Argentina are likely to be announced as the only hosts for the Copa America.
When the Copa America kicks off in June and ends in July, it will very likely only be played on Argentine soil. Per several reports coming out of South America, Conmebol are set to announce that Colombia will no longer be co-hosting the tournament.
Civil unrest in the country has meant that Conmebol are looking at other solutions. At one point, an option was to hold the tournament in Argentina along with another country, with Paraguay and Chile being options.
The tournament will take place from 13 June until 10 July. Independiente’s stadium, as well as Boca’s iconic La Bombonera stadium are rumored to be added as venues.
Emiliano Buendia has expressed his joy of being called-up to the Argentina national team through an Instagram post.
Buendia has found himself in the Argentina squad for the first time in his career. The Argentine was named as the Best Player in the Championship as he helped Norwich City reach promotion to the Premier League for next season. He finished the season with 14 goals and 16 assists.
Having came up through the Real Madrid youth system and later on moving to Getafe, Buendia represented both Argentina and Spain at youth level. However, he would go on and play for Argentina at the 2015 U20 World Cup.
Norwich City have even put out a Tweet asking what has Emi Buendia done this season to get an Argentina call-up, with a video.
It was Boca Juniors who got the 4-2 win on penalties vs, River Plate at La Bombona after finishing 1-1 after 90 minutes. Boca advanced to the semifinals of the Copa de la Liga Profesional with the shootout win. The team coached by Gallardo played with an XI consisting mostly of substitutes due to a massive Covid outbreak which struck 15 players inside the squad.
Carlos Tevez opened the score for Boca with a header in the 11th minute, after what looked like a clear foul that was not called by the referee. Boca’s idol had pushed River’s center back Jonathan Maidana right before giving Boca the lead.
River drew level in the 68th minute with a great header from the young but experienced striker Julian Alvarez, which came after great cross from Fabrizio Angileri on the left.
With the score at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the Superclasico went to a penalty shootout. Two great saves from Boca’s goalkeeper Agustin Rossi led the hosts to the semifinals, where they will face Racing Club in the next round. Boca also snapped a three-game losing streak.
Riquelme’s statement:
After the win, Boca’s vice president and legend, Juan Roman Riquelme, talked with TNT Sports and had some controversial things to say:
“The victory is deserved; River did not even have a kick on goal.
“I have no doubt that we have the best team in the country.”
He even spoke about the possibility of Edinson Cavani joining the squad next year:
“I think next year he will be with us, God willing. In December he told me that he wanted to come. The only thing we can offer him differently is that our stadium moves when it is full. But today we are not playing with people so we can’t offer him that now. He’s a star.”
Alan Díaz great debut
Because all four of River’s goalkeepers tested positive for COVID yesterday, 21-year-old Alan Diaz, who had never played a single minute in the Reserves, made his debut in Sunday’s match. The inexperienced goalkeeper did a great job and was one of the stars of the match. One highlight was a save in a decisive moment, a difficult shot from Carlos Tevez. He also saved one of the penalties in the shootout, when Cardona tried to score with a Panenka.
Carlos Izquierdoz and Hector Martinez solid defensively
Boca’s center back “Cali” Izquerdoz and River’s center back Hector Martinez were crucial in their respective defensive structures. Both played at a high level, with constant interceptions and clearances.
Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni has selected his list of players for June’s World Cup qualifiers vs. Chile and Colombia.
The European based list has been announced with a lot of fan favorites included. A total of 30 players have been announced with the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Lisandro Martinez and Cristian Romero called-up. The veterans on the team are Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Agustin Marchesin have all been included.
Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi both don’t make the squad with the surprise being Dybala. With the Copa America beginning just a few days after the qualifiers, his place in that squad could be in jeopardy. The 27 year old has missed much of the season due to injury and only has four goals to his name.
Despite the fact that Lucas Alario and Exequiel Palacios are both set to miss not only the World Cup qualifiers but also the Copa America, all three players have been included in the squad. The list of local based players is expected to be announced within the next few days. Here is the list:
Marcos Acuña (Sevilla) Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) Lucas Alario (Bayer Leverkusen) Emiliano Buendia (Norwich City) Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid) Joaquin Correa (Lazio) Rodrigo de Paul (Udinese) Angel Di Maria (PSG) Nicolas Dominguez (Bologna) Juan Foyth (Villarreal) Alejandro Papu Gomez (Sevilla) Nicolas Gonzalez (Stuttgart) Giovanni Lo Celso (Tottenham) Agustin Marchesin (FC Porto) Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) Lautaro Martinez (Inter) Lisandro Martinez (Ajax) Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina) Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) Nahuel Molina (Udinese) Juan Musso (Udinese) Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis) Cristian Romero (Atalanta) Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla) Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica) Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen) Jose Luis Palomino (Atalanta) Leandro Paredes (PSG) German Pezzella (Fiorentina) Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax)
Ten players from River’s squad tested positive for Covid-19, this morning with two more along with coach Marcelo Gallardo testing positive in the afternoon. At the moment, the Superclasico to be played this Sunday is not at risk.
Paulo Díaz, Federico Girotti, Enrique Bologna, Germán Lux, Robert Rojas, Nicolás De La Cruz, Rafael Borré, Bruno Zuculini, Tomás Castro Ponce, and Franco Petroli are the ten players infected in River’s squad. Three of them (Borré, De La Cruz, and Díaz) were supposed to be starters in tomorrow’s line up vs. Boca. Suarez and Rollheiser tested positive this afternoon.
On Friday, Alberto Montes, River’s goalkeeper coach, tested positive for coronavirus and was quickly isolated. Hours later, several players began to present symptoms related with Covid-19, including three of the four goalkeepers (Franco Armani was the only one who tested negative) for which the medical team decided on massive swabs.
This afternoon, the whole squad will do PCR tests to confirm the cases and see if there are more.
Due to previous covid outbreaks in other Argentine teams and matches, tomorrow’s Superclasico looks to be happening as rescheduling would be difficult. In addition, we are just a month away from the Copa America and there is not much time to reschedule the match.
Per Ole, for now, Boca and River will play tomorrow at La Bombonera (17:30 local time) in the quarterfinals of the Copa de la Liga Professional. The tournament format is of just a single match, so the team that loses will be eliminated from the competition.
