Lionel Scaloni is leaning toward one change for Argentina’s quarterfinal against Suiza, and it points to Gonzalo Montiel at right back. Germán García Grova reported that Scaloni worked behind closed doors with a lineup that could be adjusted in only one spot, making Montiel the likeliest fit if the coach decides to alter the side that came through the round of 16.
That matters because Argentina’s next match is not a routine group-stage stop. It is a quarterfinal scheduled for Saturday at 22 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and the margin for error has shrunk to almost nothing. In a game like that, a single defensive switch can change how the team protects the box, handles transitions and attacks the loose balls that decide tight matches.
Scaloni’s trial also explains why Montiel has edged ahead in the conversation without locking anything down. He alternated Montiel and Nahuel Molina in tactical work, and he has said they share similar traits in some areas. The difference is in the detail that usually decides a knockout game: Montiel is the one more associated with rebounds and loose balls inside the area, the kind of second action that can turn a cleared cross into a shot or a goal.
The rest of the projected XI stayed intact in the training work: Emiliano Martínez, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez or Lautaro Martínez. That is also what gives the Montiel question its weight. If the coach is making only one change, he is not reworking Argentina’s shape. He is choosing the right back who best matches a match that is likely to be decided in a few moments inside the area.
There is still one unresolved point, and it is the one that keeps this from sounding settled: Montiel was presented as the likely starter, not as a confirmed one. Scaloni’s practice pattern left room for Molina to reclaim the place, which means the initial projection may still be the only thing that can be said with certainty before kickoff. Argentina reached this stage after a comeback win over Egipto, Suiza advanced by eliminating Colombia on penalties, and the matchup now carries a record that favors Argentina, which had never lost to Suiza in seven meetings, with five wins and two draws. If Argentina goes through, it will meet the winner of Norway versus England in the semifinals.
For now, the story is narrow and clear: Montiel is the man most likely to change Argentina’s lineup, and the final answer will arrive when Scaloni turns a practice decision into a quarterfinal XI.
