Friday is the last full day of training for Argentina’s squad ahead of the World Cup qualifying clásico against Uruguay in the Monumental on Saturday. It’s been a disrupted week for Alfio Basile’s men but on Thursday, Juan Román Riquelme returned to training with the squad.
Things aren’t all quite to plan so far, though – Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero missed the session with minor physical issues, so the attacking trio was composed of Diego Milito, Gonzalo Bergessio and Carlos Tevez, who scored the only goal for the starters against the subs. Javier Zanetti, Javier Mascherano and Cristian Ledesma held the midfield behind Riquelme, whilst Nicolás Burdisso, Martín Demichelis and – wait for it – Gabriel Heinze formed the back three, in front of Juan Pablo Carrizo.
I’ll be in London on Friday and Saturday nights to see a friend who’s over from the United States. This means, of course, that I’ll be missing the chance to watch the match live, but I’ll be back on Sunday to link to any highlights or goal videos that become available. The likely starting XI will be that named above, but with Messi and Agüero coming in for Bergessio and Milito. It won’t be confirmed until very shortly before kick off, as is Basile’s wont. The match will kick off at 18:10 local time – 22:10 UK time.
Hasta El Gol Siempre 