Lo Celso's comeback: he could make his World Cup debut v Jordan | OneFootball

The Argentina National Team will wrap up its participation in Group J this Saturday at 11 p.m. against Jordan. The match could carry unforgettable emotion for Giovani Lo Celso, who has a strong chance of making his official World Cup debut, whether as a starter or coming off the bench.

The 30-year-old midfielder is in a very unusual situation alongside goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli: both are part of the 26-man squad and have previous World Cup call-ups to their names, but they still have not played a single minute on the field in this tournament.

Unlike the current Olympique de Marseille goalkeeper, the Rosario Central academy product was called up by Jorge Sampaoli for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The paradox of that experience was that, despite his strong performances beforehand and Argentina’s difficult run in the tournament, the coach never used him as an option.

The bad luck with football’s biggest stage continued in Qatar 2022. Although he had been a key player throughout Lionel Scaloni’s entire cycle, Lo Celso was left out of the final squad at the last moment due to a tear in the biceps femoris of his right leg. As for Rulli’s case (a product of Estudiantes de La Plata), it follows the usual logic for backup goalkeepers. In Qatar, every minute was covered by Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez, who is expected to start again against the Asian side.

With Argentina already through to the round of 16 as group leaders, Lo Celso is hoping to cap off the good feelings he left in this year’s warm-up friendlies. If Scaloni decides not to start him in midfield, his place in the starting lineup will be taken by Valentín Barco.

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