Mauro Icardi said there is a better sense of “camaraderie and friendship” within the national team that hadn’t previously existed.
The Inter Milan captain, who scored his first international goal in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Mexico on Tuesday night, said the side “feels very comfortable with each other.
“I lived through the past and there wasn’t as much that before. Hopefully it can continue. [In the past cycle], I didn’t feel it.
“Previously, with the experienced players, that wasn’t felt. Today we start from the bottom and we all want to do well for the coaching staff.”
Despite the slight dig to Argentina’s veteran players, Icardi did mention he hopes to see Barcelona captain Lionel Messi back in action for the national squad.
“[Messi] is the best in the world. That is what every team wants, to have a player such as him. I hope that in the upcoming year he can be with us ahead of the Copa America,” said Icardi.
Fellow Serie A star Paulo Dybala also scored his first career goal for Argentina in Tuesday’s win, their second in a back-to-back set of friendlies with Mexico.
“Hopefully this breaks my bad luck and the net opens up for me,” the Juventus midfielder said after the match.
Both Icardi and Dybala praised the work done by interim boss Lionel Scaloni, who had took over managerial duties following Argentina’s World Cup exit in the round of 16.
Scaloni, for his part, has said that he is concentrating on leading the country’s U-20s side at the South American Championship in January.
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