With Tagliafico sidelined, Argentina train in open session | OneFootball

With just five days to go before their highly anticipated World Cup debut against Algeria, the Argentina National Team completed another training session this Thursday at the Compass Minerals National Performance Center in Kansas City. The practice, with its first 15 minutes open to the press, brought a mix of medical certainties, growing concerns, and last-minute developments in Lionel Scaloni’s squad.

Relief over “Dibu” Martínez and concern on the left flank

The big news for the coaching staff on Thursday was Emiliano Martínez’s excellent recovery. The starting goalkeeper had the cast removed from his hand and is now cleared to train with gloves. Although the physical demands will increase gradually, his place in the starting lineup against the African side is fully guaranteed.

The downside of the day came from the defensive injury list. Nicolás Tagliafico is dealing with a minor soleus strain and has officially been ruled out of the opener. Adding to that significant absence is the uncertainty surrounding Nicolás González, who is carrying a muscle overload and remains doubtful for next Tuesday.

Scaloni’s puzzle: Senesi called up and the outlook for Paredes and Álvarez

Because of the physical issues in the back line, and after Leonardo Balerdi’s right soleus tear — suffered last Friday — was confirmed, the coaching staff officially made an emergency call-up for Marcos Senesi. The new Tottenham signing arrives backed by his outstanding form at Bournemouth. His call-up is a direct response to Tagliafico’s absence: Scaloni needed to add a naturally left-footed center-back to the squad so that Facundo Medina can now be firmly established as the main alternative at left-back. This defensive reshuffle was also made possible by Leandro Paredes’s recovery, whose chances of making the squad ultimately pushed Guido Rodríguez out of contention.

Looking ahead to the opener, Paredes’s physical workload will be increased in the coming sessions; the coaching staff’s intention is not to include him in the starting eleven, but to get him into optimal condition for a place on the bench. Lastly, in attack, Julián Álvarez returned to training with the group after his layoff and is beginning to emerge as an attacking option, although in Scaloni’s current thinking, the leading candidate to start on Tuesday remains Lautaro Martínez.

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