There is a fair argument that Lionel Scaloni has been too slow to trust Giuliano Simeone. For a winger who has spent the season producing four goals and six assists in La Liga, plus two goals and one assist in the Champions League, 71 minutes at this World Cup is a tiny return. And with Argentina heading into a World Cup semi-final against England on Wednesday, that is not a detail to brush aside.
Simeone is not being treated like a passenger. He has been in the national squad for two years, so this is not a case of a new arrival trying to force his way into the picture. But it is hard to miss the pattern: Scaloni has leaned towards more central options, has not rotated the right side much, and has left Simeone watching on more often than his club form would suggest. That matters because Argentina are not exactly short on attackers, but they are clearly making choices about balance rather than simply picking the most electric wide option available.
Why the right side still feels unsettled
The interesting part is that Simeone brings more than pace for pace’s sake. He is fast, combative and useful both in attack and defence, which makes him the kind of player who can change the tone of a match without needing everything built around him. In a tournament where margins get smaller the deeper you go, that should count for something. Instead, Scaloni has often preferred combinations involving Julian Alvarez, Thiago Almada, Nico Gonzalez, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Leandro Paredes and Lautaro Martinez, leaving Simeone’s role vague and his chances limited.
That does not automatically make the coach wrong. Argentina have been successful by trusting structure, not by throwing every forward-thinking option onto the pitch at once. But there is a difference between caution and over-caution, and Simeone’s usage sits uncomfortably close to the latter. If a player is contributing at Atlético de Madrid and has enough energy to press, recover and attack space, then 71 minutes across a World Cup is a strong hint that he is not being judged on club form at all.
On Monday, reported after the South American squad’s training session that Simeone could get a chance. That is welcome, but it also underlines the bigger issue: this is a player who appears to be waiting for an opening rather than being actively used to solve a problem. And at this stage of the tournament, waiting is a dangerous business.
Argentina do not need another romantic subplot. They need the right answers. If Scaloni believes the central options give him more control, he has every right to keep going that way. But if the right side remains predictable, Simeone’s 71 minutes will look less like a coaching choice and more like a wasted opportunity.
