Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Argentina confirmed to lose two players for the match against Croatia in the semifinals World Cup 2022 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, Wednesday (14/12) in the morning WIB.
The two players are Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel. Both of them had to be absent because they were subject to card accumulation sanctions.
Referee Mateu Lahoz awarded a yellow card to Acuna and Montiel during the penalty shoot-out win over the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals. In that match, Lahoz even issued a total of 18 yellow cards.
The yellow card penalty automatically made Acuna and Montiel absent against Croatia. This is because both of them have pocketed a yellow card in the group stage.
Acuna got it when Argentina won 2-0 over Poland, last December 1. Meanwhile, Montiel was awarded a yellow card when La Albiceleste won with a similar score over Mexico in the second match of the group phase.
Based on the regulations at the 2022 World Cup, the yellow cards received by each player from the group phase to the quarter-finals will be accumulated. That way the two yellow cards that have been received by Acuna and Montiel keep both of them out of action later.
Acuna’s absence is clearly a loss for Argentina. This is because the Sevilla player appeared convincing since the group phase.
Acuna’s position is likely to be filled by Ajax Amsterdam player, Nicolas Tagliafico.
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Meanwhile, Montiel is a reserve player in the right-back position. In this sector, coach Lionel Scaloni relies on Nahuel Molina, who scored one goal when eliminating the Netherlands.
Apart from Acuna and Montiel, Argentina is currently worried about sanctions that could potentially be imposed by FIFA. The starting point is the hot duel that occurred against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
(jal)
