Olympics 2020 - Top 5 Argentine Players to Watch Out For
Argentina have had their purple patch in football at the Summer Olympics in recent years. Albiceleste grabbed gold medals in 2004 and 2008 and are the most successful nation in the competition behind Hungary and Great Britain.
The Argentines have always sent their best to this global sporting event and that included icons like Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Angel Di Maria, Hernan Crespo and many others.
This time, however, coach Fernando Batista is traveling to Tokyo for the Olympics alongside a young squad with no big names present. While the country is still gaga over their team's recent Copa America heroics, Batista and his young guns will be doing their best to emulate the senior team's continental success.
Argentina lie in a relatively easy Group C with Spain being their only major threat. Australia and Egypt occupy the other two spots within the group. Argentina are all set to face Australia in their opening game at the 2020 Olympics.
Without further ado, let's get into it.
The top five Argentine Players to Watch Out For in the 2020 Olympics.
#5 Thiago Almada
The 20-year-old brave midfielder from Buenos Aires is an absolute surprise package. The Velez Sarsfield starlet is tipped to move to a bigger club in the near future as he has been constantly under the scouts' radar for quite some time now.
Almada was set to join Premier League champs Man City last year but the transfer didn't go through. However, the EPL outfit are still set to bring the young Argentine midfielder to the Etihad Stadium.
Fernando Batista is expected to rely heavily on Thiago Almada in Argentina's games at the Olympics. The kid who has shone on junior levels will have all eyes on him this term in Tokyo.
#4 Facundo Medina
The Argentine vice-captain is sure to be a regular starter at the Olympics. He will be deployed regularly as one of the four members of Batista's defensive options.
Being a natural centre-back, Medina has also aced the role of a left-back whenever he was demanded of it. Facundo Medina arrived in France in 2020 and established himself as one of the key players within the club in his debut season.
He was instrumental in his club, RC Lens', consistent performance throughout the year in Ligue 1. They bagged the seventh spot in the league table by the end of the season. The 22-year-old defender grabbed eyeballs with his spectacular debut goal, which was an overhead strike.