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The Argentine team and Venezuela face each other this Thursday at the Monumental de Maturín, starting at 6:00 p.m. (Argentine time), in a match corresponding to the ninth date of the South American qualifiers towards the United States-Mexico-Canada 2026 World Cup. In the run-up to the match, the albiceleste DT, Lionel Scaloni, He spoke at a press conference although, as usual, he did not confirm the starting team. However, there will be three mandatory changes Regarding the defeat against Colombia on the last day: Emiliano Martínez and Nicolás González are not part of the squad (‘Dibu’ due to a suspension and ‘Nico’ due to injury), while Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero must meet a deadline suspension.
The big news is the return of Lionel Messi who, having already recovered from the ligament injury in his right ankle that sidelined him from the duels against Chile and Colombia, would start against Vinotinto. The captain spent two months without playing after requesting a change in the 2024 Copa América final against the selected coffee grower. He returned to the fields to wear the Inter Miami shirt on September 14. Since then, he has made six games (four of them as a starter), with five goals and one assist. In addition, it added its 46th title to reaffirm itself as the most winning team in history (it won the MLS Supporter’s Shield with Inter Miami for being the best team in the regular season in the United States).
On this double FIFA date, the national team will have a new obstacle: it will not have ‘Dibu’ Martínez, one of the great strongholds of the squad, because the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) sanctioned him for “offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play.” The facts refer to two specific situations: the first was in the celebrations for winning the Copa América after the victory against the trans-Andean team, when ‘Dibu’ looked towards the stands and put the trophy in his pelvis; while the second was after the defeat against Colombia, when he slapped the camera crew of the official broadcast of the match and knocked the cameraman to the ground.
The 1 in Maturín -and probably also in Buenos Aires, against Bolivia- It will be Gerónimo Rulli, friend and main competitor of the owner of the national arch for three years now, even more so since Franco Armani’s voluntary retirement from the Argentine team after this year’s Copa América. A goalkeeper with vast experience who debuted in the major league in 2018, against Guatemala, in the first game under the leadership of Scaloni. Today, at 32 years old, he defends the three suits of Olympique de Marseille (France), but previously, after debuting in Estudiantes de La Plata, he was a starter for teams such as Villarreal (Spain) and Ajax (Netherlands), among others.
The other big absentee is ‘Cuti’ Romero, who was reprimanded at the end of the defeat against Colombia and will have to face a suspension date for having accumulated two yellow cards (the other was in the 2-0 defeat against Uruguay, on matchday 5). A sanction that did not sit well with the coaching staff because it was considered “unnecessary.” “Let’s hope these things don’t happen again, especially because the team can’t afford not to have ‘Dibu’ and Romero. Logically, these are things that as a coach I don’t like for the players and “We have to emphasize that, that when the player is sanctioned or expelled it is for something within the game,” commented Scaloni.
The central duo, then, it will be made up of Nicolas Otamendi y German Pezzella (Lisandro Martínez and Leonardo Balerdi will be on the substitute bench). Thus, a local soccer player will start in the Argentine national team in a points match for the first time in two and a half years, since the last one had been Julián Álvarez, when he was still wearing the River Plate shirt, in the tie 1 1 against Ecuador on March 29, 2022, on the last date of the qualifying tournament for the Qatar World Cup, in which he scored a goal. He left side, meanwhile, it will be Nicolás Tagliafico because the only alternative in that position is the youth Julio Soler, from Lanús. In it right side, as usual, Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel are fighting for a place in the starting eleven, with the former Boca with a slight advantage.
In the middle of the field, Alexis Mac Allister would rest to make way for Thiago Almada, Scaloni’s commitment to this commitment. Liverpool’s number 10 was replaced at half-time of the weekend’s duel between his team and Crystal Palace due to discomfort in the groin area. Giovani Lo Celso would share the axis with Enzo Fernández, and Rodrigo De Paul would be located on the right to form the usual tandem with Molina. Forward, Julián Álvarez would accompany Messi, relegating Lautaro Martínez to the substitute bench.
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