With Messi in doubt, Argentina's likely line-up vs Mauritania | OneFootball

Although Scaloni confirmed him for both matches, the captain might not be part of the starting lineup in the first of the FIFA international window friendlies.

The Argentina National Team will play the first of its two scheduled friendlies this Friday during the current FIFA window, kicking off at 8:15 p.m. against Mauritania at La Bombonera, and Lionel Messi might not take the field from the start.

Lionel Scaloni’s decision would not only be about managing the captain’s workload, but especially about getting a longer look at Nicolás Paz, who is in great form at Como in Italy, surrounded by the usual starters.

“At this hour, I have doubts about Messi starting. He’s going to play in both matches, as Scaloni himself confirmed, but there is a need to look at other players and confirm some positions. That’s why there’s a strong chance he won’t be in the starting XI today and that Nico Paz will get the opportunity, most likely,” Diego Monroig said on SportsCenter early this Friday.

The other doubts the coach still has ahead of the match against Mauritania are whether at left back it will be Nicolás Tagliafico or Marcos Acuña; and whether Thiago Almada or Leandro Paredes will complete a midfield alongside the already confirmed Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister.

With that in mind, Argentina would line up at La Bombonera with Emiliano Martínez; Nicolás Tagliafico or Marcos Acuña, Marcos Senesi, Cristian Romero, Nahuel Molina; Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, Leandro Paredes or Thiago Almada, Nicolás González; Lionel Messi or Nicolás Paz, and Julián Álvarez.

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