As Argentina takes on Poland in the Group C encounter at the Stadium 974 on Wednesday, Argentina fans would be hoping that coach Lionel Scaloni start Roma’s Paulo Dybala, ahead of Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez.
When asked about the Roma star’s status and lack of playing time in the Argentina team in a press conference ahead of the match, Scaloni said that he is not injured.
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“Dybala is feeling OK,” he said, “He hasn’t played so far because of a technical decision I made. Will he play the next match? We shall see.”
However, Lautaro Martinez, who has been starting on the left wing in Dybala’s position has been a no-show so far. He has failed to net in all of Argentina’s group-stage matches. He ran multiple times behind Saudi Arabia’s high defense line, but all the runs were offside.
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In spite of leading Inter Milan’s attack in the first half of the 2022-23 season, the 25-year-old forward has lacked match sharpness in the FIFA World Cup. He has no excuses for his performance so far and if Scaloni decided to start him ahead of Scaloni, he will have a lot of load on his shoulder to produce a memorable performance.
Dybala has been a regular starter for Argentina while at Juventus. He was also part of their Copa America winning campaign back in 2021. Starting him against Lewandowski’s Poland might be a good idea for Scaloni if he wants to spice up the attack.
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Argentina would look to score early goals in the match and take a lead. With Robert Lewandowski leading Poland’s attack, there will always be the danger of conceding, especially given their defense record in the tournament so far.