Lionel Scaloni’s line-up to face Venezuela tonight | OneFootball

Argentina’s national team will face Venezuela this Friday, starting at 21:00, at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium in the first friendly of October’s FIFA window. For the match against La Vinotinto, Lionel Scaloni is considering fielding an eleven with some players who don’t usually get minutes, with an eye on the 2026 World Cup roster. Check out the likely lineup from the Argentine coach.

The Argentine team comes into this after closing the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with a 3-0 win over Venezuela and a 1-0 away loss to Colombia, which allowed them to finish first in the table with 38 points.

Looking ahead to this friendly against La Vinotinto, and ten months before their debut at the next World Cup, Scaloni plans to field an alternative eleven and test players who aren’t usually called up, to see new options and draw conclusions for assembling the final list. In fact, Lionel Messi is a doubt as he’s carrying fatigue from his recent MLS matches, and his starting spot in the Miami game is not guaranteed.

The team trained on Wednesday night, during which they observed a respectful minute of silence for the passing of Miguel Ángel Russo, and there the coach set up an eleven without the No. 10. His place was taken by Nicolás Paz, who has a strong chance to start, while on Thursday there was another session in which only one doubt remained in midfield: Alexis Mac Allister or Giovani Lo Celso.

In addition, Emiliano Martínez is dealing with a calf issue stemming from an injury he suffered weeks ago, but despite the discomfort in that area he will be the starting goalkeeper tonight.

The probable Argentina lineup vs. Venezuela, friendly

Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Marcos Senesi, Nicolás González; Alexis Mac Allister or Giovani Lo Celso, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández; Nicolás Paz, Lautaro Martínez, and Julián Álvarez. Manager: Lionel Scaloni.

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