Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni backed his U-20 pair, Javier Mascherano, with whom he was satisfied to “work” at the World Cup, despite the fact that they ended with an early elimination in the round of 16 against Nigeria. Done.
“The way they were eliminated was unfair. Sometimes in football, even without a win, you can leave a good image. There are surprises like Israel, Nigeria, South Korea in this U-20 World Cup, which shows That everything is very similar, both at a senior and youth level. So we are satisfied with the work Mascherano and all the boys have done,” Scaloni said on ESPN.
Argentina were eliminated in the round of 16 and did not qualify for the first World Cup due to the way the game was played in South America, in one of the most significant sporting failures of recent times, not getting past the group stage.
This prompted Mascherano to offer his resignation, however with the express request of Claudio Tapia, Scaloni and Lionel Messi to change the headquarters from Indonesia to Argentina, he decided to continue.
Scaloni: “Garnacho is exciting, like the other young boys we have. The idea is to play him”
the coach #selectArgentina He mentioned the presence of Garnacho in the next two matches that the Albiceleste will face. pic.twitter.com/QChUojAuZ7
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) June 6, 2023
Scaloni spent several weeks without a statement after all the whirlwind of being world champion last December in Qatar and has now reappeared for the team’s tour of Asia, where he will play Australia and Indonesia in Beijing (China) on the 15th. Will face respectively in Jakarta (Indonesia) on the 19th of this month. Both meetings will start at around 6PM in Argentina.
“Australia are a very tough opponent. I was talking to their coaches in Qatar and it’s a good test, beyond the game that got us through to the round of 16. The hope is that the guys who have come for the first time, get to see the film Give , minutes, and add them that were there”, he analyzed.
The Australian team was the national team’s opponent in the round of 16 of the World Cup and although Argentina outscored them 2–1 and at times with a much greater margin on the field, they had to suffer with a save by Emiliano “Dibu” MartÃnez. on the hour.
The question of dates: Scaloni explained Armani’s absence in the national team’s friendly matches and made it clear that “it is not at all outside” of the team. pic.twitter.com/pcgKxR2MIC
– SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) June 6, 2023
“The players who have been in the national team will be there until they tell me otherwise. There is nothing to change, because we know how it works. For example, Franco Armani will be there for just the first game. and it didn’t make sense to call him, because there’s a date until the day it was almost played. But I know him very well and he’s not out of the team at all. So until he Don’t tell me, until then he is with us,” he explained the absence of the River Plate goalkeeper.
“Since we won the World Cup, we are looking to continue competing and try to do things well. We have to try not to make mistakes in calls and pick what we think is the best We have to go slowly and not go.” Crazy, if not because we are champions in the world the kids should be the biggest. They enjoy, keep playing, because those are the boys we are watching”, he commented on the arrival of several new talents.
Finally, Scaloni had words for Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho, whom he described as a “true illusion”, but refrained from defining “whether he will start or add minutes off the bench. But he going to play”, he encouraged the minutes. before leaving with the rest of the coaching staff from Isiza to Beijing.
