"Ecuador are one of the best teams in the world," says Argentina boss | OneFootball

The coach of the Argentinian national team, Lionel Scaloni, considered it "a good test" the match that his team will play this Tuesday, away from home, against Ecuador, in the closing of the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, for which both teams have already secured spots.

The world champions will visit Guayaquil without star Lionel Messi, who will be rested, to try to finish with 41 points at the top of the table, a position that is not threatened.

Ecuador, fourth place with 26 points, will try to recover lost ground and finish at least on the "podium" the 18th and final round of the Qualifiers.

"They have a good level of players. It's a good test for us. Everything about Ecuador worries me. We are analyzing and it is one of the best teams in the world, not just South America. They will make things difficult for us and for whoever they face in the World Cup," said Scaloni in a press conference in Ezeiza, in the province of Buenos Aires.

Without Messi, who scored two goals in the 3-0 victory over Venezuela on Thursday, in his last official match on Argentine soil, the team will have changes in Guayaquil.

"I haven't talked to him (Messi) about the World Cup. I know he will face this moment calmly, which he deserves and whatever he decides will be good," said the coach about the possible participation of the number 10 in next year's World Cup.

Otamendi will be the captain

For this Tuesday's match, Scaloni already knows that he will not be able to count on Messi nor defender Cristian Romero, who is suspended.

The coach highlighted that the captain will be the experienced defender Nicolás Otamendi, who will play his last Qualifiers match, and that Inter Milan's forward, Lautaro Martínez, will probably be a starter.

"There will be forced changes, but we also believe it is important to observe other players. The idea is to make some changes, because those who played less deserve to show that they can be there," he anticipated.

On the other hand, Scaloni said that it is still not time to "talk about a percentage in the squad" of players who will be at the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

"I'm not sure. We are still far away. Many things can happen, although we have a number of players that always remains the same," he stated.

The Argentine coach assured that, just like the team that won the world tri-championship in Qatar in 2022, the current team also played "great matches".

"They can be very similar, but from this team came out young players who can give us a more vertical game," he said.

"We have a pretty clear balance. In some games, we saw that we can give the team a new breath. It's better to win the way we like. That's the best thing we achieved. Here, we play for the country, for the shirt and because people identify with the team, and we achieved both things," he added.

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