Guessing Who Replaced Lionel Messi Behind Argentina's Rotation in the Match Against the Indonesian National Team

JAKARTA - Argentina national team coach, Lionel Scaloni. holding a meeting about who will replace Lionel Messi in the match against the Indonesian national team on Monday, June 19 tonight. Scaloni only said, even without Messi, the match will still be enjoyed.

"I can't say who will replace Lionel Messi tomorrow (today)," said Scaloni in a press conference on Sunday, June 18.

"Later we will see who will replace him, whoever the players are, please see later," he added.

Lionel Messi is confirmed to be absent from the second FIFA Matchday agenda for the June 2023 edition. After appearing for the full 90 minutes in the match against Australia in Beijing, La Pulga immediately flew back to his country.

Messi's absence was the decision of the coach who gave permission to take an early holiday. Not alone, with Messi, there are also Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi who received similar permission.

Messi's absence in the match will leave the position of the right-wing striker or one of the two attackers on the front lines empty. However, being in the Albiceleste squad this shouldn't be an obstacle for Scaloni.

Especially before this also implied that he would appear with a second-tier team when he met Indonesia. This was explained by Scaloni not because he underestimated potential opponents, but because he wanted to experiment with the team.

"This replacement for the Argentinian players was not due to against Indonesia, but because I wanted to try something new and just to experiment," he explained.

Looking at the list of players brought by Lionel Scaloni to Jakarta, there will be a number of players who could replace the winner of the seven Ballon d'Or trophies.

Lucas Ocampos is considered ideal to fill Messi's vacant position if the coach wants to play three attackers up front. There is also a Fiorentina player, Nico Gonzalez, who can be played as a right winger or a center forward even though his ideal position is to play on the left wing.

In statistics, Thiago Almada can also occupy La Pulga's position. However, if Scaloni wants to play with two attackers, the name Giovanni Simeone could be the right choice to partner with Julian Alvarez.