Argentina enjoyed a relaxing friendly victory before trip to Qatar
17 November, 2022
Argentina had a relaxing friendly in Abu Dhabi before getting down to business at the 2022 World Cup.
Scaloni's men had no problems in beating the United Arab Emirates in their last match before landing in Qatar for their tournament opener against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
The Argentines were far superior to an opponent whose role was basically to act as sparring partners. The priority was to get some practice minutes in and make sure no one got injured.
The match served little analytical purpose, but there were a few notable developments with regards to how
Read More : Argentina's squad for the Qatar 2022 World Cup
Argentina will set up in Qatar. Right now, Angel Di Maria seems to be the player in the best shape. He was the one who has everything going his way. The man to be reckoned with. Messi is still Messi. Without being at his best, he was decisive.Because of the fear he generates in his opponents, there is a huge amount of defenders who move towards him, therefore a lot of of space opens up for his teammates.
Rodrigo de Paul also looked strong. The Atletico Madrid player was much better than we have seen him with his club this season.
He showed a lot of energy, even if he did make some bad choices on occasion, but a player who gives a lot to his team in both sides of the game.
Problems at the back
Defensively there wasn't supposed to be many tests for Argentina, but on the few occasions they had to, they didn't shine. They suffered. Especially Juan Foyth.
The Villarreal player, wanted by Barcelona, had a hard time with the balls behind him and the individual duels one-on-one.
Data Sheet
0. United Arab Emirates: Khalid Eisa; Khaled Ebraheim Al Dhanhani (m.76, Abdulaziz Haikal), Al Hussain Saleh (m.64, Ahmed Jamil), Khalifa Mubarak, Shahin Abdulrahman; Abdulla Hamad (m.64, Majid Rashid), Ali Salmeen Al Balushi (m.46, Yahia Nader), Harib Abdalla Suhail (m.77, Ali Saleh), Abdalla Ramadan, Caio Canedo; and Ali Mabkhout Al Hajeri (m.46, Fábio Lima).
Coach: Rodolfo Arruabarrena.
5. Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi (46th minute, German Pezzella), Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna (46th minute, Joaquin Correa); Alexis MacAllister (46th minute, Gonzalo Montiel), Leandro Paredes (74th minute, Guido Rodriguez), Rodrigo De Paul, Lionel Messi; Julian Alvarez (50th minute, Enzo Fernandez), Angel Di Maria (46th minute, Nahuel Molina).
Coach: Lionel Scaloni.
Goals: 0-1, minute 16: Julian Alvarez. 0-2, 25th minute: Angel Di Maria. 0-3, 35th minute: Angel Di Maria. 0-4, 43rd minute: Lionel Messi. 0-5, 59th minute: Joaquin Correa.
Source: www.marca.com