Angel Correa and Thiago Almada have arrived in Qatar and Scaloni has 26 players again

Three days after his debut at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, the Argentine national team woke up this Saturday with excellent news: Lionel Scaloni already has 26 players. Angel Correa and Thiago Almada have arrived in Qatar and have already joined Argentina’s concentration at the National University. At 18:00 (local time, 12 noon in Argentina), they will share their first training session with the rest of the team.

They are the substitutes for Nicolás González (tear) and Joaquín Correa (tendonitis in the knee), the last minute victims that the national team had last Thursday evening. Both were disappointed after medical studies confirmed their injuries.

Immediately the coach and his team had to define who to call and finally settled on two who were on the list of reserved players, who were communicated by telephone so that they could get on the plane as soon as possible.

Correa and Almada did it and after a long journey and a couple of stopovers they arrived in Doha. “I was at the dentist when they called me and I started screaming. I called my family. I really didn’t expect it,” said Almada as he landed on Arab soil.

“I had just given my father a ticket to Qatar for Father’s Day. And now we will both be here. It was a coincidence. I hope they give me a good cup and we can take it to Argentina. Experience a World Cup It’s the thing prettier for a player,” added the MLS Atlanta United player who, at 21, is the youngest of 26.

By chance, just a day before receiving the call from the Argentine coaching staff, both of them were sharing an informal soccer match with friends as they share a coach (Agustín Jiménez).

“We were playing a trite against. And I beat him, ah. He was enthusiastic,” joked Angelito, who is part of this cycle and was champion of the Copa América and the Finalissima. “We hope to continue in that streak that all Argentines want,” he said cautiously.

“May the fans continue to support us as we give our all,” Almada contributed alongside him. The former Vélez had dazzled Scaloni and his companions on their tour of the United States and this earned him the applause of Messi himself who called him “mischievous and facetious”.

“I took what Messi said about me as a compliment and as a motivation to keep making an effort and reach the level I am at,” said Thiago, who was one of the last to be called up by the born coach in Pujato and that he ends up entering his first World Cup at the last moment.

Now yes, the Selection has returned to having its full delegation. Could there be further changes to the list? Scaloni has until this Monday (24 hours before his debut with Saudi Arabia) to make changes, only due to injuries confirmed by Fifa or illness. However, the idea is not to touch anything else as those who have had discomfort or are recovering have been doing well.

Argentina, then, seems to have everything ready to wait for its first match.

Doha, Qatar. Special delivery.