Julián Álvarez alert, Messi rested and back-line surprises

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Radio Gol

·4. Juni 2026

Julián Álvarez alert, Messi rested and back-line surprises

The Argentina National Team completed its third training session in Kansas ahead of its debut against Algeria next June 16, in an open-door session that allowed fans to follow live the condition of the injured players.

The coaching staff led by Lionel Scaloni scheduled the afternoon practice for 5:30 p.m. (local time) to avoid the high temperatures in the American city. The live television broadcast made it possible to closely assess the squad’s physical progress before this Saturday’s friendly against Honduras, which will serve as a testing ground along with the subsequent match against Iceland.

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The situation of the injured players

The training session clearly separated the players dealing with physical issues from the rest of the group:

Separate training: Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, and Nicolás Paz carried out pre-competition drills and light jogging away from the main group. They were joined by Leandro Paredes, who is recovering from a muscle injury suffered in his last match with Boca Juniors.
The captain: Lionel Messi came onto the field minutes after the session began to work alone and at his own pace.
Concern over Julián Álvarez: After being medically cleared from an ankle problem, the forward suffered swelling after taking part in football drills and had to remain on complete rest.
Slow progress for Nicolás Paz: The Como midfielder is the player drawing the most attention from the coaching staff due to persistent pain in his left knee caused by a minor bone injury. He is undergoing special treatment with the aim of rejoining the group after the match against Honduras, ruling him out of both friendlies. His situation prompted the precautionary call-up of Emiliano Buendía.
No worries about “Dibu” Martínez: It was confirmed that Emiliano Martínez will be the starting goalkeeper in the World Cup opener. His fracture to the ring finger of his right hand is healing very well; because of that, he trained without gloves and using only one hand. He will not play in the warm-up friendlies to ensure a full recovery.

The team Scaloni tested to face Honduras

During small-sided football drills, the head coach changed the setup tested the previous day and introduced two adjustments: Agustín Giay played at right-back instead of Nicolás Capaldo, while José Manuel López came into the attack in place of Giuliano Simeone, pushing Thiago Almada back into midfield.

The likely starting lineup for Saturday is:

Gerónimo Rulli; Agustín Giay, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Thiago Almada; Lautaro Martínez and José Manuel López.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.