Scaloni, in the conference: some ideas for the team, the transition to the round of 16 without thinking about who and the curious nod to Brazil

Lionel Scaloni spoke at a press conference this Tuesday before the last training session he will direct before the match with Poland, for the last date of Group C, in which he will seek qualification for the final phase of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The coach will direct the proceedings from 1.30pm at the University of Qatar, the first 15 minutes of which will be open to the press.

He did not confirm the team, even if he announced that he will start as with Mexico (four-man line in the background), he left the doors open to some players, such as Enzo Fernández, with the possibility of starting and dedicated interesting references to Brazil and the Polish striker Robert Lewandowski.

“We will start the game the way we played and as the game progresses we will see what decisions we have to make.. Not only do they have a top down game (Poland), they also have a fast game, we’ll be careful of that. But we’ll start over anyway.” said the DT.

He couldn’t evade the question about Enzo Fernández and his high level: “He has the option of playing, like the others. Or entering, as he has already done, is an option. I continue to think that the player needs to be prepared for both. sometimes you can even be more important by joining a game in progress, we haven’t defined it yet”.

“Every match is important in such a team, regardless of the opponent, now we know it depends on us and this gives us peace of mind, regardless of whether or not we got rid of what had happened,” added the coach.

“Most of the teams haven’t reached the round of 16 yet, we had already said they would be defined in the last one. We said it was a difficult group and that’s how it is. We arrive with a major psychic injection after defeating Mexico.” he recognized the coach.

Name and scheme changes are not unique to Argentina. Scaloni is clear and said it in the conference: “Poland have good players and they can change during the match. I think almost always when they face Argentina they play differently, we hope and believe that they will adapt to our gamewithout saying that they won’t attack us, but they will comply, everyone does”.

“The most important match is always the one we’re about to play, it’s always been my philosophy, what happened happened, clean slate. And if we pass, the next one will be the most important. Brazil? I’m from South America, I’m happy that Brazil pass the stage, if Argentina doesn’t win I want a South American to win, in this case Brazil or whoever it is, but whoever thinks differently, I don’t agree”, said Scaloni, in one of the most singular sentences of the conference.

In the last round of the group stage and with a sideways vision of what could happen, Scaloni did not want to look further: “There was still no team that was superior to the others. Spain seemed to be like this in the match gone, but he was already paired with Germany, we’ll have to wait for the remaining matches and we’ll see that, surely it will be defined in detail, the champion always needs a little luck. First you have to go through the stage and then we will see what we get. None of us can say which team we prefer.”

“Detail Matches”

Before Scaloni’s word came that of defender Lisandro Martínez in the press room of the Doha Media Center. “These matches are details, you have to be very concentrated, strike when you can and then open the game. They are very tough opponents, who defend very well. When you attack, you have to be careful of the counterattack,” said the Manchester United player.

“We must be calm, not put pressure on ourselves, we have done things well and we must continue like this. We know that we will wear the Argentina national team shirt. Things will go well, we will show the game that has characterized us… I don’t know yet. The team you know, we know that Poland are very tough, solid and that they have important players like Lewandowski… We have to trust what we’re doing,” added the scorer, who started the momentous clash with Mexico and the victory for 2-2.

The former defender and justice referred to the hours before the match with Mexico and more to the post-match with Saudi Arabia, with a defeat that seemed to shake up what has been done so far. “In defeat is when you learn the most, from there you get the most positive things. Against Mexico, in the previous one, obviously there was a bit of nervousness, it was a decisive match, we had to win it and we did, the team responded and that’s the important thing. We celebrate after the match, this group is very united,” said Martínez.

Regarding the changes in tactical systems, Martínez said that “it also depends on the game, on the opponent. We have to adapt to any system, we are prepared, with a line of 3 or 4, we do it well.”

“You can’t compare a World Cup match with other matches, here they are very close matches, which open up with details, it happened with Leo’s goal, who came on and changed the game. We know we can give much more. we are looking for that… How to score Lewandowski?We have to stand up, so they don’t catch us, he moves very well, he’s always in a goal situation, we have to be concentrated until the end” he concluded.

the latest practice

Even what will happen in training this Tuesday won’t be definitive, given that Scaloni, for example, put Leandro Paredes as starter in the test before Mexico and then decided on Guido Rodríguez.

Argentina’s likely line-up in their final Group C match will be with Emiliano Martínez; Montiel o Molina, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez and Marcos Acuña; De Paul, Guido Rodríguez or Enzo Fernández and Mac Allister; Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez.

Argentina (3, +1) must beat Poland (4, +2) to secure qualification without depending on other results. The tie could reach it depending on the result of Saudi Arabia (3, -1) and Mexico (1, -2).

The national team’s match will be played this Wednesday at the 974 Stadium in Doha with Dutch referee Danny Makkelie starting at 16:00, the same time as Saudi Arabia-Mexico in Lusail.

Doha, Qatar. Special Envoys.

GL