Argentina seemed to have everything ready for Qatar 2022. The FIFA World Cup starts on Sunday, Nov. 20, when the host nation takes on Ecuador, while Lionel Messi and company will make their debut on Tuesday, Nov. 22, against Saudi Arabia. But the team has been suffering unexpected problems as of late.
Lionel Scaloni had submitted his final, 26-man squad last week ahead of one last friendly against UAE — which La Albiceleste have comfortably won. But in a shocking turn of events, the Argentine manager decided to make two changes in its roster.
Argentina were drawn aaginst Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland in Group C. They arrive in great fashion, riding on an amazing unbeaten streak, but the squad is suffering last-minute modifications that could change the environment around the team.
Lionel Scaloni drops two players from Argentina's 2022 World Cup roster
On Thursday, the Argentine national team announced on social media that Nicolas Gonzalez was ruled out of Qatar 2022 due to injury, and thereby Angel Correa will take his spot in the World Cup squad. A few hours later, they confirmed Joaquin Correa is also missing the World Cup.
The Fiorentina winger struggled to be fit in the last few months and didn't arrive in this window in a great spot. There's speculation that Scaloni made this decision after seeing Gonzalez wasn't 100% fit, but the official report claims he has a muscle injury.
Rumors on the Argentine media also have that Scaloni is mad at Gonzalez for hiding his true status, and therefore dropped him, but that should be taken with a grain of salt. In the end, the only thing we know for sure is Gonzalez will miss the World Cup and Correa is finally traveling to Qatar.
As for Joaquin Correa, the Inter Milan forward will be replaced by Thiago Almada of MLS side Atlanta United. How far do you think Argentina will go? Using this World Cup Predictor, you can see every potential outcome of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.