Once again, Argentina vs France in football. In Qatar, we witnessed the most exciting World Cup final ever, where Argentina were the ultimate winner after an intense fight. But now these two teams will face off against each other in the quarterfinal of the Olympic Football. Both teams are having a good tournament so far, where France are still unbeaten but Argentina lost against Morocco in a controversial game. However, Argentina recovered brilliantly after losing to Morocco in their first game and won their last two matches to secure the quarterfinal.
Former Argentine player Javier Mascherano is the head coach of Argentina U-20 team in this tournament. He said, “In the end, you have to play, that’s what you have to do. After everything that happened, you wonder how we came second. We did our job and now we’ll go with our weapons, which are many. We have something to believe in.”
The manager is hopeful to get his team into the semifinal. “We started from the best to the worst and now we’re back to the same thing. To play it in the best way. First to recover the boys and then to prepare the best possible match to be able to advance to the semis,” said Mascherano.
On the other hand, France won all three games in the group round and did not concede a single goal to reach the quarterfinal. Now they have a difficult test ahead. Can they eliminate Argentina to avenge their defeat in the World Cup final?
Team News
France’s boss, Thierry Henry, made a few changes in the match against New Zealand, giving Doue and Kalimuendo a chance at the tournament. But these two players are likely to be benched once again as Henry will play with his best possible XI in the quarterfinal. Captain Alexandre Lacazette and Michael Olise, who recently joined Bayern Munich, will return to the starting XI. Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta is also in contention for the starting lineup. But France might miss Enzo Millot’s service as he picked up an injury during the training session and remains uncertain about the quarterfinal.
As for Argentina, Lucas Beltran returned to the pitch following his early withdrawal against Iraq. He played Argentina’s last game against Ukraine and is fit enough to play the quarterfinal. Julian Alvarez is the key man for Javier Mascherano and believes his team can beat anyone. He said, “If we play France we know what it means because they are at home. But I think we have what it takes. To reach the final we have to beat anyone. Whoever we play we are going to go for it and I think we are doing well.”
Possible Lineup for France:
Restes; Sildillia, Bade, Lukeba, Truffert; Akliouche, Kone, Chotard; Olise; Lacazette, Mateta
Possible Lineup for Argentina:
Rulli; Lujan, Otamendi, Di Cesare, Soler; Simeone, Fernandez, Medina, Almada; Beltran, Alvarez
Prediction: France 1-1 Argentina (France Win on Penalties)
Although Argentina lost their first game, they have recovered very well and proved why they are one of the strongest candidates for the Olympic medal. But it will be an easy task to beat France. France are the host of this tournament and are in a good rhythm. Therefore, we expect a draw between the two sides, but France would win if the match goes to the tie-breaker.
