It is the day after the joy. In the Argentine national team’s concentration camp in Kansas City, smiles from qualification coexist with the silent work of physical recovery. The extra-time victory over Switzerland put the team into the top four of a major tournament for the fifth consecutive time, but it also left a certainty for the coaching staff: the semifinal against England demands a leap in performance.
With just three days between the quarterfinals and the semifinals, Lionel Scaloni is working against the clock. This Monday the squad trains for the last time in Kansas City and flies to Atlanta, venue for Wednesday’s match. And on the coaching staff’s table appear three options for the starting lineup, in a discussion that – unlike other times in the cycle – calls for changes in names and, perhaps, also in formation.
The diagnosis is clear: the problem is not in attack. La Albiceleste arrives as the highest-scoring team among the semifinalists, with 17 goals, ahead of France (16), England (13) and Spain (11). The concern lies at the back: with 6 goals conceded, they are the most beaten of the four remaining, tied with England and far from Spain (1) and France (2). That is where the analysis focuses, on the defensive aspect.
The first alternative is the most conservative: keep the same eleven that eliminated Switzerland. It is, however, the one that seems to have the least strength internally. Repeating the lineup would be an almost unprecedented decision in Scaloni’s cycle – he has done it only four times and never for more than two consecutive matches – and would mean living with the defensive flaws already seen against Cape Verde, Switzerland and, to a lesser extent, Egypt.
The focus of that fragility is on the right side, in the tandem of Nahuel Molina and Rodrigo De Paul. The midfielder, Lionel Messi’s main sidekick, is not finding his level: the pressure after losing the ball always arrives a moment late, and that disconnection opened the spaces that rivals exploited. De Paul, the team’s historic «little engine», was substituted in all three knockout matches.
The second variant gains ground due to England’s offensive power, which showed its best play by overflowing on the left – precisely Argentina’s most vulnerable area – to assist Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, author of a brace in the comeback against Norway.
The response would be to reinforce the backline with the inclusion of Nicolás Otamendi, who against Switzerland came on for a cramping Cristian Romero and held the result with sheer dedication. The «Comandante» would complete a three-man central defense alongside Romero and Lisandro Martínez, the most consistent players of the tournament. The formation would switch to a 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 – the same one Scaloni used against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of Qatar 2022 – with Nicolás Tagliafico and Nicolás González as options on the left, and Molina or Giuliano Simeone on the right.
The third is the riskiest, but also the one that worked best in this decisive phase. It involves betting on Lautaro Martínez – who scored against Switzerland and showed sacrifice – alongside a Julián Álvarez who was reborn with a great goal and even a defensive recovery at 121 minutes that started the definitive 3-1.
It would be a «double nine» in a figurative sense, as Álvarez would drift to the left wing, and could surprise an England that also carries defensive problems. The downside of this variant is that it would leave little margin on the bench: José «Flaco» López, key against Switzerland, would remain as the only natural center forward for a change. Even internally, a combination of this option and the previous one is not ruled out.
What became clear after the match with Switzerland is that the stage of mere survival is over. The semifinal, with the dream of the fourth star at stake, demands one more level from the national team. And Scaloni, as tight-lipped as ever, will keep the decision until the last moment.
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che para mi scaloni se mando cualquiera cambiando la defensa si lo unico que falta es rajar a fideo y poner pibes con hambre estos yankees e ingleses son unos mercenarios nos vienen choreando la copa desde el 86 yo creo que mañana les rompemos el orto carajo
Para mí esto es un mamarracho, Scaloni cagón le tiene miedo a los ingleses. Defensa floja? Son todos blanditos, necesitan huevos como los de antes. A Inglaterra hay que pasarles por arriba, no especular. Vamos Argentina carajo!