Argentina’s upcoming one-off friendly tour of Africa in November has taken an unexpected turn. After Enzo Fernández was ruled out due to injury, three more players — Julián Alvarez, Nahuel Molina, and Giuliano Simeone — have been dropped from the national squad. The reason? The trio failed to take the mandatory yellow fever vaccine required for entry into Angola.
Vaccine Issue Forces Last-Minute Squad Changes
Argentina is set to face Angola on November 14, but every player in Lionel Scaloni’s squad must show proof of vaccination to be allowed into the country. Unfortunately, Alvarez, Molina, and Simeone — all from Atletico Madrid — did not receive the vaccine within the required timeframe.
In a statement, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) clarified:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒂.”
Yellow fever, a mosquito-borne disease, has seen a recent rise in both Africa and South America, prompting strict vaccination regulations for travelers.
No Local Players in the Argentina Squad
Interestingly, Argentina’s squad for this match doesn’t feature any players from domestic clubs. AFA President Claudio Tapia reportedly decided not to call up local players to avoid disrupting club schedules for a low-stakes friendly. Coach Scaloni supported the move, agreeing that local clubs shouldn’t suffer losses for the short tour.
As a result, Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Gonzalo Montiel, and Lautaro Rivero (River Plate), along with Marcus Acuna, are not part of the traveling squad.
Enzo Fernandez Injury Adds to Setback
Earlier, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was also ruled out after sustaining a right knee injury, just a day after being recalled to the national team.
“𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝑰 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅,” 𝑬𝒏𝒛𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅. “𝑰 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕.”
His absence has opened the door for Kevin McAllister, elder brother of Liverpool’s Alexis McAllister, who earns his first-ever national team call-up. Alongside him, Lisandro Martinez, Emiliano Buendia, and debutants Joaquin Panicelli, Gianluca Prestianni, and Maximo Perrone have also been added to the squad.
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