Argentina will face Trinidad and Tobago at Antonio Vespucio Liberti “el Monumental” stadium in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, June 4 (3:30 PM Pacific), in a pre-World Cup friendly match. This will be the first clash between both national teams in all history.
The Argentina national team manager Alejandro Sabella confirmed the 23-man final roster, with unexpected news like the exclusion of Newell’s Old Boys midfielder Ever Banega, and the inclusion of Manchester City defender Martín Demichelis and Benfica midfielder Enzo Pérez.
Argentina finished on the top of the table in CONMEBOL qualification for the World Cup with 32 points in 16 matches, and they’re one of the main candidates to win the World Cup due to their great goal threat, with players like Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Agüero (Manchester City), Ángel Di María (Real Madrid) and Gonzalo Higuaín (Napoli).
Their last game was a 0-0 tie against Romania in Bucarest, in a friendly match that took place on March 5. In the World Cup they’re in the Group F, and will face Bosnia and Herzegovina (June 15 in Rio de Janeiro), Iran (June 21 in Belo Horizonte) and Nigeria (June 25 in Porto Alegre).
After this match, Argentina will play another friendly, against Serbia in La Plata on Saturday, and then they’ll travel to Belo Horizonte, the city in which their training center – property of Clube Atletico Mineiro – is located.
On the other hand, Trinidad and Tobago didn’t qualify to the World Cup. They finished one point behind Guyana in the second-round group stage and couldn’t make their second World Cup appearance in all history – they’ve only played in Germany 2006.
The Soca Warriors skipper, Cardiff City midfielder Kenwyne Jones, said: “We’re happy to play this match and we’ll do out best. We’re focused in doing a good game. They’re training for the World Cup and have perhaps the best strikers in the world. We’ll try to neutralize them and show our skills for the next World Cup qualification.”
Trinidad and Tobago is in the 74° place in the FIFA World Ranking, and they didn’t play since November 2013, when they twice defeated Jamaica in two friendlies. In official tournaments, they last performance was in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2013, played in the United States, in which they were eliminated in quarter finals after losing 1-0 against Mexico.
After the match against Argentina they’ll travel to Sao Paulo to face Iran on Sunday.
Argentina vs Trinidad & Tobago Prediction
This match should be an easy one for Argentina. The difference in the squads is enormous, and if Argentina doesn’t win by four or more goals it would be only because the players won’t risk their fitness eleven days before their first World Cup clash and they’ll play in a very relaxed way. My prediction is a 2-0 victory for Argentina.
Argentina vs Trinidad & Tobago Television
The match will be televised on beIN Sports USA at 3:30 PM Pacific.
