(Reuters) – Argentina’s 26-man squad could change with less than a week to go before their World Cup opener as some players are not fully fit, coach Lionel Scaloni said on Wednesday after their 5-0 friendly win over the United Arab Emirates.
Defender Cristian Romero and forwards Nicolas Gonzalez, Alejandro Gomez and Paulo Dybala were left out for Argentina’s last warm-up match in Abu Dhabi, with all four recovering after feeling “some discomfort”, the coach said.
“We have a few problems, we have days to decide on the list … We can change, hopefully not, but there is a possibility,” Scaloni told reporters.
“I’m not saying they are going to be dropped from the list. There are players who are not well, who have been left out of the squad today because they were not fit to play or there was a risk.
“We have to be cautious because there is a reason why they were left out.”
FIFA rules say that the World Cup teams can replace players in their squads who are injured or ill up to 24 hours before their opening match.
Argentina begin their World Cup campaign on Nov. 22 against Saudi Arabia, before facing Mexico and Poland in Group C.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Toby Davis)
