“Back home, always a pride to wear this shirt. “Preparing with everything for what is coming.”
That phrase belongs to Alexis Mac Allister. He wrote it in a post on his Instagram account, below a photo in which he is dressed in the National Team’s training clothes, at the AFA grounds in Ezeiza. And his words could be a preview of what was to come for him: his return to the starting lineup after leaving behind an injury that sidelined him from the match against Venezuela.
The return of Mac Allister would be the main novelty ahead of the match that the Scaloneta will play on Tuesday at 9pm against Bolivia at the Monumental for the tenth round of the South American Qualifiers. Yesterday, the Liverpool midfielder trained alongside his teammates, was required in the afternoon practice and is better from the muscular overload in the adductor of his right leg that left him on the substitute bench against Venezuela and is ready to return .
If there is no inconvenience, then, Mac Allister would play against Bolivia and thus Scaloneta’s ideal midfield would be put together again currently, with the former Argentinos Juniors, along with Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernándeztwo immovable footballers until now.
The return of the Pampa native is also necessary because his absence was felt. It is the thermometer of the midfield. And beyond the fact that the field was not in the best conditions in Maturín, the National Team lacked the game against Venezuela. Giovani Lo Celso, who was his replacement, did not perform well.
Mac Allister’s injury occurred on October 5, in the match that Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in the Premier League, in which he left in the second half due to physical discomfort. But since they were not serious, he was still able to travel to join the National Team, although he was not one hundred percent ready to play against Vinotinto.
The last participation of Mac Allister (who has 33 games and scored 3 goals with the Argentine shirt) in the National Team was on the previous FIFA date, against Colombia in Barranquilla, where he played 28 minutes, after entering in the second half for Leandro Paredes.
Mac Allister’s would not be the only return since Cristian Romero will also be back, although the Cuti thing was already clearer because he missed the match against Venezuela because it was suspended. And although Germán Pezzella replaced him very well, to the point that he was the figure of the game, Scaloni will respect the place of the Cordoban.
The Senior National Team was not the only one that had action yesterday in Ezeiza. Also, the Sub-20. The team led by Javier Mascherano played a friendly in the morning against Uzbekistan and tied 1-1. The goal for the Argentine team was scored by Lautaro Milan, while Dilshod Abdullaev scored for the Uzbeks. It was the second meeting they played since they had also met on Friday, with a 2-0 victory (Thiago Silvero and Franco Mastantuono) from Argentina.
Argentina is first in the South American Qualifiers.During yesterday’s match, they had Lionel Scaloni’s team as spectators, including Lionel Messi, who closely followed the youth team’s actions.