It appears as though everything is ready for Jorge SAMPAOLI to make his debut as Argentina coach.

Argentina vs. Brazil in Melbourne, Australia at the MCG will be the venue for Argentina vs. Brazil on Friday. Per reports, SAMPAOLI will start the match with a 3-3-3-1 formation and he has already chosen his players. La Nacion is reporting this as the rumored eleven:

Unofficial Argentina starting XI:

Sergio ROMERO; Gabriel MERCADO, Jonatan MAIDANA, Nicolas OTAMENDI; Jose Luis GOMEZ, Lucas Biglia, Ever BANEGA; Paulo DYBALA, Lionel MESSI, Angel DI MARIA; Gonzalo HIGUAIN

There were some talks that Emanuel MAMMANA would start ahead of Jonatan MAIDANA but it appears as though MAIDANA will get the start ahead of the Lyon man. The other choice SAMPAOLI had to make was between Eduardo SALVIO and Jose Luis GOMEZ but SAMPAOLI went with GOMEZ.

If you missed it, Jorge SAMPAOLI has already commented on what he thinks of the team. The match kicks off at 6:00am Friday morning Eastern time, 3:00am Los Angeles time, 11:00am UK time.

Jorge SAMPAOLI held a press conference where he discussed a number of topics.

Lionel MESSI, Paulo DYBALA, Gonzalo HIGUAIN, Sergio AGUERO and even more names. That is some attack which Jorge SAMPAOLI has at his disposal. Throw in some young, fresh, hungry players and it makes for a dangerously strong team. Speaking a press conference, the new Argentina coach commented on a few different topics. Here’s what he had to say:

On the team and style of play:

“We still haven’t decided on the team. Putting the rivalry aside, the important thing is the development of our idea, not being afraid. The midfield is the determining factor in the idea behind our game. The generational replacements (in the team) will be done with time. It’ll be gradual and consistent with that the National Team needs. We have to find something in Argentina that is similar with Barcelona’s style of play for MESSI to perform better.

Jorge SAMPAOLI on the strikers:

“MESSI and DYBALA are very important for Argentina. We’re looking for a way to get Mauro ICARDI some playing minutes. MESSI has exceeded my expectations. He’s very simple and humble, he’s a positive leader. It’ll be looked at in the future, there’s a lot of competition in that position.”

On himself:

“It’s very difficult to separate being a fan and being a coach.”

In addition to what Julian reported yesterday, SAMPAOLI also announced that both Lionel MESSI and Nicolas OTAMENDI will not play against Singapore as they will be leaving after the match against Brazil. The reason being that they are both getting married later this month. There were also hints that we will get a better idea of the starting XI after Thursday’s training session. The team plays Brazil on Friday, June 9 in Australia before playing Singapore on Tuesday, June 13 in Singapore where they will be without MESSI and OTAMENDI.

Hey everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. Just a couple of days left before SAMPAOLI’S official debut. Are you all getting excited!? I know I am!

It looks like Lionel MESSI is going to play the match on Friday vs Brazil and then fly off to Rosario, Argentina to continue planning and finalizing the details for his upcoming wedding at the end of this month. There has been word that Nicolas OTAMENDI is also getting married in a few days as well. This means that both MESSI and OTAMENDI will miss the match vs. Singapore.

It also looks like SAMPAOLI has been tinkering with his formations again. This time he included the defender José Luis Gómez. In terms of the formation, SAMPAOLI tried out a new system. He went from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-2-3-1 formation. Jonatan Maidana replaced Emmanuel Mammana and José Luis Gómez played in his natural right back position. Gabriel MERCADO moved to the left wing back position and so Eduardo SALVIO was dropped from the lineup.

SAMPAOLI’S team during this practice was:

Sergio Romero; José Luis Gómez, Jonatan Maidana, Nicolás Otamendi, Gabriel Mercado; Ever Banega, Lucas Biglia; Lionel Messi, Paulo Dybala, Ángel Di María; Gonzalo Higuain.       

Lastly, Nicolás OTAMENDI finished the practice in pain and now is a doubt for Friday’s match. Mauro ICARDI is also sidelined for now.

SAMPAOLI will provide a press conference tomorrow.

What do you guys think? Might this be a better formation for us?

Here are some images from their latest training sessions:

VAMOS ARGENTINA!!

The Argentina National Team has landed in Melbourne, Australia!

With all the news regarding Jorge SAMPAOLI becoming the new coach and with Gonzalo HIGUAIN and Paulo DYBALA taking part in the UEFA Champions League final, the National Team still has two matches this month! New coach Jorge SAMPAOLI took an early flight to Melbourne along with Nicolas OTAMENDI, Leandro PARESES, Gabriel MERCADO, Emmanuel MAMMANA, Lucas BIGLIA and Guido RODRIGUEZ.

Most of the players are already in Melbourne in training. Everyone except for Paulo DYBALA and Gonzalo HIGUAIN who took part in the Champions League final are already in Australia and took part in a practice session ahead of the team’s match against Brazil.

There is no news on which players would start for SAMPAOLI but it’a very likely that we see two different sets of players for the two matches against Brazil and Singapore.