Alexis Mac Allister will start for Argentina vs. Mexico on Saturday.

Mac Allister will presumably start in place of Papu Gomez. According to Gaston Edul, Mac Allister will be in the eleven with four more changes expected in the eleven.

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni is set to make five changes to the eleven which started vs. Saudi Arabia. Marcos Acuña will start in place of Nicolás Tagliafico, Lisandro Martínez for Cristian Romero and Gonzalo Montiel for Nahuel Molina.

Leandro Paredes is also expected to be on the bench for Argentina as Guido Rodríguez would start in his place. This would be the rumored starting eleven:

Dibu Martínez; Montiel, Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Acuña; De Paul, Guido, Mac Allister; Messi, Lautaro and Di María

Guido Rodríguez could start in midfield in place of Leandro Paredes for Argentina.

Lionel Scaloni is expected to make changes for Argentina in their game vs. Mexico and the latest report is that Guido Rodríguez could start in place of Paredes. Per Gastón Edul, Scaloni is thinking of starting Guido.

Scaloni would also have Papu Gómez on the bench with one of Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister in his place. If both Paredes and Papu Gómez start on the bench, Rodrigo De Paul would be the only player in midfield to start against Saudi Arabia and Mexico.

Marcos Acuña is expected to be in the starting eleven in place of Nicolás Tagliafico with Lisandro Martínez starting in place of Cristian Romero. Gonzalo Montiel is also set to start in place of Nahuel Molina. This would be the starting eleven for Argentina:

Dibu Martínez; Montiel, Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Acuña; De Paul, Paredes or Guido, Enzo or Mac Allister; Messi, Lautaro and Di María

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni had his players train on Friday with a possible eleven set in place.

Lionel Scaloni is set to make a few changes to the team which lost 2-1 vs. Saudi Arabia. According to Gastón Edul, the back line would change as three of the four players who started vs. Saudi Arabia would not start the game vs. Mexico on Saturday.

Marcos Acuña came on as a substitute for Nicolás Tagliafico in the first game and Acuña is set to start vs. Mexico. Cristian Cuti Romero was also replaced by Lisandro Martínez with Lisandro expected to start with Nicolás Otamendi.

Gonzalo Montiel in place of Nahuel Molina is the final change in the back line. In midfield, Enzo Fernández is set to start in place of Papu Gómez but one of Guido Rodríguez or Alexis Mac Allister could also be a surprise inclusion.

Up front, it would be Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez and Ángel Di María. This would be the possible eleven:

Emiliano Dibu Martínez; Montiel, Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Acuña; De Paul, Paredes, Enzo Fernández; Messi, Lautaro Martínez and Ángel Di María.

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about the team, the loss vs. Saudi Arabia and the game vs. Mexico.

Lionel Scaloni spoke at a press conference after Lautaro spoke to the media. Scaloni spoke about the team’s kiss vs. Saudi Arabia. Here is what he had to say:

“The first day is shocking but the next day you get up and think about the next game. I have always said that we must be prepared for when we get the first blow, because it was all joy and in difficult moments is when we need everyone’s support.

“I am the first one who was prepared for this, it can happen, it’s football. What I am calm about is that every game we are going to play, we are going to give our lives and play our football.

“There are games that can be won and lost, unfortunately, it happened in a World Cup. But we are lucky it happened in the first game. You can lose a game, the issue is how you get up.

“Maybe we didn’t move the ball with enough speed to find the places quickly. After one, two, three touches and maybe that is why we had mistakes in our last passes.

“The players have their last training today which is where we will be defining the starting eleven.”

Scaloni also spoke about the nerves:

“It’s normal to be nervous in your first game at a World Cup. Argentina is different to other national teams. You know how Argentina is, we are different and it’s different to have your debut at a World Cup with the Argentina shirt.”

On Lionel Messi:

“Leo is doing well. We know that tomorrow we will have a different match. And we will give everything on the pitch.

“I don’t know who said he is not fit. I think there were pictures of him training and he trained well. He is feeling well. More than ever, we need everyone. His team mates. We have no questions at all about his physical level and emotionally he is feeling well too. No questions there.”

Regarding the game vs. Mexico:

“Yes, we have watched the game and we are already thinking about Mexico which will be entirely different in the way that we will play with a similar… We won’t change our style due to what happened on Tuesday.

“Mexico is an excellent team, we already said before hand when we found out about the group stage. They are an offensive team with a great coach and we have our style that is not negotiable. We might have gotten a blow in the opening match but we know we need to stick to our guns, to approach the game as we had prepared beforehand.”

Lautaro Martínez spoke about the Argentina national team, the loss vs. Saudi Arabia, the game vs. Mexico and the pressure at the World Cup.

Martínez started for Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia and scored two goals which were ruled out for offside. He spoke at a press conference on Friday regarding the team. Here is what he had to say about the team and the loss vs. Saudi Arabia:

“We were defeated because of details, our mistakes. That is behind and we will think of what is ahead of us, Mexico. We have analyzed our opponents and we are ready to face them.”

“We were sad, were in pain because of the match that we had vs. Saudi Arabia. But as I Said before, that is behind because in a World Cup you don’t have enough time. What we need to do is to be ready to face a really strong opponent. We already faced them two years ago and we did well the last time we face each other. And now we have to be ready to prepare for the game and to think about winning.

It was a really hard blow to be honest. Because we were really excited because of our good streak, dynamics. We haven’t been through a situation like this in a long time. But we are a strong team, very much united and we know what we want. We will try to keep calm, to prepare as much as possible in the last hours because at a World Cup you don’t have a lot of time.

“This team, it’s main feature is to have the ball and of course the high quality of players. You enjoy it on the pitch, during training and that gives us joy. But also during training as enjoy, we enjoy it as that is the message from the coach.”

Regarding the pressure of having played in his first game at a World Cup:

“For many of us, this was the first match at a World Cup. We were anxious, excited, many emotions. Our families in the stands too. Then when you hear the whistle from the referee, everything is behind. We lost because of our mistakes, that is behind and now we need to think of the upcoming match. We need to think positively, to stay calm. Mexico is a tough opponent. We will have to have counter attack and make the most of our opportunities and know how we will be playing the game.

“There is no pressure because we rely, we are confident, we have trust in the coaching staff, trust in every player and we are keeping our calm. Yes, we were sad about the opening match but now we are thinking about Mexico. We are confident, we will break our backs for Argentina, for our fans.”

In regards to his two goals that were ruled out for offside:

“Regarding the VAR, what can I say? It still surprised me that if it was onside, it shouldn’t have been ruled out. But that’s not down to me. Regarding Mexico, we have played them, we have analyzed how they play, defend, attack.

“Tomorrow will be like a final because we need to win. It will be a really important match. We need to show that tomorrow on the pitch, we have shown that we have the players, we have the quality and that will be key.”