With Tagliafico out, Argentina hold an open training session | OneFootball

With only five days to go before their highly anticipated World Cup debut against Algeria, the Argentina national team completed another day of training this Thursday at the Compass Minerals National Performance Center in Kansas City. The session, with the first 15 minutes open to the press, provided a mix of medical reassurance, rising concerns, and last-minute updates for Lionel Scaloni’s squad.

Relief over “Dibu” Martínez and concern on the left flank

The biggest piece of good news for the coaching staff on Thursday was Emiliano Martínez’s excellent recovery. The starting goalkeeper had the cast removed from his hand and is now cleared to train with gloves. Although the physical demands will increase gradually, his place in the starting lineup against the African side is fully guaranteed.

The downside of the day came from the defense’s injury list. Nicolás Tagliafico is dealing with a mild soleus strain and has officially been ruled out of the opener. Adding to that significant absence is the uncertainty surrounding Nicolás González, who is carrying a muscle overload and remains doubtful for next Tuesday.

Scaloni’s puzzle: Senesi called up and the outlook for Paredes and Álvarez

Because of the physical issues in the back line, and after Leonardo Balerdi’s right soleus tear — suffered last Friday — was confirmed, the coaching staff officially made an emergency call-up for Marcos Senesi. The new Tottenham signing arrives backed by his strong form at Bournemouth. His call-up is a direct response to Tagliafico’s absence: Scaloni needed to add a natural left-footed center back to the squad so that Facundo Medina can now definitively settle in as the main alternative at left back. This defensive reshuffle was also made possible by Leandro Paredes’s progress, whose chances of making the squad definitively pushed Guido Rodríguez out of contention.

Looking ahead to the debut, Paredes’s physical workload will be increased in the coming training sessions; the coaching staff’s intention is not to start him, but to have him in optimal condition to earn a place on the bench. Finally, in attack, Julián Álvarez returned to training with the group after his layoff and is beginning to gain momentum as an attacking option, although in Scaloni’s current thinking, the frontrunner to start on Tuesday remains Lautaro Martínez.

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