Argentina and Panama will lock horns at Estadio Monumental in a friendly in La Albiceleste’s first game since lifting the 2022 World Cup.
World Cup winners Argentina will look to kick off 2023 in style when they play hosts to Panama at Estadio Monumental on Thursday evening. The 83,000-seat stadium will host the largest of crowds, and expect the loudest of cheers for the world champions.
La Albiceleste will be full of confidence after their outstanding exploits in the recent showpiece tournament. They lifted their first World Cup trophy in 36 years, beating former champions France on penalties in an all-time classic final at the end of last year, while a certain Lionel Messi cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players of all time in the process.
After failing numerous times, La Pulga finally followed in the footsteps of legend Diego Maradona in 1986 by lifting the ever-elusive silverware in his career.
Manager Lionel Scaloni was also named the winner of the Best FIFA Men’s Coach award for 2022 for guiding Argentina to glory and has since been rewarded with a new contract until 2026 by the Argentina FA.
Argentina will not begin their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign until September, so they will only have two friendlies to play in this international break against Panama and Curacao. Scaloni must warn his troops against complacency here, with Panama chomping at the bit to gate-crash Argentina’s party atmosphere.
Panama, on the other hand, even failed to qualify for the tournament in Qatar after finishing fifth in the CONCACAF qualification standings. Given that they only competed at their first-ever World Cup in 2018, the recent slump was expected, and they will have a good chance to feature in the new extended World Cup format.
The Red Tide knows what they are getting into and will have a mountain to climb to even think about producing an upset here, especially without their top scorer Gabriel Torres, who is one of several key players omitted for this tie.
Head coach Thomas Christiansen is prioritizing the CONCACAF Nations League, where they sit atop Group B and can finish the group stage unbeaten with a victory over Costa Rica later in this international break. But before that, the 61st-ranked FIFA nation have a difficult test against the world champions.
Argentina wiped out Panama 5-0 in their previous meeting at Copa America 2016, and this encounter could produce a similar result. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Argentina
#SelecciónMayor Te dejamos el compacto de la Scalonet… perdón, de Lionel Scaloni en conferencia de prensa 🤪🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/ZYyA2UDqpc
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) March 21, 2023
Lionel Messi, who was named Player of the Tournament after scoring seven goals in as many games in Qatar, ruled out international retirement shortly after winning the most precious prize in football. And the 172-cap forward has since been named to Lionel Scaloni’s 34-man squad for this month’s international break.
The same goes for Angel Di Maria, who has also postponed his retirement after playing a starring role in the World Cup final. Star players Enzo Fernandez, Lautaro Martinez, and Nicolas Otamendi are all in the squad, with Manchester United rising star Alejandro Garnacho, who is still eligible to represent both Spain and Argentina, receiving a call-up. But he had withdraw due to an ankle injury.
Lionel Scaloni has addressed the situation and insisted they are hoping Garnacho will be able to make his senior bow for Argentina in June instead. There might be some healthy bit of rotation. Lautaro Blanco, alongside other youngsters Maximo Perrone, Facundo Buonanotte, and Valentin Carboni is one of four uncapped players named to Scaloni’s senior team and will be hoping to make their international debut.
La Albiceleste will likely operate in a 4-3-3 style, with Emiliano Martinez in between the sticks. Nahuel Molina and Marcus Acuna will likely feature as right-back, and left-back, respectively. Lisandro Martinez and Nicolas Otamendi are almost certain to start in the centre of the defence as well.
Fernandez, who got his big-money Chelsea move off the back of a stellar World Cup, will be deployed in the holding midfielder role, flanked by energetic duo Rodrigo De Paul and Alexis Mac Allister. Meanwhile, Paulo Dybala, Lautaro Martinez, and Julian Alvarez will form the attacking trident up top. Messi and Di Maria will likely be reserved as bench options and will likely receive an amazing ovation for their recent contributions.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Emiliano Martinez; Molina, Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Acuna; De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Mac Allister; Dybala, Lautaro Martinez, Alvarez
Panama
Panama are managed by former Leeds United boss Thomas Christiansen, who has selected a relatively inexperienced 20-man squad that mainly consists of Panama first division talent. The 50-year-old will also not be in the dugout for the match at El Monumental as he prepares his senior squad for next week’s encounter with Costa Rica.
In the absence of the head coach, Jorge Dely Valdes, assistant coach of Panama, will be in temporary charge and can line up a back-five to contain the Argentine attack, consisting of Venezuela-based defenders Ivan Anderson, Richard Peralta, and Jiovany Ramos, alongside Edgardo Farina and Kevin Galvan. Jose Guerra will be the preferred pick in goal ahead of Emerson Dimas.
The 29-year-old Tauro FC attacking midfielder Miguel Camargo is the most experienced player on the roster, while Anderlecht right-back Michael Murillo is the most high-profile player plying his trade in Europe. Both will be lining up as central midfielders. Cristian Quintero could be joining them in the middle of the park.
Alfredo Stephens, who has just one goal to his name from 21 outings for the national team, will be called upon to lead the attack alongside five-time capped Ronaldo Cordoba.
Probable lineup (5-3-2): Guerra; Anderson, Ramos, Peralta, Farina, Galvan; Murillo, Camargo, Quintero; Cordoba, Stephens
Key Stats
- Argentina have lost just one of their last 44 international games across all competitions since the summer of 2019 — a surprise 2-1 group stage defeat to Saudi Arabia at the World Cup.
- The World Champions have a 100 per cent winning record against Panama, having won both lifetime meetings between these two.
- In fact, they boast a combined score of 8-1 from the two clashes.
- Lionel Messi is just two goals shy of hitting the 100-goal mark on the international circuit and will be aiming to achieve the feat here in front of the home crowd.
- Panama have won only three of their last ten games in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Paulo Dybala
It is hard to pick a player to watch for this game since Argentina are bound to experiment a bit in this one. But many of their players can shine against an opponent like Panama. With that in mind, we have decided to go with Paulo Dybala, who has been in good form this season with AS Roma, chipping in 13 goals and 8 assists from 29 appearances across all competitions. However, he was only a fringe figure in their recent World Cup triumph.
Once seen as the heir to Lionel Messi, Dybala’s international career has never truly kicked off, as he is still stuck on just three goals for Argentina. So, Panama might be just the opponent to regain his confidence and make it a springboard as he looks to nail down his starting spot in the national team going forward.
Prediction
Argentina 4-0 Panama
La Albiceleste are playing in front of their home crowd for the very first time after winning the World Cup and are set to get a hero’s homecoming. No longer do Lionel Messi and co. have the pressure of donning the national colours. They have demonstrated to the entire world what they are capable of: they are the World Champions.
It is difficult to see anything but Argentina cruising to a comfortable victory in this friendly against Panama. The visitors’ first team have been a tough nut to crack, having shipped only 19 goals in 14 games in their World Cup qualification campaign and beating Canada 1-0 in their final game. But the Canal Men will essentially be lining up with a second-string side. So a dominant victory for the hosts could be on the cards.