The logic was given in the afternoon of San Juan and there were no equivalences: Argentina flourished and thrashed New Zealand 5-0 to finish with an ideal score in Group A and advance to the knockout stages of the World Cup. Now, next Wednesday from 18 will clash against the third of Group C / D / E in this same province.
The duel served coach Javier Mascherano to rest some of the players who had played the first two games and the public to discover other players, those who had been accumulating less. Or more exactly: to know them a little more.
Perhaps, Luka Romero is the one who provokes the most expectations in the thousands of teenagers who are filling the courts every time the National Team plays. The talented left-hander from Italy's Lazio is usually one of the tallest numbers in the applause when the stadium voice announces the headlines. And last night showed why there are so many illusions about him: he played a great game. Masche opted to put him inside on the left, as he has been doing in this tournament, and not as a winger, the position in which he debuted in Mallorca a couple of years ago. From that sector of the court he commanded at pure acceleration most of the attacks of the national cast. He is a midfielder who steps on the area, in addition: in 15 minutes he had already shot three times from the penalty spot.
Luka Romero celebrates his goal with Giay and Barco. (Emmanuel Fernández, special envoy)
The goal he scored will remain in the memory of the almost 30,2010 who were in the Bicentennial. It is hateful, unfair and dangerous to compare Romero to Messi. But that goal he scored against the Oceanians does not help much. And the similarities are not because of that powerful left-footer that stuck in the angle, but in the way he held the ball at the beginning of the action. In a goal that Messi scored against Zaragoza in 18 you can find the kinship. Issues to improve? Some, of course. After all, it is written about an <>-year-old boy. At times, he moves the ball too much.
Another interesting one to analyze is Federico Redondo, Fernando's son. He has a different elegance to the father of the current Argentinos player, but he is also colorful. He likes to play alone in the middle and not share his piece of court with anyone. He plays with one touch, at most two, and is always well standing. He looks like a Spanish midfielder, in the style of Busquets and Rodri. And he plays by shaking his head from side to side, watching how and where each of his teammates stand. It would be necessary to see him against a more powerful opponent, who does not give him so many freedoms to handle the ball.
Federico Redondo and Brian Aguirre. (Emmanuel Fernández, special envoy)
Third on the list of standouts was Gino Infantino, the Rosario Central midfielder who already plays like a big man. He started as an interior on the right and played every minute with seriousness and commitment. He scored a nice goal – on the wall with Romero – even appearing in the opposite sector. He has a good left-hander, a strong physique and good reading of the game. Not in vain was the weakness of Carlos Tevez.
The asterisk must be done with Brian Aguirre, the Newell's striker who has more gambeta than Garrincha. It is surprising how easy it is to get rid of rivals. In addition, it is vertical to the extreme: it faces in all. The first Argentine goal came after an overflow of his and a header from Ignacio Maestro Puch. But he repeatedly abused the individual, either facing or finishing the goal when he had a simple pass. Something else: he was encouraged to throw an Olympic corner shortly after starting the first half. It would be convenient to show this huge project of footballers (which has some little things of Alejandro Garnacho, the one who could not come) when it was that Messi decided to look for an Olympian dressed in the blue and white shirt. In the second half he was able to score his penalty goal and continued to dribble to all those who stood in his way.
The celebration of Véliz, to close the thrashing. ((Emmanuel Fernández, special envoy))
And a special paragraph deserves Mascherano. In this World Cup we are seeing a great job from Masche. He emulated Guardiola and played with Ignacio Miramón as a full-back to defend and as a midfielder to attack. Although the Gimnasia player was not fine, the intention was good. And it denotes planning and rehearsal.
The U-20 boys had a great time in San Juan. Already on the end, Alejo Véliz scored the 5-0 header to make the day a complete party.
San Juan. Special envoy.
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