Who is Nicolas Gonzalez? Lionel Scaloni lavishes praise on Argentina star who missed 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injury
Manager Lionel Scaloni has lavished praise on Argentina star Nicolas Gonzalez after the 2022 FIFA World Cup winners' 7-0 rout of Curacao in a friendly on Tuesday (March 28).
Gonzalez, who plays as a winger for Fiorentina, started down the right flank for La Albiceleste and managed to grab a goal and an assist. He played the full 90 minutes against La Pantera Azul, managing to get four out of his five shots on target and creating three chances for his teammates (h/t FotMob).
After the full-time whistle at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Scaloni praised Gonzalez and Tottenham Hotspur loanee Giovani Lo Celso. He said (h/t @RoyNemer):
"Everyone knows that Nicolás González and Giovanni Lo Celso were in the World Cup list. They were always in the cycle and they deserved to be in this celebration. They both bring us a lot of things on the pitch."
The 24-year-old was primed to make the cut for Argentina's World Cup team last year but missed out due to a biceps femoris muscle injury. Lo Celso, 26, suffered a similar misfortune as the on-loan Villarreal midfielder was left out of the 26-man squad due to a torn muscle bundle.
After spending 12 years through various ranks at Argentinos Juniors, Gonzalez arrived in Europe when he signed for VfB Stuttgart in 2018. He joined Fiorentina three years later for a fee of €24.50 million, where he has a contract until the summer of 2026.
Gonzalez is a typical modern-day winger who likes to cut inside on his stronger left foot and has a tendency to take on defenders. He can also play as a centre-forward and has registered 15 goals and 11 assists in 66 games for La Viola across competitions in his career.
Gonzalez has mustered four goals in 22 senior international caps - five of which came at the 2021 Copa America, where Argentina lifted the trophy.
2022 FIFA World Cup winners Argentina conclude March friendlies with a perfect record
Argentina won both their international friendlies in March without conceding a goal and scoring a combined nine times at the other end.
They beat Panama 2-0 at El Monumental on March 23 with goals from Thiago Almada and Lionel Messi. Messi's first-half hattrick against Curacao helped his team record their joint-biggest win since recording a 7-0 friendly victory against Bolivia in September 2015.
Gonzalez, Angel di Maria, Enzo Fernandez, and Gonzalo Montiel also got on the scoresheet. The two wins marked a perfect week for the 2022 FIFA World Cup winners, who got to celebrate the trophy with their fans inside the stadiums this month.