KANSAS CITY (Special Envoy).- The question began to emerge as soon as the foam settled from the agonizing victory over Egypt. Among fans, players, and also, naturally, within the coaching staff. Is there still time to keep searching for a better version of this team? Or has the World Cup reached the point where it’s better to stop experimenting, accept the team’s strengths and limitations, and definitively bet on what we have? Because it’s one thing to make changes on the fly during the group stage, and quite another to try when there are only three games left to become world champions. The doubt is no longer so much about a name or a formation. It’s about the margin. About knowing whether Argentina can still show a different image or if it will have to go as far as it can with the tools it has shown so far: the hierarchy of Lionel Messi, the self-love of a group that never gives up, and some individualities that make the difference.
The calendar itself favors that second option. The early games allow a few days to train, correct, and try variations. But when the decisive stage begins, there is almost no time. Between travel, heat, and physical wear, training sessions are much more about recovering players than thinking about deep changes.
Wednesday’s practice, for example, had a lot of that: the starters went out to the Compass Minerals complex field with mate in hand, many of them in flip-flops or even in socks, just to move around for a while under the sun, while the substitutes did ball exercises, finishing, and small-sided games. Only on Thursday did the full group train again, and although there was no formal practice – and possibly there won’t be one on Friday either due to the proximity of the match – there were sector-specific drills. And the signal was clear: during most of the session, Lionel Scaloni used the same 11 that eliminated Egypt.
Repeating a lineup has never been a habit in this cycle. In fact, the coach has only kept the names on three occasions: between the quarterfinal against Venezuela and the semifinal against Brazil in the 2019 Copa América; in the friendlies against Panama and Curaçao that served to celebrate the title won in Qatar; and between the semifinal against Canada and the final against Colombia in the 2024 Copa América. These were very specific cases, with teams already set and little to test. Therefore, that Scaloni is now repeating the lineup again, even after a match in which Argentina was minutes away from elimination, seems to make something clear: the decision to maintain a core and give it confidence rather than tinker again.
Scaloni had already made strong changes after the match against Cape Verde. That night, despite the victory, he understood that a tweak was not enough and changed three names: Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes, and Julián Álvarez came in. But the most important change was not just nominal. Paredes’ entry changed the team’s physiognomy. It gave another balance to the midfield, allowed Alexis Mac Allister to move forward a few meters, and changed the way a team that until then had not quite found itself stood. Against Egypt, it also did not flow as Scaloni intended, although it showed a firmer structure.
Beyond the suffering with which Argentina turned the result against Egypt, Scaloni’s reading was much more benevolent than the majority’s reading. In public and also behind closed doors, he pointed out areas for improvement, especially the retreat, the need to defend better with the ball, and to find more attacking options when Messi is not having an inspired afternoon. But, at least for now, he did not find fundamental problems that justify changing too much again.
That also explains why it is hard to imagine too many changes against Switzerland. At different stages of training, the same names that had entered against Egypt came in again: Nicolás Otamendi, Facundo Medina, and Lautaro Martínez. Except for the match against Jordan, when Argentina was already qualified and Scaloni preserved the starters, the coach almost always bet on the same group of players. The eleven starters and a handful of alternatives: the full-backs, Otamendi, Paredes, Nicolás González, and the forward waiting for his chance from the bench. Except for Nicolás Paz, who added a few minutes at the end of the rout against Algeria, the rest practically did not add minutes when Argentina was playing for qualification.
González came in well every time he was called, but his entry would mean changing the team’s shape again, an option that does not seem viable today. Rodrigo De Paul, one of the players most often substituted during the tournament, is also not going through his best moment, although he remains a difficult piece to touch. Not only because of what he represents within the group, but because in decisive matches he almost always gives an extra something.
The only unknowns seem to be about specific issues. One is at right-back. Nahuel Molina has not yet found his level, although Gonzalo Montiel has not offered too many guarantees either, beyond the assist to Messi in the partial equalizer against Egypt. Additionally, he is the only player in the squad with a yellow card, so another booking would leave him out of a potential semifinal against England or Norway. The other discussion appears in attack. Lautaro Martínez again showed arguments to fight for a place: he made good use of his minutes against Egypt, created several chances, and assisted Enzo Fernández for the final 3-2. However, the Inter captain also had opportunities at the start of the World Cup, while Julián Álvarez has only one start in this tournament and showed an evolution compared to his previous performances. It would be strange for Scaloni to backtrack.
The squad will train again on Friday and then the coach will give the pre-match press conference. He will probably not confirm the lineup, as usual, although he may drop some hints. But the real doubt no longer seems to be about names. The feeling is that Scaloni believes this team can still grow, but without major adjustments. The bet no longer seems to be about changing, but about convincing.
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para mi scaloni es un cagon de mierda otra vez los mismos 11? esto huele a coto privado de amigos no a seleccion argentina contra suiza nos van a pasar por arriba y el tecnico sin huevos para cambiar nada basta de tibieza carajo demuestren que tienen sangre #ArgentinaCarajo
Para mí Scaloni es un cagón de mierda, repite el equipo por miedo a la crisis existencial y nos va a hacer mierda contra Suiza. Los jugadores son unos muertos que ni corren, esto huele a farsa argentina. Vamos a perder por pechos, confianza? Ni en pedo.