The Argentina U20 team will play Japan on Friday.
Javier Mascherano’s Argentina U20 team have been eliminated in the Toulon tournament and will not play in the semi finals. However, the team will play a match against Japan to determine the fifth place team.
Mascherano’s Argentina U20 team were eliminated after losing 6-2 vs. France in their last group match and results not going their way.
Nahuel Molina is set to leave Udinese with Juventus, Tottenham Hotspur and several clubs interested.
Molina could soon be on his way out of the Udinese. The Argentine finished the season as the defender with the most goals across all of Europe’s top five leagues as he scored eight goals.
Only 24 years old, the right back joined Udinese from Boca Juniors back in 2020 and has since become Argentina’s starting right back. Udinese club director Pierpaolo spoke with TuttoSport about Molina. Here is what he had to say:
“Molina… is a player who, due to the interest he is attracting in Italy and abroad. He will be difficult to keep.”
Several European clubs are being rumored to wanting his signature. Media in Italy are heavily linking Molina to Juventus with rumors of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid also wanting to sign him.
Leandro Paredes spoke about the Argentina national team, the World Cup, Lionel Messi, PSG and Kylian Mbappe’s comments on South American football.
Paredes has been part of the Argentina national team since since Lionel Scaloni took over as coach. Now a starter in midfield, Paredes has already played in two Copa Americas. Speaking in an interview with Radio La Red, here is what he had to say:
“When we were eliminated at the 2019 Copa America against Brazil, the group got much stronger and after that, the results helped us.
“Football has come a long way. I was a victim of my way of playing but I knew what I could give to Argentina.
“I feel the support but I’m not undisputed (starter). The only one is Leo Messi. The rest of us have to show that we are at the level of the national tea. Dibu, Cuti, Rodri, Gio and Lautaro have been doing well for a long time. But only Messi is undisputed.
“We very much enjoy being with the national team. Not only playing but the day to day. Coming to the national team is a privilege and we enjoy it. In the midfield of the national team, we are three playmakers and that gives us a lot of play. We are the young guys who grew up really fast. We got strong.
“If we don’t recover (the ball) quickly, we don’t have fast players to recover it. Without the ball, we would suffer a lot.
“Winning at the Maracana gave us a lot of confidence and it was seen after that, we started to play better. It was a huge relief.”
The Argentine also spoke about the coach:
“We have put a lot of trust in Scaloni from the first moment, the same way he did with us. He kept a group that is still there today. Scaloni gives confidence to the player, he is very close, he talks a lot and makes things clear.
Regarding Argentina playing against a European team:
“In Argentina, there was talk that we had to test ourselves against a European team and we did it in the best way. We were protagonists and that was more than important. The undefeated record is important for history but it doesn’t worry us. If we think about it, when we lose, we are going to suffer a lot.”
In regards to Lionel Messi and the World Cup:
“If we win the World Cup, I would be happier for Messi than I would be for myself. Hopefully it will not be Messi’s last World Cup. It’s difficult to go through four more years to play a World Cup. Let him play as a number five and I’ll move back, haha.
“Everyone has a chance to be world champions. We are going to try.”
He also spoke about PSG:
“I’m staying at PSG next season. It was a complicated year with PSG, it wasn’t easy for Messi either. He has been much better these last few months. I hope he starts the season in the best way.”
About Kylian Mbappe’s comments on football in South America:
“Mbappe and these types of players will never know what it is like to play at altitude, in the heat of Colombia and in those places.”
Lucas Alario is being linked with a move to Eintracht Frankfurt as he is rumored to leave Bayer Leverkusen.
Alario could be on his way out of Leverkusen as he looks to try and make Argentina’s World Cup team. The 29 year old only took part in 29 matches in the league this season with many of them being as a substitute.
The Argentine has been at the club since 2017 where he has lost his starting place. According to Kicker in Germany, the Europa League winners are interested in signing the Argentine for a fee of €6.5 million.
Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni spoke at a press conference after the 5-0 victory over Estonia and praised the five-goal scorer Lionel Messi:
“I do not know what else to say. It is very difficult. It’s like Rafa Nadal, what are you going to say? You have no words left to describe him, and especially for what he generates. It’s something unique and it’s a pleasure to have him in this group, to train him, his behavior and how he represents this jersey.
“We only have words of thanks. I don’t think he is just Argentina’s heritage; he belongs to the world. The day he doesn’t play anymore we’re going to miss him, so I hope he keeps playing and that everyone enjoys him and protects him because he’s a pleasure to watch.”
In addition to these words for Argentina’s captain, Scaloni also talked about the team’s
performance:
“In the first half, we didn’t play that well. They (Estonia) were stuck in the back and we couldn’t find the spaces. In the second half, we improved; we made a couple of positional changes, the game opened up and it was different. They have a fairly marked game idea and it was difficult to find spaces, but with patience we found it and the match was quite complete.”
