The Premier League will reportedly ignore a request by the Argentina FA to rest their players ahead of the World Cup. The Premier League schedule has matches on the weekend of Nov. 12 and 13. The tournament in Qatar begins just a week later.
Sportsmail claimed that at least one Premier League club officially denied Argentina’s request. The South American country’s FA asked for the release of one of its players ahead of schedule. This would have meant that the player would miss his club’s final match before the tournament. Argentina is one of the favorites for the upcoming World Cup.
The aforementioned report also suggests that the Premier League club has been in contact with other English teams. These discussions between the top flight clubs help the teams get on the same page. It is expected that no Premier League club will allow their Argentine players depart early.
Argentina desires rest for Premier League players
There are currently eight players from Argentina on Premier League rosters. Lisandro Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho at Manchester United, Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez at Aston Villa, Julian Alvarez at Manchester City, Cristian Romero at Tottenham, Alexis Mac Allister at Brighton, and Marcos Senesi at Bournemouth.
All eight of these players have made the preliminary Argentina roster for the World Cup. However, the final roster trims down before the start of the tournament.
Argentina have scheduled a friendly just a few days after the last Premier League games before the break. They will travel to Abu Dhabi to face the United Arab Emirates on Nov. 16. The World Cup begins for the South Americans just six days later.
The two-time World Cup winners are in an interesting group for the upcoming tournament. They will have to play Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland during the group stage. Superstar Lionel Messi confirmed that this will be his last chance to raise the elusive World Cup trophy.
PHOTO: IMAGO / AFLOSPORT
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