Argentina coach: 'Winning the World Cup requires wisdom'
* UAE - Argentina: 23:30 today, Hanoi time.
"In my opinion, in addition to solid defense, a team wins the World Cup by playing cautiously and playing wisely at the right time," Scaloni told Mundo Albiceleste in Abu Dhabi on November 15.
At the 2022 World Cup, Argentina is in Group C and meets Saudi Arabia on November 22, Mexico on November 26 and Poland on November 30. Scaloni dissected the tapes of Saudi Arabia's matches and highly appreciated this team. "The Saudi players are very fast. It's a tough opponent. The opening match of the World Cup is always very special," he emphasized.
The 44-year-old coach regretted that Giovani Lo Celso had to have surgery and missed the 2022 World Cup, but insisted Argentina had an alternative. Scaloni revealed that Nicolas Tagliafico had to practice separately when he arrived in the UAE because of fatigue after playing the full match Lyon drew 1-1 Nice in Ligue 1 on November 12, while Paulo Dybala and Cristian Romero had recovered from their injuries.
Meanwhile, Messi has a fifth consecutive World Cup, thereby catching up with the records of Antonio Carbajal (Mexico), Lothar Matthaus (Germany), Rafael Marquez (Mexico) and Gianluigi Buffon (Italy). Similarly, Qatar 2022 is also the fifth World Cup of Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), and Andres Guardado, Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico). "I still see Messi as always, want to enjoy the World Cup," Scaloni said of the Argentina captain striker.
In addition to Lo Celso having surgery, Argentina's 2022 World Cup list lacks many stars such as Lucas Ocampos (Ajax), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa), or Giovanni Simeone (Napoli). Man Utd 18-year-old Alejandro Garnacho was also not given the chance. Garnacho is in high form when scoring the only goal to help Man Utd win Real Sociedad 1-0 in the Europa League, assist twice in the 4-2 win over Aston Villa in the third round of the League Cup and score the winning goal 2- 1 against Fulham in the Premier League over the weekend.
"We made a list that was in the best interest of the collective," Scaloni explains. "It is normal that many top players are not called up to the Argentina national team. It is difficult to make such a decision because the names on the current list are all quality."
At 22:30 today Hanoi time, Argentina played a friendly match with the UAE in Abu Dhabi before leaving for Qatar. Scaloni views this match as a rare moment to enjoy ahead of the 2022 World Cup, and will not risk using players who are not at their best. Since this is considered an official match according to FIFA's schedule, two teams are only allowed to make a maximum of 5 substitutions.
