Molina edges ahead of Montiel as Scaloni gets Tagliafico back for Austria

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Radio Gol

·19 June 2026

Molina edges ahead of Montiel as Scaloni gets Tagliafico back for Austria

After Argentina’s strong debut with a 3-0 win over Algeria at the 2026 World Cup, Lionel Scaloni is already planning the team for the second matchday of the group stage. All signs point to one enforced change at right back: Nahuel Molina coming in to replace Gonzalo Montiel.

Although both defenders arrived at the tournament physically on the edge (there was even talk of urgently calling up Agustín Giay), the split minutes in the opener — each played one half — now seem to have tipped in favor of the former Boca player for two main reasons:

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Footballing performance: “Cachete” did not fully convince the coaching staff with his display against Algeria and raised doubts ahead of the challenge posed by the European side.
Physical management: In the latest training sessions, Montiel’s workload was reduced because of muscle tightness. The idea is to preserve him and avoid risking a more serious injury.

Although Molina is the clear favorite to start against Austria, it is not ruled out that Montiel could get minutes in the second half to maintain rotation and manage the physical wear on both full-backs.

The good news: Nicolás Tagliafico is back training normally

The left back, who missed the World Cup opener due to a Grade I strain in the soleus muscle of his left leg suffered a week before the tournament, has already rejoined normal training with the rest of the squad. In this way, Scaloni gets a key piece back in defense and has him fully available for the clash against the Austrians.

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