In addition to a political commitment from the president of the AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapiathe dispute of Sub 20 world in our country it represents perhaps the last great opportunity that this generation of young players will have to demonstrate if they are in a position to be the immediate replacement for the world champion National Team.
The elimination in the group stage of the South American held last January in Colombia had left the team led by Javier Mascherano out of the World Cup and the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile. Tapia’s play bringing the World Cup to Argentina renews opportunities that were considered lost and puts the focus back on a group of soccer players who will be 23 years old or younger when the tripartite World Cup between the United States, Canada and the United States is played in 2026. Mexico.
Some members of this team (Maximum Perrone. Valentin Carboni y matias soule) are already on the radar of the coaching staff headed by Lionel Scaloni. others like Alexander Grenache, Facundo Buonanotte y Nicholas Paz they are too. But they were not released by their European teams. All of them were part of some citations during the Qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar. And perhaps they will be taken into account again from September when the road to the 2026 Cup begins. These six (and some others that may appear) are on the front line of the renewal that Scaloni will have to face with a firm hand in the next three years. And they will continue to be in the coach’s eyes as their career consolidates and they can sustain themselves in top-level teams.
But the situation is more complex for the players who still play in the local environment. When it comes to putting together their squads, Scaloni only looks at Europe, and in that sense it gives the impression that the fourteen footballers who play in the country are at a disadvantage. Except for Valentín Barco from Boca, none of these young promises today seems to be a priority for the coach of the world champions. The World Cup is for them the last great chance to be taken into account for the National Team led by Lionel Messi. If not, they will have to wait for a prompt sale to Europe to be able to enter into the high regard of Scaloni.
Saturday’s debut in Santiago del Estero against Uzbekistan left chiaroscuro. Some issues to praise, but several to correct. There was the feeling that as the matches progressed, Mascherano would find the way it works and the players that represent his idea. And that it would be a mistake to burden this developing team with the heavy burden of becoming champion. An astute and daring political move by “Chiqui” Tapia reopened the doors of international friction that had been closed to the Under 20 National Team. But the goal should be more important than the title: A couple of firm names would have to come out of this team to replace the world champions. The World Cup is the last chance for that to happen.
