The center marker Nicolas Otamendi He started as captain of the Argentine national team for the fourth time in his career in the victory against Paraguay for the third round of the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The former Vélez Sarsfield footballer inherited the ribbon at the disposal of Lionel Messi on the substitute bench, due to muscle discomfort, and due to the absence of the injured Angel Di Mariawho assumed the role in the previous match against Bolivia in La Paz.
Otamendi, 35 years old, was captain of the National Team three times in Lionel Scaloni’s cycle but never before in an official game like tonight at the Monumental stadium. The captaincy of the “General” ended in the first minutes of the second half when Messi entered the team and received the ribbon, even though he asked his teammate not to return it to him.
The three occasions he wore the armband corresponded to friendly matches against Brazil (0-1), in October 2018; Chile (0-0), in September 2019 and Germany (2-2) in October of that same year.
The current Benfica player from Portugal debuted in the national team in 2019 under the guidance of Diego Maradona and has so far registered 106 matches, five goals and three titles (Copa América 2021, Finalissima 2022 and World Cup Qatar 2022).
Otamendi’s fifth goal came this same night, when 3 minutes into the match against Paraguay he concluded a great prepared play with a volley that beat Carlos and scored the first goal.
Source: Ambito
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