Di María and his “last dance” in Qatar: the World Cup final will be his farewell to the national team

The eyes will no doubt rest Lionel Messibut Sunday will be a very special day for angel of mary, who will bid his last farewell to the Argentina national team, as he announced mid-year. At 34, Fideo will dance his last tango dressed in blue and whitein Qatar.

What this man from Rosario, who continues to build an enviable career with experiences in the best clubs in the world and alongside the best players, doesn’t know is whether he will make his Losail Stadium against France in the Qatar 2022 final or whether he will start on the bench, as he has done in the knockout matches.

If you add minutes, it would be his 129th presentation (as well as those who played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics) with the sacred mantle. He has amassed 27 goals so far, several of which have already gone down in history. His great goal in the Maracana to beat Brazil 1-0 in the 2021 Copa América. Or what he did in the Final against Italy at Wembley. As a kid he had already shown that he was made for great things when he scored from the spokesperson in those Olympics to hang the gold medal together with Messi in the team led by Checho Batista.

But at the World Cup he has one plug nailed. Mostly ultimately. His open mouth full of goal shout and heart shaped hands will never be forgotten. to celebrate the 1-0 draw against Switzerland in the round of 16 of Brazil 2014 after a passage from Leo. However, an injury prevented him from being available.

four years later, in Russia 2018 he nailed that saber to France to fuel the illusion of a duel that would finally put an end to Sampaoli’s traumatic journey in that World Cup.

Now, noodle wants revenge. He wants to put a bow on his Albiceleste tour. And he works for it. A muscle overload in a quadriceps has ended abruptly here in the Middle East. He was one of the most consistent players in the group stage. He gave Messi the pass to the center so that the 10th invents the great goal that unlocked the decisive clash with Mexico and straightened the path of the Escalonetta on Arab soil.

But in the last three heads-up he barely managed to play the last 10 minutes of extra time with the Netherlands, in the quarterfinals. I was there for at least half an hour, though Lionel Scaloni felt he needed it for that shorter period.

In the second round he was not directly available. And in the semifinal Fideo returned to sit on the bench despite the fact that in the previous one he had been one of the doubts of the DT in the training. Scaloni ended up turning to put Leandro Paredes to put together two lines of four. And Di María didn’t enter the 90s just because of a tactical decision.

What will happen in the final? Will it be time to return to the team, just like that historic night in Rio de Janeiro? Angel hopes so. as he learned clarionPhysically he’s already fully ready to participate from the start if the coaching staff so wishes, who have to make the final decision: to use him from the start or keep him as a secret weapon for the second half, that’s the question.

If there is anyone who has fought to be in the national team, it is Fideo Di María. He had lost ground after the 2019 Copa América. And he has redoubled his club’s efforts to regain a place in the coach’s mind. But the summons did not reach him. And anxiety won the internal struggle. That’s why it broke out publicly almost as a plea and not in the best of terms.

However, it was heard. Scaloni picked up the phone and they spoke on a video call in which they both started crying after a few minutes. Everything cleared up and Fideo reappeared in the summons. He has since returned recharged.

Live every day to the fullest here in Qatar. He has the support of a large family group of over 20 people who he shares laughs and anecdotes with every time campus is released.

You know your time is running out. Everything will be registered in their retinas. Perhaps football has another glorious chapter in store for him, flaunted with the shirt of his country. That skinny boy who scored goals in the final wants to repeat himself in this World Cup, the last one for him and his friend Messi.

After Sunday, whatever happens, there will be no more Selection for Di María. He is ready for his last albiceleste dance, his last tango in Qatar.

Doha, Qatar. Special delivery.