Paulo Dybala is fully fit and available for Argentina’s World Cup quarterfinal match against the Netherlands on Friday, according to Argentine head coach Lionel Scaloni. However, for tactical reasons, Dybala has been left off the roster thus far....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The Roma star arrived in Qatar still nursing a calf injury, having missed four weeks of action prior to the start of the tournament and having played only 20 minutes off the bench against Torino last month – his only club or international appearance since the beginning of October.
Except for a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in their first group match, Argentina has not felt his absence, as Julian Alvarez has led the attack superbly and scored twice, while Lautaro Martinez has been considerably less impressive.
In 161 minutes of action, Inter Milan’s leading scorer has missed a number of opportunities and is without a goal, prompting many supporters to call for Dybala’s benching.
Dybala is one of only three outfield players who have yet to make an appearance for Argentina at this tournament. Scaloni has now confirmed that Dybala’s absence is not due to any lingering fitness issues but is instead purely tactical.
When asked why Dybala has not yet played and why he was even included in the squad, Scaloni replied, ‘
‘Well he did not play because I did not see the moment to put him on the field yet.
‘He’s well, he’s fit, and he’s in a condition to be part of the starting XI.
‘But we think due to the matches that we’ve played, and how they’ve developed, we did not have the chance to field him.
‘We are happy with how he is contributing, but we have 26 players and we try to select those that we feel are best for each match and sometimes the match plays out in a different way.
