Juan Román Riquelme spoke about the Argentina national team and the coaching staff.

Román Riquelme played in one FIFA World Cup for Argentina in 2006 and was instrumental in that team. Now retired, Riquelme spoke to ESPN about the Argentina national team. Here is what he had to say:

“The team is there to compete against the best. You have to recognize that the team is doing well. I beleive Argentina have an advantage which I haven’t seen in a long time in the Argentina team. That is that they already play as a team, not as a national team and that is difficult to achieve with Argentina.

“They already know each other, they manage the matches and they have the best player in the world that is preparing for the World Cup and I am very excited that it will go very well for us.”

Riquelme also spoke about the coaching staff:

“There is Aimar, Samuel, Scaloni, the one’s from the youth World Cup from 1997 in Malaysia. Time passes by quickly, it’s the only thing that can’t be fixed. With Ayala, we had the opportunity to share the 2006 World Cup. They are all good people, I love them a lot, I always want them to do well in the senior team, in the youth teams that Mascherano and Placente are working on. It makes me very happy to see them work and how they are enjoying it.”

Leandro Paredes commented on the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi, winning the Copa America and the World Cup.

Paredes spoke on the Argentina national team and the players. Speaking in an interview with Filo News, here is what he had to say:

“There’s no explanation to describe what we feel when we wear the Argentina national team shirt. It’s a dream come true. I was lucky to be in every youth national team which were the U15, U17, U20 and you already feel what it is to wear this shirt. But wearing the senior shirt is something unique.

“Papu (Gómez) is the one that brings joy to this national team, the one that is in a good mood all day. Dibu is really crazy, nice crazy.

“People feel identified with us but we are always aware that it can be cut short. At any moment, the hit can come and we have to be prepared and stronger than ever because when that happens, hopefully it doesn’t happen, but we are aware that it can happen.”

In regards to winning the Copa America:

“I believe it was more than dreamed. I believe that no dream is as perfect as the one we lived. We lived 45 spectacular days. We lived to see Leo (Messi) champion, which for us was a great prize to be champion with the national team. I think Leo suffered a lot losing finals and having helped him become champion, for us, is a prize.”

Regarding the World Cup:
“For me, there are some very good national teams. I believe France are a favorite. Brazil, England, Spain play very well. Germany, as always, fight to be there at the top. I like to play with the best. Surely it will be very difficult but to be champion of something so important like the World, surely you have to win against everyone.”

On what moment in his life made Leandro Paredes the player:

“I believe the click which I am living and the people I am with and surely having reached the national team the way I reached it and what we are living with the national team. I believe I am just now realizing what we are generating and what we are living. That they thank you for bringing joy to a country. I believe that it’s after the Copa America that I started to realize what we are winning. These days, as I just said, they thank you, they encourage you, they give you strength to continue facing everything in the best way.”

Argentina will face Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland for Group C of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Within the last 20 days, these national teams played some official and unofficial matches, preparing themselves for the biggest competition in Qatar.

Saudi Arabia will be Argentina’s first opponent of the tournament, on November 22nd. The team coached by the French Hervé Renard played two friendly games recently. Both against South American teams; both 0-1 losses:

0-1 vs Colombia (June 5)
0-1 vs Venezuela (June 9)

Lionel Scaloni’s team will face Mexico on matchday 2, on November 26th . The team commanded by Argentina’s coach from mid-2014 to mid-2016, Gerardo Martino, participated lately in two official and three unofficial games:

2-1 vs. Nigeria (May 28)
0-3 vs Uruguay (June 2)
1-0 vs Ecuador (June 5)
3-0 vs Surinam (June 11)
1-1 vs Jamaica (June 14)

Argentina’s last rival in the World Cup’s group stage will be Poland, on November 30th. The team captained by their great star Robert Lewandowski were far away from playing their best football this June, and there have been harsh comments from the local press towards the players and the coach. They played four matches for the Group 4 (League A) of the European Nations League, winning one, tying one, and losing two:

2-1 vs Wales (June 1)
1-6 vs Belgium (June 8)
2-2 vs Netherlands (June 11)
0-1 vs Belgium (June 14)

Three Argentine players are nominated for the 2022 Golden Boy award.

The award started in 2003 by Italian newspaper Tuttosport and only two Argentine players have ever won it. Lionel Messi in 2005 with FC Barcelona and Sergio Agüero in 2007 with Atletico Madrid.

In 2022, it’s Matías Palacios, born May 10, 2002 of FC Basel who is nominated. Luka Romero, born November 18, 2004 of Lazio and Matías Soulé, born April 25, 2003 of Juventus are the two other Argentine players.

Both Romero and Soulé were part of the Argentina U20 team coached by Javier Mascherano who played in the Toulon tournament.