The new players of the National Team that surprised Messi

Lionel Messi is not only the captain of Argentina: he is the soul, the ace of spades and the hope of a team that goes out of its way to turn the Olympics next saturday in the Maracana. The Copa América represents for the National Team the perfect shortcut to try to cut the 28-year streak without titles. And Argentina is two steps away from burying that curse. In the first place, he needs to eliminate Colombia tonight to reach the final of the Copa América, something that he could not achieve in the four previous times that he played that competition on Brazilian soil. And then he should bring the Brazilian national team to his knees, the greatest rival ever. If Messi is very enthusiastic about this possibility, it is because he perceives positive signs in the team. And these signs are supported -among other things- on the appearance in the Selection of three names that somehow Messi was surprised by his footballing level: Emiliano Martínez, Cristian Romero and Nicolás González.

According to what they told Infobae different sources from the entrails of the Selection, Messi believes that the goalkeeper, the central marker and the attacker improve the team and give it a quality jump in all three positions. “Leo already knew the three of European football because he is aware of what is happening everywhere, but Draw, the Cuti Y Nico González made a very good impression on him and he is delighted that they have gotten into the team and the group so well ”, says one of the sources who has been in Brasilia since last night awaiting the clash today at 22 in front of the Colombians.

Draw Martínez has only six games in the National Team and Romero played only four and scored one goal. Nicolás González is the one with the most experience of the three, although his is also scarce: he has nine games with the light blue and white jersey and has already scored two goals. The three are something like the main faces of the renewal in the Argentine National Team, although not the only ones: Nahuel Molina earned a position as a starter in this Copa América and has a characteristic that Messi also feels very well. “Leo likes the full-backs to go on the attack permanently to unload on them or to be dragged by the marks and he scores diagonals. So He likes Molina’s contribution a lot, because it happens to him in all the shots on the right”, Comments one of the 28 footballers who make up the list in good faith of the National Team in the Copa América.

Apart from Messi’s football tastes, there are strong data on the current situation of the new members of the National Team whose game seduces the captain of Argentina. Draw Martínez, the 28-year-old from Mar del Plata who plays for Aston Villa, was pointed out by the site SofaScore as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, the most qualified competition in the world today. To make the ranking, they took into account the number of interventions, the goals received and the saves of the Premier goalkeepers, a dispute in which Martínez surpassed none other than the Brazilians Alisson Becker (Liverpool) and Ederson (Manchester City) , to the French Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) and to the Spanish David De Gea (Manchester United).

Cuti Romero also stood out in the League in which he plays: for Serie A in Italy, Atalanta’s defender (his pass belongs to Juventus) was Calcio’s best last season. The 23-year-old central marker, emerged from Belgrano de Córdoba, recovered more balls than any other defender (237) and won more aerial duels than anyone else (122), supported by his jumping ability and good height: 1.85. “Unstoppable in one-on-one, fast in recoveries and smart when it comes to anticipating the opponent’s plays: an outstanding season!” Wrote Serie A on their social networks when referring to the Cordovan who in this Copa América only He was able to play two of the five games Argentina has led (against Uruguay and Paraguay in the first phase) due to injury.

Nicolás González, who in Argentina only wore the Argentinos Juniors shirt, is one of the brand new reinforcements of Fiorentina, who paid Stuttgart 22 million euros for his pass. Multifunctional, the 23-year-old left-hander can play in any of the positions on the left wing: as a winger, a position in which Lionel Scaloni used him against Paraguay, in the Bombonera, for the Qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup; as a midfielder in a 4-4-2; or as a winger in a 4-3-3. “Nico is an animal. It has a barbaric power “, Messi usually says, according to the words of another of the National Team players who asked for his name to be reserved.

While Draw Martinez and Nico González will be headlines today against Colombia, everything seems to indicate that Cuti Romero will also miss tonight’s match due to a sprained left knee. They may not know it, but Messi values ​​all three for what they are: top international players.

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