Dollars, cross calendar and competitiveness: why doesn’t the Argentina national team get quality friendlies?

Rarely has a list been so eloquent. They are countries that many have probably heard of on rare occasions and that few could locate on the world map. Estonia, Honduras, Jamaica, United Arab Emirates, Panama, Curacao, Australia and Indonesia. She beat them all with more than a little difference and he did not receive any goals. Review the eight rivals That Argentina national team had in the friendlies organized by the cut forced by the pandemic until the last window FIFA immediately raises the question: Why can’t you find opponents of sporting quality?.

Confirmation of Costa Rica replacing Nigeria he will open the week which will culminate with the duel against him The Saviour sent Argentina to again second or third line of rivals. A few months ago, Conmebol and UEFA signed an agreement to be able to organize, with their calendars, friendly matches between teams from both confederations. In this same window, for example, Brazil will face England and Spain.

In the middle, obviously, was the clarification that the tour to China should have been suspended when the Hangzhou city government refused to receive it due to the anger that erupted in Hong Kong over Lionel Messi’s absence in a friendly against Inter. You love me.

But to understand this recent history we must tell it in chronological order and not overlook the nuances. The dollars that enter the AFA coffers for each match; the crossed calendars that influence the chances of the European Championships – they play the Nations League when they don’t do it in the World Cup or European Championship qualifiers -; and the degree of competitiveness that is attempted to be maintained.

Paradoxically, this list began to be composed from the moment the National Senior Men’s National Team was born He broke his 28-year titleless spell in the 2021 Copa América.

Until then, the Argentine national team’s friendlies were organized by the club World Elevenproperty of Guillermo Tofoni. After a conflict that escalated to Justice, which rejected Claudio Chiqui Tapia last September-, The AFA took the lead in determining where, against whom and under what conditions At that time the champions of America were presented.

Estoniaat the time at position 110 in the FIFA ranking, it was chosen to celebrate the conquest which took place a couple of days before the Staircase he had gotten with the Final 2022 in view of Italy at the legendary Wembley Stadium in London.

Then came a new tour United States of Americaone of the favorite destinations of this trial, where he beat Honduras AND Jamaica. It was the last friendly window before the World Cup in Qatar and this is why, publicly, even Lionel Scaloni seemed resigned to the request to be able to face European teams, to be able to measure whether the undefeated team that was growing had support.

Just over a year later a new friendly arrived, a stop before landing in Doha. He was inside Abu Dhabi clash with United Arab Emirates -directed at the time by the Argentine Rodolfo Arruabarrena- and which served as a final exam for Scaloni, who in fact at that moment became convinced that Joaquín Correa and Nicolás González were not in the physical conditions to face the World Cup.

The third star logically increased the cache of the world champion team and multiplied the orders. Furthermore, wisely, it is almost mathematical that the greater the money, the more the rival’s competitive scale tends to lower. That was a choice by the AFA and one of the reasons that led to the short circuit in the first hours of Rio de Janeiro in which Scaloni questioned his continuity as coach, a few minutes after beating Brazil in the legendary Maracaná.

Panama He came with a second division team, whose coach had not even travelled, to be a partner in the celebration of the world champions at the Monumental stadium. In Santiago del Estero, a few days after that March 2023, they were invited Curacao. Both were paid the minimum possible so that the two days could be made the most of by the organiser. If the way of selling tickets had even changed and it would have Sportyremained at the center of controversy for its links with Sergio Massa.

China was the next stop, in June. The millions of dollars and the growth of the Asian giant’s interest in the national team – which was also strengthening in that country on a commercial level – meant that its arrival on the market Australia -the most competitive match on the list because it reprinted the round of 16 of Qatar 2022- and Indonesia.

Once again Asia was the chosen destination for this double event in March. The rivals started from the European second line, followed by the champion and runner-up of the Africa Cup of Nations (Nigeria AND Ivory Coast) and ended up in Central America with Costa Rica AND The Saviour. The apologies that Messi made to the fans who were left without seeing him in the friendly came late, he had to “move” to the United States.

On this occasion the tour was agreed “the investment company SOUTHGILMORE LLC, controlled by EpicQuest Education Group International, part of the Chinese executive group Zhongfu Sports Co., Ltd”as indicated on the AFA website on January 15th.

The prospects for next June, when the last friendly matches will be played before the defense of the Copa América title, do not seem to change. Ecuador AND Honduras OR GuatemalaAccording to the portal ‘The Athletic’, they would be the rivals, once again and with more logic, in the United States. The list will continue to grow and that duel with Germany in October 2019 (2-2 in Dortmund) will be the last against a European Championship.