Scaloni on his World Cup favourites: «France are one to watch» | OneFootball

Just over 24 hours before the match, Lionel Scaloni analyzed how evenly matched the tournament has been and named his favorites. “I think France are doing very well right now, and Brazil too; Mexico played a great match against Ecuador; Colombia are also very good; Spain, of course,” he listed. He also warned that “we’re seeing very evenly matched games.”

Speaking about Cape Verde, who finished second in Group H and knocked out Uruguay, Scaloni called for the utmost respect. “It’s a team that hasn’t lost, and even against Saudi Arabia they deserved to win. They defend well, they block interior passes well, and then they break very well on the counter,” he explained, insisting that their presence at this stage is no coincidence.

The coach also referred to the home-crowd factor in Miami, given the large Argentine community and Cape Verde’s small population (500,000). “The Argentine fans have always been a plus. We love the support. For us it’s a boost, not pressure,” he said, looking ahead to the atmosphere in the stadium.

However, Scaloni expressed concern about the weather and the forecast of 32°C with high humidity for the afternoon. “It easily could have been played at night. It’s the same for both teams, but if it’s played in the afternoon, naturally the spectacle won’t be the same,” he complained, recalling the Copa América final against Colombia.

Finally, in the mixed zone, the coach spoke about choosing the starting eleven. Although he did not confirm whether Julián Álvarez or Lautaro Martínez will play, he was blunt: “I’ve decided. I base it on what I think will work best for the team.” He was equally reserved about left back, where Facundo Medina and the recovered Nicolás Tagliafico are competing for the spot.

The positive news of the day came from Cristian Romero. The defender had been dealing with a knock to his right knee that kept him out against Jordan, but the coach was optimistic about his progress:

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