Guido RODRIGUEZ will be called up to the Argentina national team.
The Mexican based midfielder will reportedly be included in Lionel SCALONI’s team for this month’s matches. The 24 year old was previously capped under Jorge SAMPAOLI, playing once in Argentina’s 1-0 victory against Brazil.
RODRIGUEZ, along with goalkeeper Juan MUSSO of Udinese are expected to be two of the surprise inclusions in the squad.
The Udinese goalkeeper will reportedly get called to the Argentina team.
Argentina coach Lionel SCALONI appears to be looking at a few goalkeepers which will be included in his squad selection for this month’s friendly matches. Per a report by TyC Sports, the AFA have already sent in the demand to Udinese to release the goalkeeper for the matches against Venezuela and Morocco.
The 24 year old came through the Racing Club youth system before playing for the senior team.
The second leg of the Round of 16 starts on Tuesday as we preview the Argentine players.
Nicolas TAGLIAFICO and Lisandro MAGALLAN will travel with Ajax to play against Real Madrid. The reigning European champions take a 2-1 lead going into the second leg. TAGLIAFICO has been the subject of many transfer rumors and another strong display tonight could see him edging more and more away from the Netherlands.
Leonardo BALERDI’s Dortmund will look to overcome a 3-0 first leg deficit against Mauricio POCHETTINO’s men. Tottenham boast three Argentine players on their team with Erik LAMELA, Juan FOYTH and Paulo GAZZANIGA all part of the team but not all three are expected to start.
On Wednesday, it’ll be the Argentine trio of Diego PEROTTI, Federico FAZIO and Javier PASTORE who go to Portugal with a 2-1 advantage to play FC Porto.
The second match on Wednesday is that of PSG who go to Old Trafford to play against Manchester United. Angel DI MARIA had two assists against his former side in the first match with Leandro PAREDES also in the team.
The Argentine players left in the Champions League are:
AS Roma: Diego PEROTTI, Federico FAZIO, Javier PASTORE
Manchester United: Sergio ROMERO, Marcos ROJO
PSG: Angel DI MARIA, Leandro PAREDES
Tottenham Hotspur: Erik LAMELA, Juan FOYTH, Paulo GAZZANIGA
Borussia Dortmund: Leonardo BALERDI
Ajax: Nicolas TAGLIAFICO, Lisandro MAGALLAN
FC Barcelona: Lionel MESSI
Atletico Madrid: Angel CORREA
Juventus: Paulo DYBALA
Manchester City: Nicolas OTAMENDI, Sergio AGUERO
When you ask most soccer fans about the talent the Argentina national team has, a name that will pop up nearly every time is Paulo DYBALA. The Juventus forward has flung himself into the national spotlight since transferring to Turin in 2015, becoming a crucial figure for the club and even being christened as the club’s new “No. 10”.
There is no denying that DYBALA has immense talent. He is a fantastic dribbler, has an eye for creating scoring chances and can finish like a striker. He isn’t overly fast, but he’s agile and has good acceleration. Not any player can score 17 goals as an 18-year-old in the Argentine second division, move to Palermo and help gain promotion and follow it up with a 13-goal season, then move to Juventus and score 77 goals and notch 31 assists in 172 appearances as an attacking midfielder.
Despite his accomplishments and performances to this point in his career, DYBALA’s usage for his club and national team continues to perplex. DYBALA made his national team debut in October of 2015. He missed out on the 2016 Copa America, but was frequently called up by Edgardo BAUZA and Jorge SAMPAOLI following the tournament. Since 2015, DYBALA has appeared in a measly 18 matches for his national team and scored just one goal.
Under Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus, DYBALA continually gets playing time, but he routinely gets subbed off with 10-30 minutes remaining in many matches. This season, with Cristiano Ronaldo on the team and Fernando Bernardeschi improving, a logjam at the wing positions has been created, and DYBALA has suffered because of it. Across all competitions (36 total matches), he has come off the bench six times for a total of 72 minutes. And he has been unused and left on the bench on four different occasions. It’s only gotten worse recently, as he’s been a substitute over the last two Serie A matches and only played five minutes in a massive clash against Napoli over the weekend.
Argentinian national team fans consistently call for DYBALA to start and be the centerpiece of La Albiceleste, yet he doesn’t even appear to be an unquestioned fixture for his club’s plans. Several Argentina managers have noticed and it’s no coincidence that DYBALA hasn’t been a stipend in starting lineups for the national team under four different coaches: Tata MARTINO, BAUZA, SAMPAOLI and Lionel SCALONI. Sure, his penchant for hanging around the right wing – in the same position as Leo MESSI – has had something to do with that, but even when MESSI hasn’t played, DYBALA has started in just five of those matches.
I don’t believe his sporadic playing time at Juve is a problem of his, as DYBALA is more of a center forward or second striker than he is a right wing, plus he has plenty of competition at the position. But the fact that an assortment of coaches hasn’t been able to fit him in with other star players is a legitimate concern that shouldn’t just be glossed over. Say what you will about any of his previous or current managers, they are among the best in the world. They know more than us, and DYBALA not being an indispensable figure on an every-week, every-match basis should tell us all we need to know about the player’s dependability.
DYBALA is a wonderful talent who has the ability to break matches wide open and decide the final outcome. That is valuable, but he just hasn’t proven to be extremely consistent, which is expected of a player of his supposed caliber. His contributions are a tier or two below the Messis, Ronaldos, Neymars and even Mbappes of the sport. His managers have recognized that. We should, too, and lower our expectations in the process.
A report coming from Argentina states that Barcelona are pushing for Lionel MESSI not to play in the two friendly matches for his country due to fitness problems.
Lionel MESSI’s return to the Argentina national team could be delayed if reports are to be believed. Per Superclasico, Barcelona are negotiating that MESSI doesn’t play any of the two matches.
The original idea appears to be that MESSI would have played the first match against Venezuela which is going to be played in Spain and have him leave the team for the second match. However, it appears the Catalan club are pushing that he doesn’t play at all.
