Lionel Messi and his Argentina team will play their first football match after beating France to lift the World Cup in Qatar last December.
Argentina is scheduled to play friendlies in the international break and will take on Panama and Curacao.
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Messi, who won the best FIFA men’s player prize for 2022, will be the centre of attraction in this Argentina team. Playing a pivotal role in the Qatar World Cup, Messi captained his side to the title and won the Golden Ball courtesy of his stellar performance throughout the tournament.
It is a big night for Messi with respect to personal records. If he gets on the scoresheet against Panama, he will register his 800th goal in professional football. A brace would take him to a century of goals for his country.
While Lionel Scaloni, who won the FIFA Men’s Coach 2022 award, will have many players to choose from, let’s look at how Argentina can lineup against Panama. As far as the formation is concerned, Scaloni is likely to go with 4-3-3.
Argentina last faced Panama in 2016 Copa America, where the Albiceleste secured a dominating 5-0 win, which included a Messi hat-trick.
Goalkeeper
It is hard to look beyond Emiliano Martinez between the sticks. He played a pivotal role in Argentina’s World Cup-winning campaign, including crucial saves in penalty-shootouts against the Netherlands and France in the quarterfinal and final, respectively. He came up with undoubtedly one of the clutches saves of all time when he kept out Randal Kolo Muani’s shot in the dying seconds of extra-time, which kept Argentina in the final.
His exploits between the sticks earned him the Golden Glove award at the end of the tournament.
File Photo: Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa holds his FIFA World Cup Golden Glove trophy. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
Martinez has eight clean sheets in 25 Premier League matches for Aston Villa this season. While he is not enjoying the best season with Villa, the goalkeeper will be keen to don national colours for the first time since the World Cup.
Defenders
Argentina’s depth at the back was a crucial factor for the Albiceleste winning the World Cup. Experienced defender Nicolas Otamendi, who won his 100th cap against France in the final, is expected to retain his place as centre-back.
He has the option of having either Lisandro Martinez or Cristian Romero as his partner. But, judging by his current form, Martinez should get the nod after performing well for Manchester United in recent games.
File Photo: Lisandro Martinez of Argentina poses for a photo with the FIFA World Cup winning trophy during the award ceremony following the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill
While Atletico Madrid’s Nahuel Molina is the obvious choice for the right-back position, Scaloni has multiple left-backs to choose from. Marcos Acuna and Nicolas Tagliafico are the regulars, along with the uncapped Lautaro Blanco.
Midfielders
Argentina has three uncapped players in midfield who will expect to make their national debut- Maximo Perrone, Facundo Buonanotte and Valentin Carboni.
Scaloni is expected to go with Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez and Rodrigo De Paul, who all started against France in the World Cup final. Fernandez won the FIFA Young Player award at the end of the tournament.
File Photo: Enzo Fernandez of Argentina poses with the FIFA Young Player award trophy at the award ceremony following the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill
The world champion has a good bench strength in the middle of the park, with the likes of Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez and Giovani Lo Celso being available for selection. Lo Celso, who missed a World Cup ticket due to injury, will look to get his national career back on track.
Forwards
Argentina’s forward line will be the main attraction, with Messi grabbing the spotlight. Despite not enjoying the best of seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, which includes a Champions League Round of 16 exit against Bayern Munich, the Argentine skipper will still be the main threat against Panama.
Angel Di Maria is likely to start on the left flank. Di Maria won the first penalty for Argentina against France in the World Cup final and scored one to give his team a 2-0 lead, at the time.
File Photo: Lionel Messi of Argentina poses with the Golden Ball Award after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/Julian Finney
The No.9 position will probably be occupied by Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez, who was supposed to play second fiddle to Lautaro Martinez in the World Cup but took the tournament by storm. He scored four goals, which included crucial strikes in knockout matches against Australia (Round of 16) and a brace against Croatia (Semifinals).
Scaloni also has the luxury of bringing on quality players like Lautaro Martinez and Paulo Dybala from the bench if he deems it necessary.
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