On a very hot day The Under 20 youth team opened its doors to the press at the AFA premises in Ezeiza to be able to express the expectations about the next tournament that will be the great objective of the team. The South American of the category will be held in Bogotá, Colombia between January 19 and February 12. The ten participating teams will be divided into two groups of five. Argentina will share a zone with Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru. You must be in the top three after playing all against all to reach the final hexagonal in which the best four will get their direct ticket to the World Cup in Indonesia to be played between May 20 and June 11. The final phase between the top 6 of the South American will also be all against all to define the final positions. The three that complete the podium will also be at the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile between October 20 and November 5.
The group seems complicated taking into account that there is the local and Brazil, but Argentina has the best expectations to face this tournament that, according to what he said mascherano in the mixed zone, it is the most important challenge he will have so far in his coaching career: “Representing Argentine soccer through the under 20 team is a great responsibility for all of us.. We are going to compete after a year of a process that we started in January 2022 when we took charge of this team, where a lot of guys passed and today we finished closing the circle in the sense that we have the first important test, which is the first official tournament to qualify for the World Cup”.
El Jefecito took the reins of this team a little over a year ago and from that moment he played in the Esperanzas de Toulón Tournament, now called Maurice Revello, in which Argentina finished fifth. In July he was part of the Alcudia Tournament in which he became Champion by beating Uruguay 4-0 in the final and in October he participated in the South American Games in Asunción 2022, in which he did not have a good performance and was left out in the first round after losing two of the three group games. After a year of work and with the game more established, the expectations are high for the South American that is coming. “With great enthusiasm, we are very happy with the list and the call that we were able to make, very grateful to the clubs that have allowed us to have these players who are very important, in several cases starters and we know that it is not easy at the beginning of the season to give up players. It is necessary to be able to compete with the best possible team”, stated Mascherano after training.
The former captain of the Argentine National Team also emphasized the relationship he has with his managers: “There is always a distance between player and coach but I try to be as natural as possible. I have children almost the same age and one tries to understand. One knows that the new generations are not like we were before and in the end I am the one who has to adapt to them. For us, behavior is paramount, when we leave the country the most important thing is how we represent it and in that the boys have always behaved in the best way”.
Mascherano referred to the impossibility of calling up some players who are abroad such as Alejandro Garnacho and Matías Soule: “It was difficult for them to come because the clubs do not have the obligation to loan them to the South American. A month and a half ago we toured Europe to talk to the clubs and see what was available. The important thing is that they can continue to grow in important clubs, but it is good that we can clarify that On our part, we made the corresponding steps to be able to have them and that we are very satisfied with the list we have.
The only sparring partner in Qatar 2022
Federico Gomes Gerth is a Tigre goalkeeper and was the only player who traveled to the Asian country to accompany the delegation and act as fourth goalkeeper. He was the only privileged one that his Sub 20 teammates killed with questions when they returned from Qatar.
“For me it was one of the best experiences of my life, I was able to make the most of it, I learned a lot. Something very nice was put together with the group of goalkeepers, we were all great companions, we chatted with Dibu (Martínez), we had fun, I learned a lot from him”, commented Gomes Gerth.
The sparring partner of the Argentine National Team also spoke about the objectives for the tournament that will begin in two weeks: “Our main objective is to qualify for the World Cup and be among the top 3 to also enter the Pan American Games. and we go with the hope and goal of winning as many games as possible to come out first”.
Mascherano and Qatar 2022
The Jefecito referred to what it meant to him that Messi was able to win the third World Cup: “As a friend it’s a huge joy, as a former partner is an example for us. Not only him but Ángel (Di Marìa), who are the two National Team players with whom I had to share the most, especially sadness. They have given all of us a great example of being able to insist, of resilience, that if you do things in the best way and honestly, things take time to arrive but they do arrive”.
At the same time, he also spoke about how important it was what the Argentine National Team showed in Qatar 2022 and how will it serve the players of the youth team with a view to all the tournaments that lie ahead: “The best example is what they saw throughout this month, better than one team could not represent us, they have had a spectacular world championship, they were clearly superior to the rest of the teams. That is where we have to look, where we have to realize that many times we throw ourselves down and believe that the good ones are in another place and the good ones are also here, they are born here, they are young and they played in our league until recently and I think that this is the great boost and the great example that these have boys to be able to compete”stated the former River Plate player.
The full roster of the squad
Archers: Federico Gomes Gerth, Franco Herrera and Francisco Gomez
Defenders: Lautaro Di Lollo, Nahuel Génez, Julián Aude, Brian Aguilar, Agustín Giay, Valentín Gómez, Francisco Marco and Ulises Ciccioli
Midfielders: Maximiliano González, Máximo Perrone, Axel Encinas, Facundo Buonanotte, Gino Infantino and Nicolás Paz
Forwards: Ignacio Maestro Puch, Alejo Véliz, Brian Aguirre, Santiago Castro, Nicolás Vallejo and Julián Fernández.