Walter Benítez, Valentín Carboni and the 47 debutants in the Scaloni era

Walter Benítez, Valentín Carboni and the 47 debutants in the Scaloni era :: Olé

03/27/2024 00:32am.Updated on 03/27/2024 01:59am.

Among many things for which they can be praised Lionel Scalonibetween the titles won and the high level that his team showed during large parts of his cycle, is the fact of having made a generational change that had a great impact on the Argentine National Team. Throughout his almost six years at the helm of the Albiceleste, the coach gave 46 players their debuts. And in this 3-1 against Costa Rica in Los Angeles, It was the turn of Walter Benítez and Valentín Carboni.

The 47 footballers who debuted in the National Team with Scaloni

The Chaco goalkeeper who emerged in Quilmes was tempted on a couple of occasions by the Paraguay and France teams. But his dream was always to debut in Argentina. Scaloni named him for the Asian tour against Australia and Indonesia in 2023. Then he included him again on the list for the double qualifying round against Uruguay and Brazil. And now, again, on the roster for the friendlies against El Salvador and Costa Rica. On Friday, Benítez was on the bench. This Tuesday he had the great opportunity to add his first minutes in the National Team. In the Ticos’ first counterattack, Benítez rebounded Costa Rica’s 1-0 lead and then had a quiet night, with goals from Di María, Mac Allister and Laitaro.

Beyond the fact that the National Team’s goal is more than covered with Draw Martínez, Scaloni wanted to take these friendlies to test and continue looking at the future replacement, hence this opportunity to show himself to Benítez. “We always look at the collective, that is evident. Beyond individual conditions we look for the connection to the team. A boy, whether young or whatever age he is, we need to see how he associates with his teammates, how he understands himself. The only way is seeing him play on the field because the training is worth it, but in the end the game is what counts. That’s why these friendlies are important to see them,” the coach explained.

Walter Benítez lives a great present: he is the best goalkeeper in the Eredivisie. PSV did not suffer a defeat in 26 games (23 W and 3 L), is the leader with 72 points and is 10 ahead of Feyenoord. Furthermore, he is the goalkeeper with the least beaten goal so far in the tournament (13 goals against), and, to crown that moment, at 31 years old he was able to debut in the National Team.

At the end of the match, the presentation of Valentín Carboni also arrived. The 19-year-old Monza youth player was the third to debut on this tour, after Valentín Barco and Benítez.

During his cycle, Scaloni has already made 47 footballers debut. In his debut, in the 3-0 against Guatemala in 2018, the coach gave a place to Gerónimo Rulli, Renzo Saravia, Exequiel Palacios, Gonzalo Martínez, Giovanni Simeone, Walter Kannemann, Alan Franco, Matías Vargas, Franco Cervi, Santiago Ascacíbar and Franco Vázquez.

Scaloni made the replacement in 2018 and is in the process of building a new squad for 2026. (AFP)

As time went by, new names emerged and became fundamental, even becoming world champions: Rodrigo De Paul, Juan Foyth, Lisandro Martínez, Gonzalo Montiel, Alexis Mac Allister, Cristian Romero, Julián Álvarez, Emiliano Martínez, Nahuel Molina , Enzo Fernández and Thiago Almada. That is, Of the 26 who won at the Qatar World Cup, 13 debuted with Scaloni.

Of those called up by Scaloni for this series of friendlies in North America, Four more players could have their debut in the Argentine National Team. walter Benitez, a goalkeeper who had already been mentioned by Scaloni, is looking for his opportunity in the Albiceleste goal. Nicholas Valentini, Boca’s central defender, was called up as an emergency due to Marcos Senesi’s injury. And Valentine could also add minutes Carbonithe surprise of this call, with a past in the Sub 20 and currently in Monza.

Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández, Thiago Almada and Alexis Mac Allister, world champions who debuted with Scaloni. (AP)