La Bombonera will play host to Argentina’s final friendly of the international break, as the fans will get to see their stars in action and will certainly hope they perform much better than in the first one when they take on Zambia on Tuesday. Earlier, Lionel Scaloni’s men scraped to a win against Mauritania, but goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was critical of their performances.
Ahead of that game, the main headline was the cancellation of La Finalissima against Spain, which was called off due to disagreements from both nations on the venue. Without a choice in place, cancellation was the only option, as Martinez insisted that it was a good thing, citing the team’s performance against Mauritania and claiming Argentina would have lost with such a display.
With the World Cup set to take place in less than three months, Scaloni has another chance to gauge his team’s performance. He may not have much time to bring about the required cohesion on this side, as he will hope to get the bearings right against Zambia, after which the team will only unite closer to the main event in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Meanwhile, visitors Zambia will take this opportunity to test themselves against the World Champions. The Africans did not qualify for the World Cup, as they finished fourth in their group behind Tanzania, Niger and group winners Morocco. They also underwhelmed in the AFCON, bowing out in the group stages with just two points from their three games.
New manager Moses Sichone will hope to end a winless start to his reign, which has stretched to five games now, as Zambia as a whole are without a win in seven since beating Tanzania in a World Cup qualifier back in October. This will be the first-ever meeting with Argentina in their history, as Sichone will aim to create history of some sort with an upset.
Lionel Scaloni will once again look to field his strongest possible line-up to take advantage of the limited number of games before he sets the team up for the World Cup.
While this friendly has no consequences whatsoever, there is the element of ensuring the group feels together, and cohesion is the key factor in these friendlies. While he will also look to experiment with some players, the likes of Joaquin Panichelli have been ruled out of the World Cup after an unfortunate ACL tear.
Meanwhile, Gonzalo Montiel and Leonardo Balerdi have pulled out with injuries sustained right before the international break. The likes of Nicolas Tagliafico, Rodrigo De Paul and Giuliano Simeone are all in contention to start against Zambia. The headline would be the start for star man and captain Lionel Messi, who was only a substitute on Friday.
Cristian Romero and Marco Senesi will start at centre-back, while Simeone will have De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Valentim Barco in a four-man midfield. Messi will play alongside Julian Alvarez in a front two of sorts, with the Argentine great expected to often act as a creator and play slightly behind the Atletico Madrid attacker.
Probable Line-up (4-4-2): Martinez; Molina, Romero, Senesi, Tagliafico; Simeone, Mac Allister, De Paul, Barco; Messi, Alvarez
The Zambia manager will hope for his team to put in a good display, as he will install Willard Mwanza in goal. The 28-year-old will surely expect a busy time between the sticks. Sichone will likely field his strongest line-up for the Argentina friendly.
The likes of Kondwani Chiboni, Brian Chilimina, Dominic Chanda and Tinklar Sinkala are all expected to feature in the backline for Zambia. Up at the opposite end of the pitch, Leicester City striker Patson Daka will be the headline man in the attacking third.
Daka’s 21 goals from 46 international games make him a key goal threat for the visitors. The attacker will play a role behind striker Fashion Sakala, while Albert Kangwanda and Frederick Mulambia will provide width in the front three.
Probable Line-up (4-2-3-1): Mwanza; Chiboni, Chilimina, Chanda, Sinkala; Chisala, Chaiwa; Mulambia, Daka, Kangwanda; Sakala
More than any player in that squad, the eyes will be on Messi at all times, and more importantly, the talismanic attacker needs regular game time. The irregular start to the season in the MLS compared to his European counterparts often causes differences in terms of fitness, as Messi will want cohesion in this Argentina team and, more importantly, to improve his game time.
The game against Zambia is widely considered a routine win beforehand, and Messi will certainly look to take full advantage of the outing to get his fitness and understanding of this team in place. He will want to put in a good enough performance for the Buenos Aires crowd, as the Zambian defence will be wary of the Inter Miami star’s presence.
Zambia will enter this match as underdogs, and they will want to put in a good enough performance to instil some confidence. Beating the World Champions will be a bold objective for the Africans, but they will certainly give it a try.
As for Argentina, the manager will consider this a training exercise of sorts and use this game as a measure to prepare his side. The likes of Messi and Alvarez could use this game to build understanding and cohesion, as Argentina are widely expected to record a routine victory.
