With Messi from the start, this could be Argentina’s XI v Iceland | OneFootball

The Argentina National Team had another training session with its focus set on the friendly against Iceland, which will be played on Tuesday, June 9, starting at 10:00 p.m. in Alabama. The match will be the last test for Lionel Scaloni’s team before its World Cup debut against Algeria, scheduled for June 16 in Kansas City.

The main news from training was the return of Nico Paz to work with the rest of the squad and the possibility that Exequiel Palacios could break into the starting lineup for the World Cup debut.

As journalist Diego Monroig confirmed on ESPN, the attacking midfielder trained alongside his teammates after several days of recovery and is now available to the coaching staff for the friendly against the European side. And on Monday’s show, on Buenos Días ESPN, Monroig himself floated the possibility that the Bayer Leverkusen player could be part of the team that starts the World Cup, on Tuesday, June 16 against Algeria, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

In addition, Leo Paradizo, reporting from the United States, said that Lionel Messi would start and that Scaloni could give Nico Paz minutes in the friendly against Iceland so that he arrives at the World Cup opener with match rhythm.

With only a few days to go before the start of the World Cup, the coaching staff is closely monitoring the progress of several players dealing with physical issues.

One of the most important cases is Emiliano Martínez, who is still recovering from a fracture in the ring finger of his right hand. For that reason, everything indicates that Gerónimo Rulli will be the starting goalkeeper against Iceland in the final friendly before the World Cup. Santiago Beltrán could also get more minutes.

Others who rejoined training with the group were Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel, who are now available to the coach. Given this situation, Nicolás Capaldo appears as one of the options Scaloni is considering to fill that side of the field. In addition, Agustín Giay, who started and delivered a good performance against Honduras, also remains a valid alternative for the coach.

Another player who continues to improve is Leandro Paredes. In that context, Exequiel Palacios is gaining more and more ground in the coaching staff’s consideration. The midfielder was one of the standout performers in the win over Honduras and is now seriously fighting for a spot among the starters ahead of the debut against Algeria. Initially, the Boca midfielder appeared to be one of the players set to occupy that area of midfield, but the physical discomfort he has been carrying forced Scaloni to rethink things and evaluate new alternatives to accompany the usual starters in the middle of the park, according to the reporter.

Meanwhile, the situation of Julián Álvarez is causing less concern, and everything indicates that he will arrive at the start of the World Cup without any issues.

In addition, the coaching staff still has to decide who will replace Leonardo Balerdi, whose injury left him out of the final squad for the tournament.

Argentina’s possible lineup against Iceland

Even though Scaloni has not confirmed the team, the friendly in Alabama could serve to take a look at some players trying to earn a place among the starters.

A likely lineup would be Gerónimo Rulli; Nicolás Capaldo or Agustín Giay, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico; Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Lionel Messi and

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