Argentina gear up for friendly against Guatemala

After their disappointing performance in the 2018 World Cup and with an interim coach in charge, Argentina will begin their renewal in Southern California in a friendly against Guatemala.

Coach Lionel Scaloni will present a lineup on Friday that includes many young and inexperienced players with whom he hopes to shape the future national team, reports Efe news.

The injuries that several players have suffered will also affect the lineup: Lautaro Martinez, one of Argentina's young promises, will stay on the bench, while it is not yet sure if Mauro Icardi will be able to play.

One of the players who will take advantage of this situation is Giovanni Simeone, son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, who is likely to play as center forward, since Paulo Dybala was late for practice in Los Angeles.

As for the goalkeeper, Sergio Romero has not been feeling 100 percent, which means that his place will likely be taken by Geronimo Rulli.

Only nine of the players Scaloni called up for the friendlies in the United States were part of the squad that played at the World Cup.

- Probable lineups:

Argentina: Geronimo Rulli; Fabricio Bustos, German Pezzella, Rogelio Funes Mori, Nicolas Tafliafico; Leandro Paredes, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios; Cristian Pavon, Giovanni Simeone and Gonzalo Martinez.

Guatemala: Paulo Motta; Cristian Jimenez, Hector Moreira, Elias Enoc Vasquez, Rafael Morales; Kevin Norales, Rodrigo Saravia, Jose Manuel Contreras; Frank de Leon, Danilo Guerra and Jose Martinez.

--IANS

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