Honduras coach denies Argentina asked for special treatment in friendly | OneFootball

With the World Cup about to begin, the Argentina national team has two friendlies lined up in the United States, one against Honduras and another against Iceland. So, ahead of the first of them, against the Central American side on June 6, the opposing coach, José Francisco Molina, looked ahead to the matchup and assured that they will treat the Argentines “with the utmost respect and without wanting to hurt anyone,” thus denying any special request to avoid unnecessary clashes.

“It’s World Cup preparation for them and also for us with the Nations League. We’ll do it with the utmost respect, without wanting to hurt anyone. We have to play, and there has been no request from anyone in that regard,” Molina said in comments to the press from Houston.

The response, of course, came when he was asked whether there had been a request from Argentina’s coaching staff to avoid unnecessary clashes, especially with an Albiceleste squad hit hard by injuries. This, however, was flatly denied by the Spanish coach.

Scaloni giving instructions during Wednesday’s training session. (AFA)

In any case, it is expected that none of the six players under special care will see action on Saturday against Honduras. So, for the national team’s coaching staff, the focus will be on giving minutes to players who do not usually get much playing time and fine-tuning the final details, while also seeking to avoid further physical issues within the squad.

At first glance, Honduras appears to be an accessible opponent, ranked 66th in the FIFA rankings, with a favorable record for the Albiceleste: three wins in three meetings, with seven goals scored and only one conceded. The last time? September 23, 2022, when Argentina won 3-0, with two goals from Lionel Messi and one from Lautaro Martínez.

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