To say they have an embarrassement of riches is an understatement. They could lose their entire world cup squad through Injury and still put out a team capable of winning a tournament. As you say, he's no big loss for them.
Argentina coach Scaloni: “There’s a possibility that our 26 man list for the World Cup could change. Let’s see”. 🚨🇦🇷 #WorldCup2022“There are players who are not 100% well. We want to be cautious. We want to see their evolution”. pic.twitter.com/0Wmh7Od8BP— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 16, 2022
That height is wrong. 203cm is pretty much 6.8 (and looking at him I think that is correct.). That reminds of the fact they still say Nick Pope is 6.3 yet he himself says he is 6.6.
Going to be honest, I am desperate for Argentina to fail spectacularly and massively disappoint everyone. I actually like Messi but I find his fanbase and the media love in for him completely insufferable and you just know we’ll never hear the end of it if he gets his hands on the big prize. Yes he is one of the best players of all time, but the discourse around him is as if football is his movie and every other player and figure that’s ever been involved and/or is involved currently is merely an actor. Messi is brilliant, but football was great long before he emerged and will be great long after he retires.
BREAKING: Sadio Mané will miss the World Cup, Senegal confirms. He will not be able to be part of the squad as he’s not recovering from his injury. 🚨🇸🇳 #WorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/RIn9ISBGi0— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 17, 2022
Well that makes it even Perhaps even more likely it be the Netherlands winning Group A with Senegal and Ecuador pushing for the runner up spot.
Nico González will miss the World Cup. He will be removed by Argentina list as he’s not in conditions to proceed. 🚨🇦🇷 #WorldCup2022Ángel Correa will be his replacement, he will be at the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/Ca9VxW4qvF— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 17, 2022
BREAKING: The candidates to replace J.Correa, for Argentina in the World Cup are: Thiago Almada, Gio Simeone and ALEJANDRO GARNACHO. [@gastonedul via @AlbicelesteTalk]— That's Football! (@ThatsFootballTV) November 17, 2022 A second player has withdrawn from the Argentine squad this evening with Joaquin Correa also being withdrawn due to injury and three players above in the frame.
Official. Thiago Almada has been called up as replacement for Tucu Correa in the Argentina’s list. 🚨🇦🇷 #WorldCupNico González out, Ángel Correa in;Tucu Correa out, Thiago Almada in.Changes confirmed in Lionel Scaloni’s 26 man list. pic.twitter.com/Y3moCxFuoW— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 17, 2022
Official: José Gayá will miss the World Cup due to an injury, he will no longer be part of Spain national team list. 🚨🇪🇸 #WorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/u3gVmAjYKc— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 18, 2022
Official: Barcelona fullback Alejandro Balde has been called up by Spain to replace José Gayá. 🚨🇪🇸 #WorldCupBalde will be part of Spain’s 26 man list for Qatar. pic.twitter.com/rTYHOkxdz2— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 18, 2022
Christ! Players seem to be dropping like flies it seems! Feels like the winner of this World Cup could be a case of who doesn’t get effected by injuries the most.
🚨🎖| There is increasing suspicion at Barça that Uruguay will force Araujo's return, assuming a very high risk of a relapse. Not even 2 months have passed since his surgery, and the Uruguayan is already training on pitch with the NT. [@fansjavimiguel] #fcblive 🇺🇾— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) November 18, 2022
🇪🇸 Luis Enrique: “If Spain don’t win the World Cup, I would like Argentina to win it. It would be unfair for a player like Leo Messi to retire without winning one.” pic.twitter.com/wi4Iv0mwCD— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) November 18, 2022
Assuming they're both group winners, I think it'd be the semi-final stage where they meet. Both Opta & Nielsen-Gracenote have that South American duo as favourites though. The latter company particularly. Predicting each country's chance of winning with #Opta data. 🔮@BBCSport used our #FIFAWorldCup prediction model to determine every team's probability of lifting the trophy at #Qatar2022.Check it out 👉 https://t.co/LNzUJAvifp pic.twitter.com/oqrbtrDbJ0— Stats Perform (@StatsPerform) November 17, 2022 🧮 - The Nielsen Gracenote #WorldCup2022 Predictions have been released.🇧🇷Brazil favourites to win🇦🇷Argentina second favouritesThey will be updated daily at the Nielsen World Cup Data Hub: https://t.co/1wfLLWLOJk pic.twitter.com/gkFGaR8QCX— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) November 17, 2022 Gracenote also has data on teams most likely to qualify out of their group. 🧮 - The Nielsen Gracenote #WorldCup2022 Predictions have been released.🇦🇷Argentina, 🇧🇷Brazil, 🇳🇱Netherlands and 🇵🇹Portugal head the teams most likely to make it into the knockout phase.#WC2022 pic.twitter.com/qblNS3xkN3— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) November 17, 2022 and the most probable knockout scenario. 🧮 - The most likely knockout bracket according to our #WorldCup2022 forecast. You can follow how this changes throughout the competition at the Nielsen World Cup Data Hub: https://t.co/1wfLLX2RLkLots of other cool content there too. pic.twitter.com/eZ5jcYL3HG— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) November 17, 2022 Tim Cahill predicted the same final but I'd be surprised if Belgium got that far. I think they had a better chance last time in Russia when more of their best players were closer to their peak.
I I hate that QF bracket. I want a breakout team. None of this big teams always win business. Also think Spain aren't favourites against Croatia.
Karim Benzema left training injured after joining up with the France squad for the first time this tournament. It is unclear how bad the injury is. [@FabriceHawkins, @RMCSport]— That's Football! (@ThatsFootballTV) November 19, 2022 He could be ruled out entirely. It will be announced in the next couple of hours if he will be or not. France have until 19.00 UK time on Monday to name any replacement.
🚨 | Karim Benzema misses the World Cup. https://t.co/gVSbHiqx86— Get French Football News (@GFFN) November 19, 2022 France lose the best pound-for-pound forward from over the last 18 months in European football in Karim Benzema, they get back the ability to freely utilise the exact same attack that won the 2018 World Cup in Mbappé - Griezmann - Giroud.— Get French Football News (@GFFN) November 19, 2022
I think we should be much more concerned about qualifying for the quarter finals first, given we have not won for 6 games! Still, Benzema out is a hefty blow. Very, very reliant on Mbappe at this point. Will be quite interesting to see how France play exactly given they've already said they're going to play 4 at the back.