Handle with care, Scaloni watches fitness doubts before World Cup | OneFootball

This Thursday, the 2026 World Cup gets underway with the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, and there are only five days left until Argentina’s debut against Algeria next Tuesday at 10 p.m. Ahead of that match, coach Lionel Scaloni has a few players being handled with kid gloves, even though preparation had begun in Kansas City with a long list of injured players. The two currently being monitored are Leandro Paredes and Emiliano Martínez. There is also concern over a knock to Nicolás Tagliafico, and Nicolás González has now joined the list with muscle tightness.

The latest development involved the left-back, who is dealing with a knock and has the coaching staff worried. Reports indicate that the defender took a hit against Honduras and still has not fully recovered, though in principle his place in the tournament itself is not at risk, even if his availability for the World Cup opener is.

Meanwhile, the Atlético de Madrid forward, who had arrived at the training camp in the United States carrying an injury but was cleared before the first friendly, is dealing with muscle tightness after coming on for half an hour in the match against Iceland, which forced him to train separately yesterday, and he will be evaluated in the coming hours.

As for the midfielder, he is progressing well, but so far has not been able to complete a full training session with the group and missed the friendlies against Honduras and Iceland. The Boca player suffered a muscle tear in his last official match with Xeneize, against Universidad Católica in the Copa Libertadores, and has been working on his recovery ever since.

At Monday’s press conference, the coach had said he was expected to rejoin his teammates by the end of the week, so Thursday and Friday’s training sessions will be crucial. Yesterday, the 31-year-old midfielder trained for part of the session with the rest of the squad, but then continued on his own. That is why all eyes will be on him in today’s training session, whose first 15 minutes will be open to the press. His place at the World Cup is not in danger, but his spot in the starting lineup for the opener is.

In the absence of the only player who is naturally a holding midfielder, Scaloni improvised by using Exequiel Palacios in that role during the friendlies and was very pleased with his performance. However, adding Guido Rodríguez to the squad is under consideration as a replacement for Leonardo Balerdi, who was ruled out with a tear in the soleus of his right leg. The Valencia player has the advantage that, in addition to being a defensive midfielder, he could also fill in as a center-back.

For his part, the other player still unavailable is Emiliano Martínez. The goalkeeper arrived in the United States with a fracture in the ring finger of his right hand, and in every training session he has taken part in, he has done so without gloves, in addition to doing several drills using only one hand.

Even so, according to TyC Sports, the Aston Villa player will start in the opener against Algeria. That is why these are key hours, since the idea is first to confirm whether a callus has already formed on the injured bone and, if everything is in order, begin testing him in training with gloves for the first time. This Thursday he will undergo tests to see whether the fracture has fully healed.

As for the rest, they are now available. Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolás Paz, two players who had arrived in Kansas City with physical issues, got minutes in the last match against Iceland after being medically cleared on Sunday. Another in the same situation was Nahuel Molina, although he did not play. In principle, the coaching staff suggested it was because they did not consider him injured, since his issue had occurred earlier.

Meanwhile, the other player who missed out was Julián Álvarez due to a problem in one of his ankles that caused swelling. Even so, the Atlético de Madrid forward was able to train on some days and alternated with rest on others to ease the strain on the joint, but

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