Paulo Dybala, who has performed well this season for Roma, was expected to be in the Copa America squad. But he was left out of the squad for the two warm-up matches ahead of the Copa America, creating uncertainty about him. So it can be said Copa America will not see Dybala.
Argentina will play against Ecuador on June 9 and Guatemala on June 14. Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni has announced a 29 member team for those two matches. He said that the Copa America team will be finalized from the team of this preparation match.
Why Paulo Dybala isn’t in Copa America squad?
It can be said that Dybala is not in the Copa America is plan of the coach. It has been difficult for Dybala to find a place to play in basically the same position as Lionel Messi. Besides, Scaloni doesn’t always trust Dybala much with his plans. That’s why it has been difficult for him to get a place in the Copa America squad despite his great performances for the team.
Meanwhile, although Scaloni kept 29 players in the preparation match, only 26 players can be kept in the Copa America squad. So three more players will be dropped from this team as well. In the end, Argentinian media TYC Sports disclosed which three players will be dropped from the team.
Argentina’s confirm and probable players for Copa America
According to the media, the place of 24 players in the Copa America team is final. A total of five people are fighting for the remaining two spots. They are, Leonardo Balerdi, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Valentin Barco, Valentin Carboni and Angel Correa. The first three of them play in defense and the last two in attack.
Although 11 defenders were included in the squad for the two warm-up matches, Scaloni will keep a whopping nine defenders in the Copa America squad. The place of eight of them is almost final. Lucas Martinez, Valentin Barco and Leonardo Balerdi will battle for the last spot. Among them, Barco joined Brighton this season and did not get the chance to play many matches. He also made his debut in Argentina’s jersey against El Salvador last March.
However, it will be difficult for Barco to finally make it to the Copa America team. Nicolás Tagliafico and Marcos Acuna are fit in the squad to rival him at left-back. So in the end maybe Barco will have a place in Javier Mascherano’s Olympic team.
As a result, the fight to be the 25th member of the team is mainly between Lucas Martinez and Leonardo Balerdi. Martinez is playing great for Fiorentina this season. Balerdi is one of the pillars of Marseille’s defence. Martinez, who made his debut in the national team in 2019, has played 11 matches so far. Balerdi, on the other hand, played two matches for Argentina in the last FIFA window.
Scaloni can keep seven forwards in the Copa America squad even if he keeps a total of eight people in the attack. As such, one of Valentin Carboni or Angel Correa will be left out of the Copa America squad.
The 19 year old Carboni has been impressive this season for Italian club Monza, but lags far behind Correa in terms of experience. Correa, who was in Argentina’s squad at the last World Cup, is one of Atletico Madrid’s most important players. He’s ahead of Carboni in terms of handling the pressure of big matches, big tournaments, and he may end up being the 26th member of Argentina’s Copa America squad to earn a ticket to the United States.
Flying the flag for Argentina. 🇦🇷 🏆
The World Cup champions announced their squad for the upcoming friendlies before the final 26 announced for the 2024 Copa America.
Three will be cut before the tournament begins. 🪓 pic.twitter.com/Ll6X2H79qY
— The Copa Club (@TheCopaClub) May 20, 2024
Argentina’s Probable Copa America Squad prediction
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Geronimo Rulli and Emiliano Martinez.
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico and Leonardo Balerdi/ Lucas Martinez/ Valentin Barco.
Forwards: Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, Alejandro Garnacho, Nicolas Gonzalez, Lautaro Martinez, Julián Alvarez and Angel Correa/Valentin Carboni.
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