Six Days After the World Cup Final, Otamendi Is Already Back on the Pitch
World champion Otamendi has already been called up by River for Saturday. Correa also makes the list right after signing. Here's the full picture.
The ink on the trophy hasn't even dried and Nicolás Otamendi is already ready to play. Just six days after featuring in the World Cup final for Argentina against Spain, the centre-back appears on River Plate's squad list for Saturday's clash against Barracas Central at the Monumental. According to Olé, he could start.
And he's not alone. Ángel Correa signed with River one day before the squad announcement was released and went straight into coach Eduardo Coudet's list — the Chacho. The expectation is that Angelito will come off the bench during the match.
Gonzalo Montiel also returned to the club after the World Cup and is listed as an option at right-back. Left out are Sebastián Driussi, ruled out with a right calf muscle injury, and Juan Fernando Quintero, who played in the tournament with Colombia and has been given extra days by the club to report back.
Context matters. River head into this Clausura opener still nursing the hangover of a shocking Copa Argentina elimination against Aldosivi — a defeat Coudet himself called a "papelón." The return of the world champions is both a technical boost and a symbolic statement: the club wants to turn the page fast.
And the Golmetria model is a reminder that this Argentina side that just lifted the trophy is no ordinary team: the model projects a 68% chance of the Albiceleste reaching the final of the next World Cup, with an ELO of 2113 — the second highest in the ranking. The players returning to River carry that weight on their shoulders — and now they need to deliver it at the Monumental too.