Qatar 2022 Team Preview: The Albiceleste

Written By Onyeka Daniel

The Argentine national team or the Albiceleste as they’re also known as, will be competing in their 18th World Cup tournament in Qatar, making them one of the regular teams at the World Cup, having failed to compete in just four editions (1938, 1950 and 1958) which they withdrew from and (1970) when they failed to qualify.

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They’re also one of the most successful teams in the tournament, winning it twice in 1978, on home soil and 1986 in Mexico. They also came up second on three different occasions, 1930, which was the first World Cup, in 1990, four years after winning it in Mexico and in 2014, when they lost to Germany in Brazil.

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The South American football powerhouse go into this World Cup as one of the favorites to lift the trophy, owing to many factors. They remain one of the few countries that went through the qualifying round without losing a match and they’re just one match away from breaking the all-time record of 37 games unbeaten, which is held by Italy.

Bar Lionel Messi, Argentina don’t have household name type of players, but they’ve been able to assemble a group players that can work together for the collective.

After winning the Copa America last year, Lionel Messi already has a legacy and a place in the history of Argentine football, but winning the World Cup would further elevate his status and probably stamp his place as one of the greatest of all times and place him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the best players of their generation.

Being his last World Cup is also added motivation for the seven time Ballon d’Or winner. For Lionel Scaloni, coach of the team, his main headache will be picking a team that can make the most of Messi’s strength while also maintaining defensive solidity.

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Messi needs no introduction and his recent Form for PSG is a good thing for the team, given his struggle with the Parisians last season when he just joined them from Barcelona. He already has 7 goals and 10 assists before the break despite missing a number of games through injury and there are talks that he could be returning to his old form that he had while at Barcelona.

With Messi charged with being the creative force in the team, they need a strike who can convert those created chances and Inter Milan striker, Lautaro Martinez is the right man for the job, having secured his place as the first choice striker for both club and country. He alongside Messi scored the most goals during the qualifying series with 7 goals apiece.

The team boasts of a midfield that can go toe to toe with any of their counterpart. They’ve a steely nature about them, much enhanced by Atletico Madrid midfielder, Rodrigo De Paul. De Paul seems to have every quality expected of a modern midfielder, never afraid to make that tackle, that defense splitting pass and the energy to stay active for a full 90 minutes and even possibly extra-time.

Aston Villa goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez cemented his place in the team as first choice goalkeeper after his heroics during the Copa America, where he saved three penalties in the final to help the Albiceleste win their first international trophy in a long time. He was able to keep 10 clean sheets out of 17 games during the World Cup qualifiers, but hasn’t been that impressive for his club this season.

Read Also: Qatar 2022 Team Preview: The Three Lions

GK: Emi Martinez (Aston Villa). Franco Armani (River Plate). Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal)

DF: Marcos Acuna (Sevilla). Juan Foyth (Villarreal). Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United). Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon). Cristian Romero (Tottenham). Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica). Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid). Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla). German Pezzella (Real Betis)

MF: Angel Di Maria (Juventus). Leandro Paredes (Juventus). Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid). Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton). Enzo Fernandez (Benfica). Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen). Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis). Thiago Almada (Atlanta United)

FW: Lionel Messi (PSG). Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan). Paulo Dybala (Roma). Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid). Julian Alvarez (Manchester City). Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla). The duo of Angel Correa and Thiago Almada replaced Nico Gonzalez and Joachin Correa because of injury.

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