It's official now. After several weeks of back and forth, Argentine national team You already know where you're going to play Two friendly people Subordinate FIFA double window to Mid-March. The Argentine Football Association confirmed, through its official website, spread on social media, that Scaloneta will face El Salvador and Nigeria, in friendly matches that will be held in the United States, matches that have become important due to the team’s previous filming of the competition in June. And July America's CupIt is the team's main goal this year.
Until a few days ago, Lionel Messi and his teammates used to travel there China To measure yourself with Nigeria And Cote d'Ivoire. The first crossing was scheduled to take place in HangzhouThe second is in the capital Beijing. But the tour was canceled due to “operational issues”. As expected NationOpponents will be Savior And Nigeriain that order.
The match with the Central American national team will be next Friday, March 22, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. While they will perform in front of the Africans in a concert on Tuesday the 28th at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.
an idea Claudio “Czech” TapiaPresident of the Asian Football Confederation, to play these two matches United State It is, on the one hand, adapting to the country in which he will try to re-validate the title of sub-continent champion. And for Be close to MiamiThe hideout of Lionel Messi, who plays for Inter, is in that city.
A source in the Asian Football Confederation accurately confirmed that “the first match is with El Salvador and the second is with Nigeria.” Out of order. At the offices on Via Viamonti and at the Ezeiza estate, they made no secret of their annoyance at the company's lack of definition. South Gilmore Company LLC, which is part of the Chinese executive group Zhongfu Sports Co., Ltd. That company was responsible for finding competitors and places for the Argentine team in China in exchange for an exciting contract in dollars, similar to the contract of 2023, when the world champion is. Played against Australia at Workers' Stadium in Beijing. The final cancellation forced the AFC to work against the clock, beyond any lawsuits that might arise due to not holding matches in Chinese territory.
The Argentine national team will then go on its preparatory tour for the Copa America in the country where its captain plays and which enjoys easy air communications for its players, as wanted by its coach, Lionel Scaloni. but, DT will not have top-tier opponents, as he requested. For Scaloni, the team must maintain its competitive spirit, and play against the best. El Salvador (81st in the latest FIFA rankings), above all, and Nigeria (28th, up 14 places after second place at the Africa Cup) are not elite contenders for the world champion team.
In any case, the two preparatory meetings may be useful in training the players or completing their inclusion in the team’s scaffolding. After all, in a friendly match in the United States against Jamaica (the first in preparation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar), Scaloni made his debut alongside Enzo Fernandes in an Albiceleste shirt. The Benfica midfielder at the time did not miss any pass and hit the post, giving the Argentine team a 3-0 lead. It was the certainty the coach needed to include him in the final World Cup squad. The rest is history.
Argentina 3 vs. Jamaica 0 Enzo Fernandez Premiere
The Asian Football Confederation wants the team to hold two additional friendly matches after the two March matches, before the official competition. He will likely face the champion Honduras And Ecuador, also in the United States, and that these meetings serve Scaloni to finalize the identification of the team with the aim of participating in the Copa America. After that, Argentina will play four warm-up matches to defend the title. Scaloni preferred European and world-class competitors. You won't have them. Yes, photography is enough
How did Argentina perform with its next competitors? He faced El Salvador on two occasions. The first was in the group stage of the 1982 World Cup in Spain, and ended with the victory of the team led by Cesar Luis Menotti with a score of 2 to 0, with goals by Daniele Passarella and Daniele Bertone. They met again in a friendly match in 2015 and the result was repeated. This time, he scored goals for the team led by Gerardo Martino, Ever Banega and Federico Manquillo.
With Nigeria there is more history. They have met nine times, five of them in the World Cup. Argentina won 6, Nigeria 2, and tied the remaining match. The first time they faced each other was in the 1994 World Cup in the United States; The team remembered by Coco Basile won 2-1 with a Claudio Caniggia brace. The last encounter was in the group stage at Russia 2018, when Argentina recorded an agonizing 2-1 win with a Marcos Rojo goal (Messi had previously scored), earning them a place in the last 16.
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