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Marcos ACUÑA, CENTURION or PEROTTI for Argentina

With Argentina’s final 23 man squad for the World Cup to be announced on Monday, there’s reportedly only one spot left between three players.

Marcos ACUÑA, Ricardo CENTURION and Diego PEROTTI are all reportedly fighting for one spot. Per Ole, 22 of the 23 players are confirmed for Argentina’s World Cup squad. Here are the names being listed by Ole:

Goalkeepers:
Sergio ROMERO
Franco ARMANI
Wilfredo CABALLERO

Defenders:
Gabriel MERCADO
Federico FAZIO
Javier MASCHERANO
Nicolas OTAMENDI
Cristian ANSALDI
Nicolas TAGLIAFICO
Marcos ROJO

Midfielders:
Ever BANEGA
Eduardo SALVIO
Lucas BIGLIA
Angel DI MARIA
Giovani LO CELSO
Manuel LANZINI
Maxi MEZA
Marcos ACUÑA, Ricardo CENTURION or Diego PEROTTI

Forwards:
Lionel MESSI
Sergio AGUERO
Gonzalo HIGUAIN
Cristian PAVON
Paulo DYBALA

This would mean that the following players who made the preliminary list of 35 would miss out:

Nahuel GUZMAN
German PEZZELLA
Ramiro FUNES MORI
Guido PIZARRO
Enzo PEREZ
Leandro PAREDES
Rodrigo BATTAGLIA
Pablo PEREZ
Mauro ICARDI
Lautaro MARTINEZ

World Cup countdown: 50 days, Argentina moment number 24, Diego MARADONA

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 24 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup and in 24th place we have Diego MARADONA scoring the goal of the century against England at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Quiet possibly Diego MARADONA’s absolute best match of his career. The 90 minutes which propelled MARADONA into greatness and where he made a strong case for himself as being called the best player in the world. Two very different goals against England in the Quarter Finals in Mexico saw Argentina qualify for the semi-finals.

A tight 0-0 match between two very strong teams, it took two individual moments of brilliance to separate the two nations. In the 51st minute, Diego MARADONA scored a goal that would live on in infamy. He would called it the Hand of God, the English would call it cheating. Call it anything you want, MARADONA had just scored a goal with his hand at the Azteca stadium in front of everyone and the referee allowed it to stand.

However, just four minutes later, MARADONA did the unthinkable. He scored a goal which would later be dubbed as The Goal of the Century. Picking the ball up right before the half way line, Diego dribbled past the English as if they weren’t even there and as the ball rolled into the net, MARADONA had reached legendary status.

At 2-0, Argentina seemed invincible. Not because they were the best team in the world but because they had MARADONA on their team. The player to take them that much higher and took them he did. England would later pull one back and make it 2-1 but it was too late. MARADONA had already worked his magic.

Here was Argentina’s starting XI for the match:
18. Nery PUMPIDO
2. Sergio BATISTA
5. Jose BROWN
7. Jorge BURRUCHAGA
9. Jose CUCIUFFO
10. Diego MARADONA
11. Jorge VALDANO
12. Hector ENRIQUE
14. Ricardo GIUSTI
16. Julio OLARTICOECHEA
19. Oscar RUGGERI

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.

Willy CABALLERO: “MESSI is as important as the air we breathe”

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Shortly after winning the FA Cup with Chelsea, goalkeeper Willy CABALERRO spoke to TyC Sports (via Spanish news agency, EFE) about Lionel Messi and also his wish with the national team.

“MESSI IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE AIR THAT WE BREATHe, NOT JUST A PLAYER BUT ALSO AS CAPTAIN AND A SYMBOL OF THE ARGENTINE NATIONAL TEAM.”

Willy has reiterated his desire to be part of Jorge SAMPAOLI’s squad for Russia that will be announced tomorrow.

“MY DREAM IS TO BE PART OF THE TEAM, IT IS MY WISH BUT WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL AND WAIT FOR SAMPAOLI’S LIST.”

And if he makes it into the final 23 of SAMPAOLI’s list, Willy has made it clear that he will fight for the No.1 spot.

“ONE ALWAYS WANTS TO PLAY AND CONTRIBUTE, THAT’S THE FIRST THING. I WANT TO SHOW EVERYTHING AND TRY TO HELP THE TEAM. BUT YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD FOR IT AND PROVE YOURSELF. I KNOW I CAN CONTRIBUTE BECAUSE OF MY EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE PLAYING IN DIFFERENT LEAGUES.”

World Cup countdown: 50 days, Argentina moment number 25, Sergio AGÜERO

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 25 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup and in 25th place we have Sergio AGÜERO playing in his 25th match for Argentina which was the humiliating 4-0 loss to Germany at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

After picking up three wins in the group stage and a win in the Round of 16 against Mexico, it was a repeat of one of the 2006 World Cup Quarter Final matches, Argentina versus Germany. While the match in Berlin four years earlier was a tight affair, this one was far from it.

It took Germany just three minutes to find the first goal as Thomas MULLER continued his excellent World Cup. Argentina then had a goal disallowed for offside and headed into half time by a goal down. Germany then went on to score three goals in 21 minutes as Miroslav KLOSE, the man who scored Germany’s equalizer in 2006 came back to haunt Diego MARADONA’s men to double his team’s lead. Arne FRIEDRICH then added a third and Miroslav KLOSE then sealed the embarrassment with his second of the match to make it 4-0 and send Germany into the semi-finals once more.

With the match all but done, Diego MARADONA sent in Sergio AGÜERO as he replaced Angel DI MARIA to receive his 25th cap.

Here was Argentina’s starting XI for the match:
22. Sergio ROMERO
2. Martin DEMICHELIS
4. Nicolas BURDISSO
6. Gabriel HEINZE
7. Angel DI MARIA
9. Gonzalo HIGUAIN
10. Lionel MESSI
11. Carlos TEVEZ
14. Javier MASCHERANO
15. Nicolas OTAMENDI
20. Maxi RODRIGUEZ

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.

“We ask less from God” in latest Argentina World Cup commercial

Just like the build up to any FIFA World Cup, Quilmes releases a commercial supporting the Argentina National Team and this one encapsulates what many of us feel.

Starring World Cup winner Oscar RUGGERI, the Argentina legend takes on fans and their comments, some of which we hear far too often. With the commercial being in Spanish, I have translated it into English (taking into account some expressions used in Argentina). Here’s the commercial with the translation below:

“Between the players and the fans, we have an old contract that states:

“We give our lives and they support us without stopping. But when there are doubts, you have to talk about it.”

Oscar RUGGERI: “What’s going on?”

Fan: “At times it looks as if they don’t want to come here!”

Fan: “They score 30 goals with their teams but here, nothing!”

Oscar RUGGERI: “Let’s go, what more?”

Fan: “I went in my Coupe Fuego (Renault car) to Rio to support them and it took four days…”

Oscar RUGGERI: “Well, you went because we were playing in the final, no?

Fan: “We have lost three finals!”

Oscar RUGGERI: “That’s true. Now, enough with the memes, please.”

Fan: “They’re funny.”

Oscar RUGGERI: “They’re aggressive, unfair.”

Fan: “We ask them to play with balls!”

Oscar RUGGERI: “Sometimes we ask much more than that. We ask them to brighten our lives, to cure us from a cold. We ask less from God.

“We’ve broken a lot of contracts, let’s not break this one. Let’s read it together.

“Gentlemen, I leave everything, I’m going to watch Argentina. Because the players will show me… that they’re going out to win. That they want to leave as champions. That they carry it inside of them, the way I carry it inside of me.”

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