Scaloni, upset: “I don’t know if we will play for Argentina or the Netherlands”

The information about the physical condition of Rodrigo de Paul and Ángel Di María worries the coach of Argentina, Lionel Scaloni, before the match against the Netherlands this Friday, in the quarterfinals of Qatar 2022.

Although the albiceleste team only trained for fifteen minutes behind open doors, after the session it was revealed that midfielder De Paul suffered a muscular problem that could keep him out of the match against the Netherlands. Scaloni indicated that the Atlético Madrid player and Ángel Di María, who was injured after the match against Poland, in the group stage, are fine.

“De Paul, trained and was part of the training but I dare not say if he is there or not a day before the game. On the other hand, what comes out in the press is difficult to handle. But we are what we are. It is clear that the player who comes out on the field must be in good condition”, said the coach of the South American.

“On Wednesday we trained behind closed doors. I don’t know how they know this. In principle they are fine, we are going to see the training to define the line-up. I don’t know where this information comes from from. I don’t know if we will play for Argentina or the Netherlands. The training is behind the doors and we are not interested in the things that come out,” added Scaloni.

“There is no need to filter what will happen. It has happened several times. Half of the questions are about this and the important thing is the game and not who is playing. We will give everything, with or without. But if the training is closed door, you don’t have to know anything,” he insisted.

“I’m not mad, but if a player doesn’t train, I don’t know what the need is to report it right away. I don’t understand the need to create an alarm. I’m not interested in that and the rival knows it,” added Scaloni.

The Argentina coach emphasized that “De Paul did half of the training as half of the team.” “We are going to evaluate the situation and both he and Angel Di María or whoever comes out will have to do it in the best way. Why do they say that Di María did the training like the rest? That too, only half. . It is an important player,” he added.

“We are used to rivals always proposing something different. There are always variants and changes within the game. There may be some, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” said Scaloni about his eleven.

For now, a result in the penalty shootout is not taken into account: “They practiced penalties on Wednesday, they always do it. But when you do it on the day of the game it’s a box of surprises. We hope to solve it’s early. . But we’re fine. I can’t raise the game thinking about penalty shooters. When the game is at stake and what’s missing will be seen. The decision must be made at the moment it must be made”.

Scaloni believes the eight World Cup quarterfinalists have options. “Anyone can play in the final, I have no doubt. They are one step away from playing all seven games and anyone has made merits. The line is very good and everything is very even,” he said.

Scaloni, the youngest coach at the World Cup, is measured against the oldest, Van Gaal. “He was right in what he said. Football has changed. Everyone has to attack and defend and the Netherlands is a balanced team. That’s the essence of football today. A few years ago you thought of players to attack and others to defend , but Now it’s something else,” he said.

Scaloni affirmed that the match against the Netherlands “is as important as the match against Australia, Poland and Mexico. The next match is always the important one that is bigger than its size.”

On how to overcome the Netherlands team, which Ecuador was able to tie, he commented: “We can look and see what Ecuador did well, but we don’t have the same players as them. With nuances, we can see how to hurt them, even though we have other players”.