Lionel Scaloni does not hide anything. After the victory against Ecuador in Chicago, he revealed when he will give the list of 26 called up for the Copa América and explained in a press conference the reason why Lionel Messi He started on the substitute bench and played 35 minutes in the second half.
The cut, he announced, will be on the regulatory edge provided by Conmebol for next Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (Argentine time), since it will wait for the last friendly preparation next Friday before Guatemala in Washington.
“The list… We’re going to wait until after the second game. It is a setback for the boys who are going to be left out but we need them to be with us until the last moment”explained Scaloni, who must rule out three names of the 29 players who spent the entire week in Miami, where they will return this Monday.
“There are only a few days left to make the final list and we will do it based on what we believe is best. “It always hurts to leave guys out,” added the Albiceleste coach who also clarified that the absence of Nahuel Molina among the substitutes was due to the fact that he did not want to risk some players getting injured.
“These kids have it in their blood to compete in every game,” said Scaloni in Chicago.
Regarding Messi, he didn’t give any thought either. “Sometimes there is no need to risk, not only with Leo. It is taking care of them so that they arrive in optimal conditions. We did not want to risk Nahuel Molina, the rest of us are happy, there are only a few days left to make the final list and we will do it based on what we believe is best for the National Team”he indicated.
The scorer Di María was also topical during the press conference. “He has been with us for a long time, perhaps he did not have the participation that he would have wanted, but it is true that he has been under our consideration from the first moment we took over the National Team. and he is a boy who can contribute a lot to us on the left or right, as a midfielder, as a false nine. It is one of the things why he has come and especially for the last two or three months that he has done,” he concluded.
