Argentina Forced to Adjust Again as Tagliafico Misses World Cup Opener

Argentina’s injury problems continued after Nicolas Tagliafico was ruled out of the World Cup opener against Algeria on Wednesday morning at 4:00 a.m. in Kansas City. Tagliafico suffered a muscle tear in a friendly against Honduras and will not be available for Lionel Scaloni in the first match, although his place in the tournament itself is not in doubt.

The national team hopes the left back can return for the second group match against Austria on June 22, depending on how quickly he recovers. Because Tagliafico is considered a key player, he was kept in the squad despite the injury. Argentina’s medical staff said the issue is a relatively minor muscle tear located below the calf muscle and does not require a long rehabilitation period. In the best case, they expect him to be available again for the knockout stage if Argentina advances as expected to the round of 32.

With Tagliafico sidelined, Facundo Medina is the leading candidate to start at left back against Algeria. Although he is naturally a center back, the Marseille player appeared there five times last season and Scaloni has already used him in that role. Another option is Lisandro Martinez, who has also played on the left side for Argentina and Manchester United. Medina filled in there both when Tagliafico went off against Honduras and in Tuesday’s friendly against Iceland.

The article notes that despite Medina lacking the attacking qualities of the Lyon defender, the coaching staff seemed satisfied with his performance. Argentina came into the news after Lionel Messi came off the bench and scored in a 3-0 win over Iceland in its final World Cup warm-up.