Storm call: Scaloni's reserve XI, no stars, v Iceland | OneFootball

Argentina national team head coach Lionel Scaloni changed his initial plans due to the rainstorm battering the city of Auburn and the resulting deterioration of the playing surface, deciding to protect his main stars for the friendly against Iceland.

Top priority: protecting the squad’s fitness

The heavy rain that fell on the Jordan-Hare Stadium pitch in the hours leading up to the 10:00 p.m. kickoff forced the coaching staff to rethink their strategy. Faced with a field holding a large amount of water and exponentially increasing the risk of injuries, Scaloni chose to exercise extreme caution. The “zero-risk” approach became even more pronounced after the severe storm, so the coach decided to protect players who had been logging minutes or were carrying considerable physical fatigue, including removing key names such as Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, and Lautaro Martínez from the starting eleven, in addition to the already known decision to rest Lionel Messi. As a result, the friendly will serve as a real test for the backup players and the younger talents in the setup.

The new probable Albiceleste starting eleven

With this drastic last-minute change in circumstances, Argentina would take the field with a completely alternative lineup full of changes:

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