Hear
After two and a half months, the team met again to face the America Cup. Beyond everything the players know, so much distance and shared experiences, the start was half machine. Without losing that winning instinct that is so well established, even in the case of a friendly which served to distribute minutes and advance in the adjustments.
The 1-0 to Ecuador, in Chicago, before an audience attracted mostly by the possibility of seeing Lionel Messi, showed a team superior to its rival, although without rounding off a highly satisfactory production. Nothing worrying at this point, with 10 days ahead until debut against Canada and with the last test – against Guatemala, next Friday – to continue polishing.
The first two minutes were the strongest indication of what the game would be. Argentina took the initial kick-off and from that moment on it chained a succession of passes, without interruption from the rival, which lasted 2m05sec, until Di María missed a check. The selected one monopolized the ball, While Ecuador buckled in its field, it was never tempted with high pressure to try the Argentine error at the start.
The Argentine challenge was to find gaps and surprise with the change of pace. Ecuador displayed a sticky brand with a physical rigor more typical of a game for points than a friendly. Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández’s teammate at Chelsea, went to the crossroads with the intensity of the Premier League. He soon received a warning for a harsh tackle on Lautaro and soon clashed with From Paul, who doesn’t have much trouble getting into friction either.
Scaloni made use of the size of the squad to organize a formation with several of the headlines who will surely be in the debut of the Copa América, against Canada, and other second line players who are not so far below the first option. Paredes was at the axis of the midfield, a role he fulfilled throughout the season in Rome. Paul and Lo Celso were the interiors, Di María appeared open on the right and above, in the absence since the beginning of Messi, Álvarez and Lautaro formed a double team which is not so common in Scaloni’s schemes. Back, the efficient Lisandro Martínez He added minutes to the comeback he had a little over a month ago at Manchester United.
Argentina moved the ball with many lateral passes, using the width of the court more than some deep axis. There were no arrivals at the arches; The first shot – deflected – was from Di María at 20 minutes, after a recovery – it seemed like it was a foul – by Lo Celso in three quarters of the rival field.
The team needed to disrupt the tight rival block. The closest he had come to the goal was with a rebound from a corner that Ecuador left inside their area; Lisandro Martínez connected a half turn that found the quick reaction of Hernán Galindez, the nationalized Argentine who saves in Huracán.
Around half an hour in, the pace was no longer so tiring. Argentina managed to make some runs. Someone was needed to break from behind to open cracks. Acuña was encouraged a couple of times, but If it comes to daring, few are bolder than Cristian Romero with the ball at his feet. “Sometimes we tell Cuti not to go up, but he goes anyway, He has it in his genes. He made a ride like when he was at Atalanta. It has that pasture “You can’t control it and sometimes it pays off for us,” Scaloni said at the press conference.
Ecuador’s papers burned when the central defender appeared at the door of the large area to receive a pass from De Paul; He hooked against an opponent and provided the assist for Di María, who he defined with a tight left-footed touch. Another special moment for Fideo, with his voluntary farewell getting closer and closer.
Argentina had been patient, it is a team with enough confidence and variety of resources to unevent at some point. In those favorable passages, Di María was close to the second with a free kick that went over the top after hitting the crossbar.
The victory was a reward for Argentina’s dominance, although proportionally it created fewer goal situations in relation to the time they had the ball.
They went to half-time with the public expecting when Messi would come on, since Scaloni had promised that he would have minutes. He came in after 10 minutes, replacing Di María, while Enzo Fernández, back in action after the inguinal hernia operation that sidelined him from the final stretch of the Premier League, replaced Lautaro.
The composition of the midfield varied, organized with Lo Celso, Paredes, De Paul and Enzo Fernández. Before being substituted, Lautaro was unable to continue his goal return from the previous friendly, against Costa Rica, when he ended a streak of more than 700 minutes without scoring. This time, the header, from a favorable and unmarked position, went into the hands of Galíndez.
Some touches from Messi tried to give neatness to a development that was becoming quite imprecise. He served a pass-goal to Enzo Fernández, who noticed his inactivity. Ecuador began to have an area center-forward with the entry of Enner Valencia. Argentina fell into some inattention, the friendly began to drag on. He also couldn’t properly tune the counterattack.
Although Scaloni gave them glowing praise, there were no minutes for Garnacho and Carboni. Nico González had the second goal, but Galíndez blocked it. The friendly wasn’t enough, it helped Argentina warm up their engines.
