Scaloni’s options for Argentina without Gonzalo Montiel | OneFootball

The Argentine National Team will face Mauritania and Zambia in their last two friendlies before the World Cup, and Lionel Scaloni's squad already has two injuries, as both Leonardo Balerdi and Gonzalo Montiel were ruled out this Monday.

Scaloni decided to call up Lucas Martínez Quarta due to Balerdi's absence, while for now, the Argentine National Team coach has not summoned a player following the injury of the world champion right-back in Qatar 2022.

Without Montiel, Scaloni has only one "natural option" on the roster to fill the right-back position, which is Nahuel Molina.

The Atlético player is currently experiencing the best moment of the season and recently scored a couple of spectacular goals, the latest this past weekend against Real Madrid, in the Spanish capital's derby.

If there are no setbacks, Molina will have to play one of the friendlies, and the question is who Scaloni might place in that position if he chooses another player from the squad.

Just as Scaloni once decided to position Nicolás González as a left-back, one of the options to fill the other side of the field if improvisation is needed is Giuliano Simeone. Interestingly, today both share the squad at Atlético.

Simeone earned a spot on the National Team with his strong performances at Atlético and is now a certainty to be part of the 26 players who will participate in the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Giuliano has the ability to naturally cover the entire right flank, and although he has not yet played as a right-back for the National Team, Scaloni might consider placing him there against opponents that might offer little in attack, such as Mauritania (March 27) and Zambia (March 31). Similar to what he did with Nico González.

Meanwhile, if Scaloni opts for a "more defensive" option, such as placing a central defender as a full-back, he doesn't have many alternatives since most of the squad plays on the other side. Thus, the name that comes up is Martínez Quarta.

The River defender, who joined the training sessions due to Balerdi's absence, has previously played in that position for the National Team and could be an alternative if Scaloni needs to improvise.

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