Argentina fell in Barranquilla for the second time in these qualifiers for the 2026World Cup in the United States and Mexico. The albiceleste did not have their best game and were outplayed by the Colombian team, which demonstrated their good form. Nahuel Molina Lucero was not a starter and came on in the second half for Gonzalo Montiel, demonstrating that he is in good physical condition.
Lionel Scaloni has once again counted on a player who, for him, is absolutely untouchable, and who he only rotates on rare occasions. With the " Leónidas de Pujato " , Nahuel Molina has been champion of America twice, champion of the Finalissima and world champion. The coach sees him as one of the key figures of the Argentine team and he is a regular for the national team coach.
Nahuel Molina came in for Montiel , and his mission was to face Luis Díaz and his speed, as well as to support the Argentine defense. James Rodríguez was the Colombian figure, Nahuel Molina avoided going forward to prevent the coffee growers from taking the lead, and Argentina did not generate much football on the wings either. The only one who did something relatively decent was Julián , who gave Lautaro a golden ball, but he wasted it.
Molina returns to Madrid
The Atlético full-back will return to Madrid in the next few hours to join the squad and be available for the match against Valencia. He has played 134 minutes in these two matches, and is already recovering his best form, especially in the match against Chile , where he stood out quite a bit. Against the Chileans, at the Monumental, he managed to shoot at goal on one occasion and laid the ball off to Lautaro Martínez, who also failed to take advantage of the chance to score.
At Atlético de Madrid, he only played one game as a starter this year, it was against RCD Espanyol in the midweek match at the Cívitas Metropolitano in Madrid . At half-time, Diego Pablo Simeone replaced the Argentine with Marcos Llorente , who has earned the place as the starting right extrem. The Argentine understands that the absence of Pablo Barrios changes the situation completely.
Llorente can rest
The season has not started in the best way for Nahuel Molina . The physical exuberance with which Marcos Llorente has started the year has relegated him from the starting eleven. But the Embalse player is ready to fight, and Diego Simeone is considering giving him minutes again due to the absence of Pablo Barrios , returning the Madrid native to midfield.
Other variants that Simeone is considering include placing Molina on the left, Lino on the right and Llorente in the centre of the field. What is clear is that the Cordoba native will have more minutes than he has played, due to the injury of the player from Moratalaz . We will see if he returns to the starting eleven against Valencia or if Simeone opts for the continuity of Marcos Llorente on the right wing.