Argentina coach Diego Maradona would give anything to be able to play in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil, he said on Tuesday.
Argentina have been beset by injury worries before the game in Rosario, prompting Maradona to add 30-year-old midfielder Rodrigo Brana, 35-year-old striker Martin Palermo and 36-year-old defender Rolando Schiavi to his squad.
Schiavi and Brana are both uncapped and Palermo has not been called up for nearly nine years.
PHOTO: EPA
“Yesterday, when I met up with the players, I said that I’d give anything to be 20 years younger and be able to play myself,” Maradona told Radio Del Plata.
“But after all these problems we have to move forward. The ones who can’t play will just have to wait for the next game and the ones who can will have to be decisive on the field,” he said. “The truth is that it’s been terrible. With each phone call from [team doctor Donato] Villani, I was praying. This one’s been hurt, that one’s pulled a muscle...”
Strikers Diego Milito and Lisandro Lopez, defender Nicolas Burdisso and midfielders Juan Veron, Jonas Gutierrez and Sebastian Battaglia are all doubtful for Saturday’s clash.
Gutierrez’s injury has dashed Maradona’s plans for stopping the powerful bursts of Brazil right back Maicon.
“We’ve lost the best hope we had of stopping Maicon, which was Jonas,” Maradona said. “In addition to marking, he can attack from behind, which is what worries him. We don’t know which alternative to try.”
Brazil are a little wary of playing in the cozy confines of Rosario’s Estadio Gigante de Arroyito.
When the archrivals usually meet in Argentina, its at the larger Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. But after Maradona complained about the state of River Plate’s stadium in June, the match was moved to Rosario, about 300km north of the capital.
There, only 5m separates the field from the stands.
“We know that the supporters are closer to the pitch in Rosario, and that alone creates a more pressurized atmosphere,” Brazil defender Juan told FIFA’s Web site.
Another challenge: Maradona demanded the pitch be cut short before Saturday’s match, which should speed up play and allow the likes of Argentina’s Lionel Messi to quickly attack Brazil’s bigger defenders.
A sellout of 45,000 is expected for the game. Demand is so great that several hundred people were in line on Tuesday waiting for tickets to go on sale.
Ernesto Bua, a student, told the newspaper Ole he was able to study while waiting in line under a small tent.
“It’s the same. Instead of studying at home, I study here,” he said.
The match could go a long way toward determining if Argentina qualify for next year’s finals in South Africa. For Brazil, which leads qualifying in the South America, it’s a perfect opportunity to ruin things for its rivals.
Brazil leads qualifying with 27 points followed by Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22). Close behind are Ecuador (20), Uruguay (18) and Colombia and Venezuela (17). The top four qualify automatically. The No. 5 team faces a playoff with the No. 4 from North and Central America and the Caribbean.
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
RSS