The captain of the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi, prepares together with the other 25 players of the Argentina national team for the Qatar World Cup 2022. In the first training session for those led by Scaloni, the 10th took to the playing field of the Al-Nahyan stadium in Abu Dhabi with his exclusive golden shoes.
New in development
As are the exclusive shoes that Messi will use at the World Cup and that dazzled Chiqui Tapia
First training session for the Argentina soccer team before the friendly match against the United Arab Emirates. Photo Fernando de la Orden.
Something sparkled in the UAE evening. It was Lionel Messi, dazzling everyone with his crack aura. However, this time there was more than just his brilliance. The glow came from his feet. Not just from his magical left foot; but of both spoils. The 10 of the national team took to the playing field of the Al-Nahyan stadium in Abu Dhabi, with his new golden shoes, to be in harmony with Arab customs and a very special World Cup.
World Cup travelogue, day 2: a pan-American constant and the Argentine identity emerging on the streets of Doha
Domes with different national colors are displayed near the Doha Convention and Exhibition Center. AP photo.
Finally Doha. Those of us who arrived in Qatar almost from the other side of the world had a long day on Monday. The trip, with stops in Sao Paulo and Addis Ababa, had it all. We will know more details of that journey that had an involuntarily cinematic touch. The concrete thing is that we have arrived at what will be the site of the World Cup and the group of special envoys of Clarín and Olé have overcome a few more obstacles from the start. A broken suitcase was the greatest damage to the entourage. And it ended up being cheap because it could have been worse. Sergio Goycochea, the Goyco, the hero of Italia 90, left the airport with two suitcases less. This is how finally, after almost two days, we moved away from the planes a little and were able to get on the carriages that were waiting for us to spend the night at the hotel. Read more.
The memory of Messi’s first goal for the national team
On March 1, 2006 the Argentina national team faced Croatia in an international friendly, at the St. Jakob Park stadium, in Basel (Switzerland). It was, of course, the months before the World Cup in Germany, so preparation was vital for every team on the planet.
After starting 1-0 down thanks to an early goal from Iván Klasnic, Argentina quickly rallied to turn the score around. Lionel Messi, with the number 18 on his back, was fundamental for this: first he gave the assist to Carlos Tevez to make it 1-1. And, later, he defined with his left foot from the edge of the penalty area to make it 2-1, so much so that he would celebrate by embracing Juan Román Riquelme.
Despite Rosario’s good performance, Argentina was unable to maintain the advantage: Darijo Srna scored the 2-2, and at the end of the match Dario Simic gave the Croatians the victory, who also remember that day with a smile. The reason? It was the first-team debut of Luka Modric, who would eventually become one of its biggest stars (he was voted best player at Russia 2018, for example).
At that time Messi was just 18 years old, but little by little he began to show all his talent on the pitch. And, outside of it, his voracious appetite for victory. “It’s important that I scored my first goal for the senior national team and I’m very satisfied with my performance, but all that is overshadowed by the defeat. All the same, I am confident that we will come to the World Cup well,” Leo said after the fall.
The round trip on Instagram between Tiago PZK and the players of the national team
“We love you, Tiago”, is heard in the background while several players of the Argentine national team, gathered in a room, listen to “Entre Nosotros”, one of the songs of the young ragamuffin. Among them, Nicolás Otamendi, who records with his cell phone, Papu Gómez, Leandro Paredes, Ángel Di María.
The video was uploaded by Tiago PZK to his instagram account, so Otamendi would pass it privately. “The best selection my generation has seen. Come on guys!”, encouraged the musician.
Tiago PZK and the message to the national team players, who recovered while listening to one of his songs.
The funny photo between Ángel Di María and Rodrigo de Paul
Angel Di Maria and Rodrigo de Paul.
Ángel Di María and Rodrigo de Paul had fun training with the Argentina national team and were the protagonists of a funny photo that they later shared on social networks.
Lautaro Martínez’s emotion for having represented Argentina
Lautaro Martínez was moved by his call up to the Argentina national team.
“4 years ago I said that no one would take away from me the illusion of representing my country in a World Cup. Today, after 4 years of hard work, what I wanted has arrived. The happiness and pride I feel I can defend the My country is immense. Thanks above all to my family who accompany me at all times,” wrote Lautaro Martínez on his Instagram account.
The Selection is complete and Lionel Scaloni already has 26 players for the World Cup
Dibu Martínez, Alexis Mac Allister and Lisandro Martínez. Instagram photos.
Emiliano Martínez, Lisandro Martínez and Alexis Mac Allister, the trio who played last weekend in the Premier League, were the latest to join their teammates in Abu Dhabi.
Thus, DT Lionel Scaloni has his 26 players completing the squad.
On Wednesday they will play a friendly against the United Arab Emirates and then they will leave for Doha to face Saudi Arabia on Tuesday 22nd.
Lionel Messi: ‘World Cup groups are never easy’
Lionel Messi interviewed by Ezequiel Lavezzi. To catch.
The captain of the Argentina national team gave an interview to Conmebol, in which Ezequiel “Pocho” Lavezzi participated as an interviewer, and in which he defined victory as something that “decompresses a lot”. “He makes you work differently and people see you differently too,” he said of his last Copa América victory.
Speaking of this World Cup, he assured that they will arrive in Qatar “very excited”. “We have a very nice group that is looking forward to it, but we plan to go little by little. We know that the World Cup groups are never easy,” defined Messi.
Pulga also said she hoped to “start in the best way to face everything that comes next” and to be “very excited”.
With regard to the candidates, he said that when a World Cup starts, they always talk more or less about the same ones. “There are some surprises, but generally the big teams are the candidates. Today, if I have to put one on top, I think it’s Brazil, France and England,” she assured.
And he concluded: “But it’s a World Cup, and it’s so difficult and so complicated that anything can happen”.
The probable squad for the last friendly against United Arab Emirates
With Tagliafico overloaded (this Tuesday he will move normally), the DT started rehearsing with Foyth on the right and Nahuel Molina improvising on the other side (they then changed), Romero and Pezzella as central defenders, De Paul, Paredes (he rotated with Rodríguez) and Palacios in the centre, Messi at the hook and Di María and Alvarez in the lead.
Thinking about Arabia, Otamendi would focus on Pezzella and Lautaro on Álvarez. And it remains to be seen whether Palacios will finally replace Lo Celso (‘Papu’, Mac Allister and Fernández are other alternatives). For this, there is still a little more to do.
Read more.
Lionel Scaloni will hold a press conference in Abu Dhabi
Source: Clarin
