After a breathless comeback against Egypt in the round of 16, Argentina are busy preparing for the quarter-final. Ahead of the last-eight meeting with Switzerland, coach Lionel Scaloni does not foresee major changes to his starting eleven; instead he plans to keep the core of the previous match intact.
Argentina came from 2-0 down against Egypt to win 3-2 with three goals in the final 12 minutes. Despite the dramatic victory, the coaching staff identified some shortcomings in the team’s display — particularly missed chances and a few defensive errors that Scaloni is working on.
Even so, he does not want to make wholesale changes to the XI. Instead, the last-minute thinking centres on two positions. At right-back, it is not yet certain whether Nahuel Molina or Gonzalo Montiel will start. Similarly, whether Lautaro Martínez could come in for Julián Álvarez in attack is also under consideration.
Coming on as substitutes against Egypt, both Montiel and Lautaro made a positive impact. Lautaro in particular added pace to the attack and provided an important assist for the winning third goal, so one or both could earn a place in the starting line-up.
Scaloni will test various combinations in the final two training sessions before settling on the XI to face Switzerland. If all goes to plan, however, no more than one or two changes are likely.
Argentina’s probable XI: Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina/Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez/Lautaro Martínez.
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