Maradona will bring in Velez Sarsfield defender Emiliano Papa to play left back, while Javier Zanetti returns to the starting eleven at right back. Maradona stated Saturday that lumbering Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze would take the armband, but it appears he too will miss the clash through injury.
With Heinze out, Argentina will be more sound at the back, and Javier Zanetti will most likely take up the captaincy, if only for a day.
Maradona will also be without his son-in-law, Kun Aguero, meaning Tevez will be partnered with either Diego Milito, Gonzalo Bergessio, or Lisandro Lopez, none of whom have much of a track record at the international level (25 caps between them).
El Diego must be criticized for leaving out Messi in Quito and not calling up Cambiaso and Higuain, among others. But, the way the team will line up Wednesday makes the most sense, given the circumstances.
The formation will most likely be a four-four-two, rather than the ludicrous three-three-one-three he used against Colombia. The team should have balance, and will hopefully learn about playing in altitude from their disaster in La Paz.
Considering how confused the team looked in their positioning at El Monumental Saturday, it couldn’t get much worse.
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