The European champions will face the winners of the Copa America in Qatar next month, in a warm-up match for the World Cup, the Spanish equivalent of the now defunct Intercontinental Cup. This will be the first time that the young FC Barcelona prodigy will face Lionel Messi.
Scaloni’s plan to contain Yamal
Argentina are the defending champions, having beaten Italy at Wembley in 2022 thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala (3-0). The 2026 edition, initially planned for last year, will finally be played in March in Qatar.
Attention now turns to how Argentina intends to contain Lamine Yamal, the young winger already considered one of the best players in the world. Yamal won the 2025 Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in October and finished second to Ousmane Dembélé for the main prize following PSG’s Champions League triumph over Inter last May.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, however, has already put a plan in place to contain the Spanish prodigy on the wing, according to DobleAmarilla. The outlet suggests that Scaloni will field a hard-working midfielder who will constantly drop back to cover the Argentine left-back.
In theory, this will create a ‘2 on 1’ situation, thus limiting Yamal’s influence on the right flank. The 18-year-old is regularly targeted in La Liga, but that hasn’t stopped him from scoring 10 goals and providing 8 assists as the reigning champions look to take top spot in La Liga from Real Madrid this season.
Barcelona are looking to revive after their defeat against Atlético.
Yamal will hope to add to his tally when Barcelona travel to Girona on Monday evening. FC Barcelona lost its leading position in La Liga after Real Madrid’s easy victory (4-1) against Real Sociedad on Saturday evening.
A victory would allow Hansi Flick’s team to regain the lead in the standings. The German coach is expecting an immediate reaction from his players after the rout suffered by Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey in midweek.
