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Argentina: presenting the opponent of Ukraine's Olympic team in its third match at the 2024 Games
In the decisive match of the group tournament, Ukraine's Olympic team will play against Argentina, which has two victories at the Games (2004, 2008) in its portfolio, and in both cases, today's coach of our opponents, Javier Mascherano, was among the gold medalists of the Olympics — a very strong former football player.
Photo from afa.com.ar
In the decisive match of the group stage tournament, Ukraine's Olympic team will face Argentina, whose roster includes two Olympic gold medals from 2004 and 2008. In both cases, current coach of our opponents Javier Mascherano was part of those teams — a very strong player in his past.
He led the team to the Games-2024 without any losses but with many draws. On the first qualification stage, they secured first place in their group ahead of Paraguay by one point (Chile — 1:2). And after two draws on the second and final stage, a decisive goal against Brazil in the last match, scored by Gondu at the 78th minute, won them the ticket to France. Thanks to this, Mascherano's team secured second place, behind Paraguay.
In the previous two Olympics, Argentina did not advance from the group stage and started poorly this time as well (losing to Morocco). But they beat Iraq and now lead the group table with three points each for all four teams as of now.
Argentina's Olympic Team in the 2024 Cycle
| Date | Opponent | Score | Argentina's Goals |
| 21.01.2024 | Paraguay | 1:1 | Gondu |
| 24.01.2024 | Peru | 2:0 | Almada, Gondu |
| 30.01.2024 | Chile | 5:0 | Almada (2), Castro, Kiro, Gondu |
| 02.02.2024 | Uruguay | 3:3 | Rodriguez, Kiro, Gonzalez |
| 05.02.2024 | Venezuela | 2:2 | own goal, Almada |
| 08.02.2024 | Paraguay | 3:3 | Solari, Almada, Redondo |
| 11.02.2024 | Brazil | 1:0 | Gondu |
| 24.07.2024 | Morocco | 1:2 | Simon |
| 27.07.2024 | Iraq | 3:1 | Almada, Gondu, Fernandez |
Like Ukraine's team, Argentina's squad arrived at the Olympics far from their strongest lineup — for similar reasons.
Only eight players who actively participated in qualification did not make it to Argentina's Olympic roster: defenders Valentín Barco (2004; English Brighton), Nicolás Valentiní (2001; Boca Juniors), Lucas Escuviel (2001; Brazilian Atlético Paranaense); midfielders Juan Sforza (2002; Brazilian Vasco da Gama), Baltasar Rodríguez (2003; Racing); forwards Santiago Castro (2004; Italian Bologna), Pablo Solarí (2001; River Plate), Francisco González (2001; Newell's).
We also understand that stars like Enzo Fernández (Chelsea, England), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United, England), Alan Varela (Porto, Portugal), Matías Suárez (Juventus, Italy), Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton, England), Valentín Carboni (Inter, Italy) missed out on the Olympics.
Argentina's Olympic Roster for 2024
| No. | Goalkeepers | Date of Birth | Club | Matches | Minutes Played | Goals |
| 22 | Gerónimo Rulli | 07.08.1993 | Villarreal (Spain) | 0 | ||
| 23 | Juan Musso | 07.09.1998 | Lecce (Italy) | 0 | ||
| No. | Defenders | Date of Birth | Club | Matches | Minutes Played | Goals |
| 2 | Nicolás Tagliafico | 08.09.1992 | Ajax (Netherlands) | 7 | 440 | 0 |
| 3 | Lisandro López | 19.08.1987 | Vasco da Gama (Brazil) | 7 | 450 | 0 |
| 4 | Nicolás Otamendi | 19.08.1987 | Atlético Madrid (Spain) | 7 | 450 | 0 |
| No. | Midfielders | Date of Birth | Club | Matches | Minutes Played | Goals |
| 5 | Ezequiel Fernández | 25.07.2002 | Boca Juniors (Argentina) | 9 | 645 | 1 |
| No. | Forwards | Date of Birth | Club | Matches | Minutes Played | Goals |
| 9 | Julian Alvarez | 31.01.2000 | Manchester City (England) | 2 | 180 | 0 |
| Coach | Date of Birth | Matches | ||||
| Javier Mascherano | 08.06.1984 | 9 |
Notes. 1. The statistics of the players in the Olympic cycle OI-2024 are provided. 2. Numerals indicate players selected for OI-2024 (numbers 19—22 are reserves). 3. In OI-2024, players born after January 1, 2001 can participate (plus three older players).
