Argentina coach hails Palmeiras' Flaco López: 'He made a real impact' | OneFootball

Forward Flaco López was decisive in Argentina’s qualification for the World Cup semifinal. In the 3-1 win over Switzerland this Saturday (11) in the quarterfinals, the Palmeiras player came on in the final stretch of the match and needed only a few minutes to contribute directly to the victory of the reigning world champions.

Brought on by Lionel Scaloni in the second half, Flaco took part in extra time and showed efficiency in his first major involvement. Wearing No. 42 for Verdão, he provided the pass for Julián Álvarez to score Argentina’s second goal, putting the team ahead on the scoreboard. Argentina then added another and confirmed its place among the four best teams in the tournament.

In the press conference, Scaloni made a point of highlighting the Palmeiras striker’s performance when asked about the use of young players during the competition.

The Argentina coach also responded to criticism for having given few opportunities to players such as Flaco López and Nico Paz throughout the World Cup. According to him, the choices are made based on the needs of each game.

This was only Flaco López’s second appearance at the World Cup. The striker had previously come on in the win over Jordan, still in the group stage, but it was against Switzerland that he made his first direct contribution to a goal in the tournament.

The assist also produced a curious statistical mark. Flaco López matched Cristiano Ronaldo in direct goal involvements in World Cup knockout matches. The Portuguese star has one goal in ten knockout games, while the Palmeiras striker needed just one knockout match to record his first involvement, with the assist for Julián Álvarez.

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