The relief is over. The tensions built up after the initial defeat melted away with the victory against Mexico. And the Argentine team has considerably changed its face in the privacy of the bunker in Qatar. The first small step has been taken, as the captain said Lionel Messi. But qualifying for the round of 16 is anything but a given. After the relief obtained in the second duel, the Argentina national team immersed itself once again in maximum concentration in view of the third and decisive match of the group stage, this Wednesday against Poland.
With a victory at stadium 974, the national team will get a direct ticket to the next round and, certainly, as the first group. A draw will force it to depend on the result between Mexico and Saudi Arabia, who will play at the same time.
The Selection does not want to know about speculations. That’s why he’s going to bet on going out with everything to look for the match against Robert Lewandowski and company. Now, what will Lionel Scaloni do with the lineup this time?
The blue-and-white DT has already started showing signs. Some clues.
In practice behind closed doors at Doha University scheduled tactical documents with tests. At the start he placed the same eleven against the Mexicans. But then he made some variations: they entered Christian Romero Y Enzo Fernández; after Giuliano Alvarez and there was some too Paul Dybala.
Emiliano Martinez; Gonzalo Montiel, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Marcos Acuña; Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo De Paul, Guido Rodriguez, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez were the ones who started the test, which was not formal football, but rather various tactical exercises in groups with bib distribution. However, then Scaloni moved several chips to observe options and different possibilities. Which?
In the middle is the crux of this team that must stop flowing as it did before the World Cup. At the Lusail stadium, Guido Rodríguez moved mainly between centre-backs to allow the full-backs to move up at the same time. He was entrusted with the first fainting, but, governed by doubts, he did not know how to distribute efficiently and even skipped some deliveries in a risky way.
It was the first substitution and Enzo Fernández came on for him. This is the name that begs to sneak into the headlines. The two times he had to jump off the bench made the difference and improved his performance. The team has advanced its lines and we have seen a change, for the better. Also he scored a great goal in the last game. Will it be your moment?
Well, Scaloni proved it that way when he made lineup changes. This will be the big question: the central midfielder. And does Leandro Paredes have no chance of returning? At least for what happened in the simulations this Monday, it doesn’t seem to return to the headlines, but nothing is excluded given that only this Tuesday Scaloni will finish deciding everything.
Furthermore, for a while, the coach again drew a line of five defenders. Cristian Romero came on there, just like in the second half against Mexico. Naturally, Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuña continued on the sides.
Lionel Messi, Angel Di María and even Rodrigo De Paul (beyond the weak opening 45 minutes) are fixed chips. And Lautaro Martinez? The goal has not been given until now a Bull, always latent in the area. Julián Álvarez forces himself on the other side of the footline and was also included in training for a few minutes by Inter, who has a knock on his ankle (nothing serious).
The Inter striker was already in a similar situation in the Copa América and Scaloni supported him by respecting him as a starter (he only came out in the rotation he made against Bolivia, a match in which he then entered and scored). Everything indicates that the same thing will happen this time, at least for now.
Dybala is another who showed up during a period of work. La Joya is improving and putting pace to start being a variant to be taken into account also in attack, not in movement, but now it could be taken into consideration as an alternative for the second half.
Time does not spare. Scaloni tests, evaluates, sums up and in the last training session he will have to decide not to make mistakes and try to get the team back to work in a the final to enter the eighth.
Doha, Qatar. Special Envoy.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.