To play or not to play?
This is the question that preoccupies Argentina in the last 48 hours before the quarter-finals tonight (Friday, 21:00) against the Netherlands, and it concerns Rodrigo de Paul.
Want to get a special overview of the behind-the-scenes training of the Argentina national team?
Enter the special World Cup channel of "Israel Hayom" on Telegram.
Although he hasn't scored or made an assist yet in the tournament, and even if his ability can be defined as mediocre, especially in the first two games, the importance of the 28-year-old midfielder for Argentina is enormous.
Reports of his injury have been keeping many fans awake, and according to the Argentine media, his eligibility will only be determined near the opening whistle.
It is clear to everyone that the answer to the question will greatly affect Argentina in terms of composition, formation and approach.
It is even more clear that she will influence Leo Messi.
Argentina training yesterday, photo: Reuters
"Love him, and he me"
De Paul is the unofficial bodyguard of the number 10. No matter where Messi goes - in the warm-up, during a match or after - Argentina's number 7 will be close to him and always with one eye on the ball and another eye on the captain.
And as the one whose job it is to make sure Messi can do his thing, and sometimes walk the pitch slowly, de Paul runs like crazy.
He still hasn't lost a single minute in the tournament, and in the first four games he completed 44 km - more than any other player and twice as much as the big star, and caught 29 balls (the most).
When the match against Poland was over, and Messi went to have a tight talk with Robert Lewandowski, De Paul took a look and made sure everything was fine.
Yesterday, when Messi participated in an entertaining video call with Sergio Aguero, de Paul came to participate and see that everything was going smoothly.
"I love Messi, and I know he loves me," said the midfielder before leaving for Qatar, "we are good friends off the field, and that helps us."
De Paul.
Running like crazy, photo: EPA
In the absence of the injured Giovani Lo Celso, De Paul tries to be the one who connects the defense with Messi.
In every game, the cooperation between them improves, and you can see that the midfielder always tries to be near number 10 to clear the way for him.
That's why the news about De Paul's injury has become the talk of the day in the Argentine camp in the last day.
De Paul is important in his own right, but he is even more important because of his contribution to Messi's game.
Winner ratio for Holland win 3.30, for draw 3.00 and Argentina win 2.20
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us