World Cup (one of them being the final itself).

He will travel to Russia tomorrow (on Sunday) where he will stay with the team.

Enzo Pérez: Argentina International Caps – Senior Level

# Opponent Competition Date Result
1 Peru 2010 World Cup Qualifiers October 10, 2009 Final 2-1 Argentina
2 Costa Rica Friendly January 26, 2010 Final 3-2 Argentina
3 Ecuador Friendly April 20, 2011 Final 2-2 Draw
4 Paraguay Friendly May 25, 2011 Final 4-2 Argentina
5 Peru 2014 World Cup Qualifiers September 11, 2012 Final 1-1 Draw
6 Trinidad and Tobago Friendly June 4, 2014 Final 3-0 Argentina
7 Slovenia Friendly June 7, 2014 Final 2-0 Argentina
8 Belgium 2014 FIFA World Cup July 5, 2014 Final 1-0 Argentina
9 Netherlands 2014 FIFA World Cup July 9, 2014 Final 0-0 (4-2 P) Arg
10 Germany 2014 FIFA World Cup July 13, 2014 Final 1-0 Germany
11 Germany Friendly September 3, 2014 Final 4-2 Argentina
12 Brazil Friendly October 11, 2014 Final 2-0 Brazil
13 Hong Kong Friendly October 14, 2014 Final 7-0 Argentina
14 Croatia Friendly November 12, 2014 Final 2-1 Argentina
15 Colombia 2018 World Cup Qualifiers November 17, 2015 Final 1-0 Argentina
16 Brazil 2018 World Cup Qualifiers November 10, 2016 Final 3-0 Brazil
17 Colombia 2018 World Cup Qualifiers November 15, 2016 Final 3-0 Argentina
18 Bolivia 2018 World Cup Qualifiers March 31, 2017 Final 2-0 Bolivia
19 Peru 2018 World Cup Qualifiers October 5, 2017 Final 0-0 Draw
20 Ecuador 2018 World Cup Qualifiers October 10, 2017 Final 3-1 Argentina
21 Russia Friendly November 11, 2017 Final 1-0 Argentina
22 Nigeria Friendly November 14, 2017 Final 4-2 Nigeria