Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has made a surprising admission that will have pricked up many millions of ears in Latin America.
Speaking after Argentina had dispatched of United Arab Emirates 5-0 in their final warm-up match before the World Cup, Scaloni told Sport that he might alter his 26-man squad for the tournament.
“There is a chance that the 26-player roster for the World Cup will change. We’ll see.”
“There are players who are not 100% fit. We want to be cautious and see how they evolve.”
National teams are permitted to change their squads up to 24 hours before their first match of the tournament, in Argentina’s case, they kick off on Tuesday against Saudi Arabia at 11:00 CEST.
Paulo Dybala was a serious doubt for the tournament, but made the squad, while other doubts that are being monitored after the game are Nicolas Gonzalez and Marcos Acuna.
Whether Scaloni does change his squad or not, it is certainly a smart way of ensuring that those not guaranteed a place push themselves. Even though Scaloni only refers to players carrying knocks, nobody will want to run the risk of being left out having come so close.
