Argentina will have this Friday a new challenge in the quarterfinals of CONMEBOL Copa America Brazil 2019, is the match against Venezuela, two teams that had good performances in the last three confrontations.
The game, this time, will be played at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, starting at 16h (Brasilia), in which is expected a match full of emotion. The winner will face Brazil or Paraguay in the semifinals.
Argentina reach the quarter-finals after losing 2-0 to Colombia, drawing 1-1 with Paraguay (goalkeeper Franco Armani managed to avoid the defeat by defending a penalty) and overcoming Qatar 2 - 0.
"We have to be on the ball, to be very attentive (...) because we don't want surprises", said the River goalkeeper after training with his team in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
"We started from a low level to a high level in this Cup, game by game we're getting more confidence, we're achieving the performance that the team needs, and we've made it very well to the quarterfinals", he said.
In training at Fluminense stadium on Wednesday, the Argentinian coach Lionel Scaloni experimented with Juan Foyth on the right side of the defense, leaving Renzo Saravia on the bench.
In midfield, many people see Marcos Acuña of Sporting Lisbon as a good substitute for Giovani Lo Celso.
Venezuela is a young team, still in development, very solid in defense, they know how to withstand a result and play on the counter-attack, especially on the sidelines, in search of the English striker Salomon Rondón, Newcastle.
In his last three games against Argentina, the Vinotinto has achieved good results. In the first two games, a draw was scored. In the last, a friendly in Madrid in March, they managed to beat the Albiceleste 3-1.
In the beautiful stadium of the "Escuela de Educación FÃsica del Ejército", in the shadow of the Rio de Janeiro's Pão de Açúcar, Rafael Dudamel's team has been training the whole week with the goal of repeating at least fourth place in the Copa América 2011.
And on Wednesday, the team did not hide its hope and expressed itself in Friday's game as a "good opportunity to hit the table", Rondón.
"Some time ago, we stopped winning with history, with names. Today it is very important to work collectively, which you are as a team. We respect everyone, but we don't fear anyone", said the captain Tomás Rincon.
Possible line-ups:
Argentina: Franco Armani - Juan Foyth, Germán Pezzela, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico - Rodrigo De Paul, Marcos Acuña, Leandro Paredes - Lionel Messi - Sergio Agüero, Lautaro Martínez.
Coach: Lionel Scaloni.
Venezuela: Wuilker FarÃñez - Roberto Rosales, Ronald Hernández, John Chancellor, Luis Mago - Junior Moreno, Tomás Rincón, Yángel Herrera - Jhon Murillo, Darwin Machis Salomón Rondón.
Coach: Rafael Dudamel.
