The bulletin of the Under 23 debut in the Pre-Olympic: the heavy backpack that Mascherano is carrying and the possible changes against Peru

It may be that the conquest of Lionel Messi AND the Staircase inside World Cup in Qatar it distorted the scene a bit. Since that unforgettable December 18, 2022, the omnipotence of the champions has forced all Argentine football teams to be protagonists. They say that success is intoxicating and comes as soon as the ball is round, obviously with the teams wearing blue and white. And even more so now with the Middle East enterprise still fresh and continually evoked. With that heavy backpack load Under 23 by Javier Mascheranothat in these days the qualification for Paris 2024 is being played in the Venezuelan Pre-Olympic, a tournament which would have started with a worrying misstep if it had not been for the heartbreaking appearance of Luciano Gondo in the 90th minute he managed to hide an unhappy evening in Valencia and took a 1-1 draw against Paraguay.

“It is clear that every time the Argentine national team competes its objective is to fight for the top and in this case the objective is qualification for the Olympic Games”Mascherano, who has two bad records as a coach, accepted a self-critical Mascherano early. And he little boss He never made a name for himself with the Under 20s, with which he was eliminated first in the South American Championship in Colombia and then, after going through the window when he was suddenly designated guest, he did not get very far in the World Cup in Argentina, where he farewelled in the round of 16.

And this very close story is worrying. For the lack of results and also for the lack of identity. Especially considering that the filter is not very porous and only two teams will get the ticket to Paris 2024 – two of the five go through to the group zone and then the two best ones remain in the final quadrilateral – and that that tournament for the gold medal, which the same Mascherano won twice in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, it could be the ideal setting for both Lionel Messi AS Angelo Di Maria they close their glorious Selection cycle as two of the three main reinforcements.

The match that marked the debut of Sub 23 left many more shadows than lights. So much so that Mascherano himself, who twice declared that he wanted to abandon the youth project and even opened the door for Lionel Scaloni to take the reins of the team in the event of possible qualification for the Olympic Games, opened the umbrella at the first sign of vulnerability. “I will be responsible for everything that happens. I like the challenge and I feel supported by the players, which is the most important thing”, he released in a declaration of principles that was too alarmist for a result that was, all things considered, anything but negative even though it was anything but expected. Too early to suffer a crucifixion.

It is true that the team played below expectations because it was difficult for them to transform the superiority deriving from greater ball possession and the technical wealth of the players into dangerous situations in the opponent’s zone. But the concrete thing is that among the eleven starters he released on the field, a letter of introduction to the competition, there were few salient points. And one of them, in particular, worries because the good supply of Leandro Brey in goal speaks of some defensive inattention that forced the boy who emerged in Los Andes and who is waiting for his chance at Boca to wallow more than necessary against an opponent who didn’t need much preparation to make a mess.

In the last row was the highest point Marco Di Cesareof Argentinos, who demonstrated the solvency he has shown in the Paternal team since Gabriel Milito’s time as coach. Joaquin Garcia it was a step below and Nicola Valentini There was more bad than good, including the clumsy penalty that gave Diego Gómez, Messi’s Inter Miami teammate, the chance to open the scoring.

Valentine’s Day boat, returning to play as a left back, didn’t have much marking duties and excelled in attack. Restless and mobile, the boy who just arrived at Brighton after having respected his release clause was one of the best of Argentina’s pale debut. But he struggled to find company.

The midfield that chose Mascherano, with Christian Medina AND Thiago Almada from the bands and Equi Fernandez AND Giovanni Sforza As pivots they had a lot of ball, but they didn’t overbalance much or not at all. The best was Newell’s central midfielder, but his ability to make good first passes was not exploited by his teammates. World champion Almada had more desire than clarity in making decisions.

You saw this above Pablo Solari AND Santiago Castro I am pure will. The River man manages to unbalance himself from the outside, but is almost never able to launch diagonal shots towards the inside. And the Vélez boy appeared anxious and fell offside too many times. Far from the level shown in the friendlies.

The changes, yes, have oxygenated Argentina. The doubt, in these cases, always arises whether it is a success or a late reaction on the part of the coach. “Everyone is in a position to play. We have this peace of mind. The solutions that we didn’t find at the start of the match we have to find with the substitutes. Today the substitutions gave us speed in the match”, analyzed the Little Chief. In this case the team started to flow better in attack with the entry of Luis Baltasar Rodríguez from Medina and even more so when Mascherano entered Claudio Echeverri by Solari e Federico Redondo of Sforza. And not to mention how well he took advantage of it Luciano Gondoscorer of the last League Cup, the six minutes he had on the pitch.

Surely one of these names will appear starting from Wednesday, when the national team returns to the tournament. They will face Peru, who beat Chile 1-0 on Sunday. It will be from 8pm.