The search for a major trophy with Argentina for Lionel Messi continues as La Albiceleste enter the Copa America Centenario, to be played in the United States of America. After missing out by a whisker last time in the tournament, where they were defeated by hosts Chile in the final on penalty shootouts, the South American giants will want to rise up and win the tournament this time round.
Gerardo Martino named a Europe-heavy squad, with 17 players who ply their trades in Europe making the final cut. The Leo Messi-led team heavily depends on their attacking flair and the forwards will have to take the onus of carrying the team forward in the tournament.
Argentina are part of the Group D along with Chile, Panama and Bolivia. They play their first match against Chile on June 6 at the Levi’s stadium in Santa Clara. Tata Martino won’t have to ponder much about the offensive force of the team but the defensive frailties can cost the team some important matches.
Whatever the composition of the team, La Albiceleste are one of the favourites to win the tournament and here’s how the team might line up come the 6th of June.
Goalkeeper
Three goalkeepers, namely, Sergio Romero, Nahuel Guzman and Mariano Andujar have been picked by Martino in the squad. Andujar, currently on loan from Napoli to Primera División de Argentina club Estudiantes, played 12 games for his club this year and made 23 saves along with keeping 6 clean sheets in the process.
On the other hand, Guzman plays for Tigres UANL, a Liga MX football club in Mexico, for whom he played a total of 19 matches and made 42 saves.
However, in all certainty, Manchester United’s Sergio Romero will start, despite him playing just 7 matches for his club in the whole season. Given Romero’s experience at the biggest of stages in World Football, he will be the perfect choice for the Argentine team in the tournament.
Defenders
Argentina doesn’t have the best bunch of defenders in the tournament. It will be upon the defensive line to keep the opponents at bay as the attackers are all but certain to give their team the edge over their rivals. Martino will have a tough time selecting the central defensive pair as Rosario Central center back Javier Pinola misses out after breaking his leg in a Copa Libertadores match earlier this year.
Manchester City’s Nicolas Otamendi will lead the backline with Everton’s Ramiro Funes Mori the best option to partner him. Martino will refrain from playing Javier Mascherano as a defender because he is best suited for the holding midfield role as this Argentine back four will need a lot of guarding.
Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo will start at the left-back position. The 27-year-old played 27 matches for his club this season but failed to impress. However, for La Albiceleste, he is the best option for the LB slot. Martino, as he has done in the recent World Cup qualifier and friendly matches, will start River Plate’s Gabriel Mercado on the right side of the defense. The 29-year-old scored a goal as well, against Bolivia in a WC qualifier match in March.
Midfielders
Tata Martino will have to make a huge decision regarding the midfield. Playing a 4-3-3, Javier Mascherano will be slotted in the defensive mid role to sit back and guard the back four. The other two slots, however, have a number of suitors and top players like Banega and Lamela might miss out on a starting birth.
The manager is likely to go with the Paris Saint-Germain duo of Javier Pastore and Angel di Maria to enhance the creativity of the team. Pastore was made to start all the six matches in the last edition of the Copa America and now that Biglia has injured himself, Martino will most likely go with a Mascherano-Pastore-Di Maria midfield.
With the Barcelona player sitting back, the other two midfielders will be allowed to go forward and help the team in their attacks.
Forwards
Though La Albiceleste don’t have the best defense in the tournament, in all probability, they do have the best attack. Gonzalo Higuain has been in a brilliant form off late, scoring 36 goals in 35 Serie A matches for Napoli this term. On the other hand, Sergio Aguero has scored 24 goals in 30 appearances for Manchester City in the Premier League.
Lionel Messi, who scored 26 goals and gave 16 assists in 33 La Liga appearances this term, will most likely start on the right. The onus will be on him to create majority of the chances for his teammates and his ability to cut inside from the right side and take some beautiful left-footed shots is sure to create a lot of havoc in the opposition's’ ranks.
Higuain, due to his lack of pace, will most probably start in the middle and Aguero on his left side. Defenders will have to perform out of their skins to curb the threat posed by the front three of Messi-Higuain-Aguero.
Formation
Gerardo Martino, most likely, will go with a 4-3-3 which will help in unleashing the Messi-Aguero duo on the flanks with Mascherano spraying out passes from the center. Both, Pastore and Di Maria are good on the ball and can carry the attack forward.
The fullbacks, Rojo and Mercado, will be expected to overlap the wingers and deliver crosses to Higuain and even Aguero.
Otamendi, being the leader of the defense, will have to marshal his troops properly if Argentina want to erase the memories of the penalty shootout loss against Chile in the final of the last edition of Copa America.
