Why isn’t Julian Alvarez playing for Argentina vs. Angola in 2025 international friendly?

Argentina face Angola in an international friendly, and Julian Alvarez will not be part of the squad.

This Friday, Argentina will play their final match of 2025. It will be an international friendly against Angola, part of the November FIFA break. There, Julian Alvarez, one of the stars of the reigning World Cup winners, will not be present.

Alvarez had originally been called up by Lionel Scaloni for this match at the 11 de Novembro Stadium, but at the last minute he and two of his teammates at Atletico Madrid had to be removed from the list for an unusual reason: they did not complete the procedures to receive the yellow fever vaccine in time.

This is an essential requirement for any foreigner who intends to enter Angola, so failing to comply meant it was impossible for them to travel with the rest of the Argentine team. Nahuel Molina and Giuliano Simeone found themselves in the same situation as Alvarez.

Meanwhile, the other two Atletico Madrid players called up by Scaloni for this international break, Thiago Almada and Nicolas Gonzalez, did receive their yellow fever shot properly and on time, allowing them to travel to Luanda with the national team and get minutes.

Who will play in Argentina’s attack without Alvarez?

Since the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Julian Alvarez has earned the role of Argentina’s main center forward, pushing Lautaro Martinez to the bench. However, the absence of the Atletico Madrid star in Friday’s match against Angola will give Martinez the chance to take that spot.

Alongside the Inter Milan forward will be, of course, Lionel Messi. He traveled from Miami to reunite with his teammates in Spain and from there head to Luanda, where thousands of fans will fulfill their dream of seeing him live on the field. The third member of the Argentine attack will be Thiago Almada, who is gradually starting to take on a leading role in the team.

Two young forwards can benefit from Alvarez’s absence

The absence of Julian Alvarez in the friendly match against Angola will not only allow Lautaro Martinez to regain his place in the starting lineup, but will also give Scaloni the chance to test other attacking options.

For this international break, the coach called up two other young center forwards who might get the chance to earn valuable minutes. One is Jose Lopez, the Palmeiras star who debuted with Argentina during the October FIFA break. The other is Joaquin Panichelli, the top scorer in Ligue 1 with RC Strasbourg, with 9 goals in 12 matches.