“The next game will be played by the boys who were not in these two games because I need to see them and they also deserve it”, noted Lionel Scaloni after Argentina’s long-suffering victory over La Roja. The announcement of the trans-Andean coach is viewed askance by the National Team, since its classification in Group A is at stake, where a victory for Peru would threaten this objective.
If the announcement by the coach of the world champions comes true, the players who have not seen action in the Copa América and who could start are the goalkeepers. Franco Armani (River Plate) and Gerónimo Rulli (Ajax), defenders Lucas Martínez Quarta (Fiorentina) and Germán Pezzella (Betis), midfielders Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Valentín Carboni (Monza), Guido Rodríguez (free from Betis) and forward Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United).
Now, if the substitutes against Chile are added, the list grows with the presence of the stars Ángel Di María (Benfica), Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Marcos Acuña (Sevilla), Giovanni Lo Celso (Tottenham), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) and Leandro Paredes (Roma). Beyond that, they are players who could perfectly be starters in any team in the world. And if we talk about its valuation, it surpasses many teams. In fact, With the exception of Armani, all the footballers play in European leagues.
“We have more than 10 players on the bench, I have to do the math. I still haven’t looked at how to make the team, but the logical thing would be for them to have minutes because they are guys who are contributing a lot“They are behaving very well and they are seeing their teammates compete. That is good,” Scaloni said about the possibility of incorporating Garnacho and Carboni, two of the most promising players of the Albiceleste.
According to the specialized site Transfermarkt, The scorer of the goal against La Roja, who has been a substitute in these first two games, is worth US$ 111.7 million. Next on the list are Exequiel Palacios and Alejandro Garnacho, who are valued at US$48 million. The list is completed by Guido Rodríguez (US$ 21.3 million), Giovanni Lo Celso (US$ 17 million), Lucas Martínez Quarta and Valentín Carboni (US$ 16 million), Gonzalo Montiel (US$ 10.6 million), Leandro Paredes (US$ 8.6 million), Gerónimo Rulli (US$ 5.3 million), Marcos Acuña (US$ 4.2 million), Ángel Di María and Germán Pezzella (US$ 3.2 million) and Franco Armani (US$ 1 million).
With this antecedents, the market value of the Argentine substitutes is US$314.1 million. That is, it exceeds the entire cost of the squad of 12 of the 16 teams. Among those, the Red, whose 26 footballers are valued at US$ 88.7 million. In other words, Lautaro Martinez’s transfer alone is more expensive than Ricardo Gareca’s entire squad. And if this is translated to the Peruvian national team, His valuation is just US$35.7 million, an amount lower than the valuation of Garnacho or Palacios, who have not even had minutes in this contest.
One of the situations that set off alarm bells in the Argentine team It was the contracture that Lionel Messi suffered in the match against La Roja. After the match, he underwent an examination which showed that the muscle discomfort was not serious.
“My adductor muscle got a little stiff and I couldn’t relax, It bothered me a little, but I was able to finish the game so I’ll see in these days how it evolves. The annoyance was at the beginning, in one of the first plays. I didn’t feel any puncture or tear but it did get hard. And it was difficult for me to move freely”explained the Flea.
However, despite the good news for the team, coach Lionel Scaloni prefers to give him the necessary rest so that he can overcome the ailment and be in optimal condition for the quarterfinal match, which according to the remaining combinations of results , It will be against the first or second in Group B on July 4 or 5.
