“Many times the one outside is more important than the owner”

Little by little, the World Cup climate begins to take over San Juan. The calm of the extra-long weekend ended this Monday when a group of 200 fans went to the hotel where the National Team is concentrated to encourage and ask for a photo or an autograph. As usual, Javier Mascherano, Luke Romero y Valentine Boatin that order, were the most applauded.

The coach is also changing his chip trying to leave behind the joy for the great group zone that the team made and to start focusing on Nigeria, the tough rival of the round of 16 at the Bicentenario stadium. Knows mesh that, first of all, It will be a physical and long-term duel. So try different variants.

What the coach seems to have defined is the tactical scheme: he will lean towards the 4-2-2-2 with which he played the first two games instead of the 4-3-3 with which he started against New Zealand. But there are guys who fight to get into the headlines, among which Luka Romero, Gino Infantino and Federico Redondo stand out.

“In a competition like the World Cup, one has to change according to the rival. So, welcome to the good level of the boys. The higher the individual performance, the more the level of the team will rise.”Mascherano explained on San Juan soil. And he added: “It is a guarantee to know that, if a problem arises during the game, you have variants at hand in the bank. Changes are always made to improve and that is what I try to make the boys understand. I know that for a player it is not nice not to start in the starting eleven, but many times the one who is outside is more important than the one who starts“.

The doubt will be cleared up on Wednesday, minutes before 6:00 p.m. Only then will it be known what will happen to Romero, the sensation boy. In principle, the left-handed player from Lazio would start on the substitute bench because Mascherano is very satisfied with the World Cup that Matías Soulé, the Juventus hooker, has been doing. Both fight for a position because they always played in the same sector: leaning on the left wing. The driver on the opposite side is Valentín Carboni, who has a small advantage over Gino Infantino, the Rosario Central midfielder who had a great performance against New Zealand.

The difference between what Soulé and Romero can give is very subtle. The footballer of the Juve He is more of a passer and positional player, while Luka is more vertical and weighs more heavily on the rival area (he scored 2 goals in 132 minutes in this World Cup). It happens that, out of strategy, Mascherano prefers to give Valentín Barco space to run, so Soulé’s presence becomes more necessary. Another alternative is for Soulé and Romero to share the field and Carboni to leave the team, although neither of them has played on the right in this tournament, as Infantino has, for example.

Federico Redondo’s chances of getting into midfield are more remote. For the coaching staff, the permanence of Mateo Tanlongo is vital for a physical issue and characteristics: against the Nigerians a brand midfielder is going to be needed. The runs of the Africans can be dangerous, hence the need to have a 5 that knows how to occupy spaces well in defense. Redondo, it is known, is a creative midfielder. Máximo Perrone will keep his place.

And above there is no doubt: Alejo Véliz and Brian Aguirre, the forwards of Rosario Central and Newell’s, are the starters.

San Juan. Special delivery