Argentina coach confirms lineup for match against Vinotinto
The coach of the Argentina national football team, Edgardo Bauza, confirmed on Monday that Erick Lamela will replace the injured Lionel Messi in the match against Venezuela on Tuesday in the South American qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
"We want to give Lamela the freedom to express himself. He is a player with goalscoring ability," Bauza commented at a press conference held at the Metropolitano stadium in Merida, in western Venezuela, where the pre-World Cup qualifying match will take place.
Bauza also revealed that Ever Banega and Marcos Rojo will be new faces in the starting eleven of the current leaders of the qualifiers, alongside Tottenham's forward.
Banega will replace the suspended Paulo Dybala, while Rojo will play in place of Emmanuel Más, who has completed a one-match suspension due to accumulated yellow cards.
"Despite not having Messi in the team, our approach will be the same," stated Bauza, indicating that his team will aim to "be protagonists".
The new Albiceleste coach praised the "commitment" shown by his players in their debut in the dugout during the 1-0 victory against Uruguay last Thursday, which propelled the Argentine team to the top of the standings with 14 points.
However, Bauza emphasizes that the match against Venezuela will be a "different game".
Despite Venezuela's poor form, having only managed to gather one point, Bauza highlighted that their opponents "have five or six players performing at a high level", singling out forward Salomón Rondón (West Bromwich/England) among them.
Bauza stated he knows his Venezuelan counterpart, Rafael Dudamel, well, and expects "intensity" from his team, urging his own players to be "prepared".
#ArgentinaEnVenezuela Edgardo Bauza confirmed Argentina's lineup to face Vinotinto. pic.twitter.com/wvZKtL9HtQ
— Selección Argentina (@Argentina) September 5, 2016