Scaloni’s options in Argentina without Gonzalo Montiel | OneFootball

The Argentina National Team will face Mauritania and Zambia in its final two friendlies before the World Cup, and Lionel Scaloni’s squad has already suffered two injury losses, as both Leonardo Balerdi and Gonzalo Montiel were ruled out this Monday.

Scaloni decided to call up Lucas Martínez Quarta to replace Balerdi, while for the time being the Argentina coach has not summoned another player after it was confirmed that the full-back who won the World Cup in Qatar 2022 suffered a muscle tear.

Without Montiel, Scaloni has only one “natural option” in the squad to play at right-back: Nahuel Molina.

The Atlético player is enjoying the best spell of his season and is coming off scoring a couple of stunning goals, the latest this past weekend against Real Madrid in the Spanish capital derby.

Barring any setbacks, Molina should play in one of the friendlies, and the question is who Scaloni could use in that position if he chooses another of the called-up players.

Just as Scaloni once decided to use Nicolás González at left-back, one of the options to cover the other side of the pitch if he has to improvise is Giuliano Simeone. Coincidentally, the two now share a squad at Atleti.

Simeone earned his place in the national team with his strong performances for Atlético and is now considered a lock to be among the 26 players who will go to the World Cup jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Giuliano has the work rate that allows him to naturally cover the entire right flank, and although he has not yet played as a full-back for the national team, Scaloni could consider using him there against opponents who may offer little in attack, as could be the case against Mauritania (March 27) and Zambia (March 31). The same way he did with Nico González.

Meanwhile, if Scaloni opts for a “more defensive” choice, such as using a center-back as a full-back, he also does not have many alternatives because a large part of the call-ups play on the other side. In that case, the name that comes up is Martínez Quarta.

The River defender, who joined training after Balerdi’s withdrawal, has already played in that position for the national team and could be an option if Scaloni needs to improvise.

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