On Thursday, June 20, the Copa América will begin in the United States. The Argentine National Team will debut at 9:00 p.m. against Canada at the Atlanta Stadium, Georgia. Then, on the 25th they will face Chile at the MetLife in New Jersey for the second date, and on the 29th against Peru at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami they will close their participation in the group stage.
The team led by Lionel Scaloni defends the title obtained in July 2021, led by Lionel Messi at the Maracaná stadium, scene of the 1-0 victory over Brazil, at the beginning of a golden streak for the team, which was crowned with obtaining the World Cup in Qatar, in December 2022.
According to the competition regulations, the South American Football Confederation requires the sending of a preliminary list of players who could participate in the renowned competition, who will subsequently be evaluated to form the final team of 23 players. The Santa Fe coach has until this Sunday to present between 35 and 55 footballers,
In the next few hours, Scaloni will present the preliminary list with a base made up of the world champions. The coaching staff will present the list of 23 chosen on June 12 as the deadline, since after that the changes are only due to injuries confirmed by Conmebol.
With 45 days to go before the start of the Cup, the Pujato coach has more than 35 names on his radar, mostly from foreign football, but only two are confirmed: Lionel Messi and Angel Di María. However, Scaloni maintains several unknowns to finish defining the final list. There are three world champions who are affected by muscle discomfort.
As Página/12 was able to find out, Emiliano Martínez suffers from a small contracture, and as a result of this the results they gave him were good. What’s more, the goalkeeper has edema that is not serious but is located at the insertion between the two tendons, and for this reason it bothers him more than usual.
Martínez’s intention is to arrive filming at the Argentine National Team’s friendlies in the first days of June, in the United States, on the 9th against Ecuador in Chicago, and on the 14th against Guatemala in Washington. To arrive in optimal physical condition, his idea is to play with Aston Villa against Olympiacos of Greece, for the second leg of the Conference League semifinals (9/5), and in the matches against Liverpool (13/5) and Crystal Palace (5/19) for the Premier League.
The other injured person is Enzo Fernández. The Chelsea midfielder of England underwent surgery for an inguinal hernia and is working double shifts to reach the Cup. In the next few days he will begin to work with the ball, and will arrive just enough for the friendlies in June. But the former River Plate midfielder will be taken into account by Scaloni and will be part of the final list.
For his part, Marcos Acuña suffers from muscle discomfort. The Sevilla defender has had pain in the patellar tendon of his right leg for some time, although this did not prevent him from playing in the last matches of the Spanish League. But his low level of play puts his participation in the Copa América in doubt, and it would be one of the coach’s doubts about being part of the 23 squad.
The 45-year-old technical director, who will turn 46 on May 16, will take some time to analyze how Paulo Dybala will arrive, who despite playing 36 games for Roma (16 goals, ten assists), injuries have not allowed him to play with the National Team since March 29 of last year against Curacao, and more than a year has passed without being called up to the Major League.
Looking ahead to the Copa América, the coaching staff’s idea is to bring three goalkeepers. The position is secured today with Martínez, but to compete in that place will be Walter Benítez, who was in the last call and has an advantage, and the world champion Franco Armani, who could wear the light blue and white jacket for the last time. However, they will include Gerónimo Rulli on the initial list, who had several calls in the Scaloni cycle, but would be left out because there is not room for everyone.
In defense, the Qatar 2022 champion point guard will be on the final list. Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico, Germán Pezzella and Lisandro Martínez. Furthermore, one of the two will go between Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel. Juan Foyth and Nahuen Pérez could be added to them in the preliminary round, who initially played as a right back against El Salvador, and appears as an alternative to Montiel’s low level and Foyth’s inactivity at Villarreal in Spain. The others are Facundo Medina, Marcos Senesi, who is very popular due to his good performance at English club Bournemouth, and Pablo Maffeo, although this is unlikely to make the final list due to the few calls for the qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup.
Nicolás Valentini, central marker of Boca Juniors, and Valentín Barco, left back of Brighton, were called up during 2024, but they will surely be taken into account by Javier Mascherano for the Paris Olympic Games.
In the middle line, the situation is a little clearer. Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Fernández, Giovanni Lo Celso and Exequiel Palacios have secured their tickets. And between Thiago Almada, who could lead the Under 23 team for the Olympic Games; Guido Rodríguez, who was losing ground; Lucas Ocampos, who is followed closely; and the youth Facundo Buonanotte, there is room for one or two among the final 23.
On the offensive side, Messi and Di María have guaranteed places. There will also be Julián Alvarez, champion of everything with Manchester City; Lautaro Martínez, top scorer in Serie A with Inter; Nicolás González, with a very good present at Fiorentina in Italy; and Lucas Beltrán, who was called up in the last calls and is well regarded by the coaching staff.
The rest of the forwards will fight for a place in the Copa América: Angel Correa, who maintains continuity at Atlético de Madrid; Dybala, and Alejandro Garnacho, who debuted as a starter against Costa Rica and has just finished his first season with regularity at United: 45 games, nine goals and five assists.
One by one, the 35 players that Scaloni considers for the preliminary list:
Archers (4)
Emiliano Martínez
Franco Armani
Walter Benitez
Geronimo Rulli
Defenders (13)
Nahuel Molina
Christian Romero
Nicolas Otamendi
Nicolas Tagliafico
Gonzalo Montiel
German Pezzella
Lisandro Martínez
Nehuen Perez
Marcos Acuña
Juan Foyth
Marcos Senesi
Pablo Maffeo
Facundo Medina
Steering wheels (9)
Rodrigo DePaul
Leandro Paredes
Giovani Lo Celso
Alexis Mac Allister
Enzo Fernandez
Exequiel Palacios
Guido Rodriguez
Lucas Ocampos
Facundo Goodnight
Forwards (9)
Lionel Messi
Angel Di Maria
Julian Alvarez
Lautaro Martínez
Nicolas Gonzalez
Paulo Dybala
Alejandro Garnacho
Angel Correa
Lucas Beltran
2024-05-05 03:01:00
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