Otamendi’s Argentina make a move that could disrupt Benfica’s plans | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi will return to Portugal later than initially planned. This is happening at a time when the Argentine national team, currently in the United States, decided at the last minute to change the date and location of their next friendly match. A change that will affect Benfica's preparation for the Portuguese Cup.

The newspaper O Jogo reports in its Saturday edition, October 11, that the number 30 of the Clube da Luz is expected to arrive just in time on October 17, since instead of playing in the early hours of the 13th, he will be in action the following day (14th). All this because Argentina changed the logistics of the match against Puerto Rico.

According to the same source, the reason for the change of location and date is related to ICE - the U.S. immigration services. In other words, the match was initially scheduled to take place in Chicago, however, due to the presence of local authorities, the Argentine officials moved the game to Miami, where they will play at Chase Stadium, the 'home' of Lionel Messi.

This will be the first of several games that Nicolás Otamendi intends to play until the 2026 World Cup, in order to bid farewell to the fans. It is worth remembering that the Benfica captain announced last September that he will leave the national team after participating in the World Cup.

On the other hand, due to the change of dates, the Argentine risks not being an option for José Mourinho in the Portuguese Cup match. It should be noted that Otamendi could become the second significant absence against the Flavienses, after the Eagles learned about Georgiy Sudakov's situation.

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