DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Paulo Dybala posted a photo of himself on Instagram laughing along with his Argentina teammate Lionel Messi with the following words: “We continue with a smile! Let’s go.”
Argentina could be getting closer to a place in the World Cup final but, on a purely personal level, the tournament has not been much to laugh about for Dybala.
The Roma midfielder hasn’t played a minute in Qatar, despite injuries to Argentina in their turbulent run to the quarter-finals and the declining form of striker Lautaro Martinez.
So what’s the deal with Dybala, a player affectionately known as La Joya (or “The Jewel”) and a standout in Italian soccer in his prime?
His biggest impediment is Lionel Messi himself. Dybala’s preferred position is the No. 10 position or the roaming role of the striker, which happens to be where the Argentine superstar is best deployed.
Since there is no way for a healthy Messi to be eliminated, Dybala must be moved to another position that doesn’t necessarily suit his game.
Then there’s the thigh injury. that almost cost him a place in the squad of Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni for the World Cup. He held on when he converted a late winner for Roma in early October and led to him missing eight games for his club.
Dybala returned for Roma’s last game before the World Cup and convinced Scaloni that he was healthy enough to be included in the 26-man squad.
The coach insists that fitness issues are not the reason Dybala has yet to play in the World Cup.
“If he’s out, it’s just a tactical decision,” Scaloni said during the group stage. “Paulo is fine, he is supporting the group from the outside. Obviously, he would like to play more.”
That can be said a lot about his international career in general.
Dybala is 29 and has made 34 appearances, often as a substitute, for Argentina since his debut in 2015, which doesn’t seem like much for a player of his talent.
The last of his three goals for Albiceleste came as a late substitute in the 3-0 win over Italy in the Finalissima – a game between the champions of Europe and South America – in London in June.
And his only appearance at a World Cup was in 2018, as a 68th-minute substitute in a 3-0 loss to Croatia in the group stage. Argentina finally came out in the round of 16 against France.
However, there is a chance that Dybala could see some action against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Ángel Di María was injured against Poland in the last game of the group stage and Papu Gómez, who replaced Di María in the 2-1 win over Australia in the round of 16, came out of that game with an ankle injury.
According to Argentine media, neither Di María nor Gómez exercised with the rest of the squad on Monday, but they did recovery work separately.
That could leave a top-three spot up for grabs against the Dutch.
Quoted in Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport on Monday, Dybala spoke of the “sacrifice” he made to recover from the pre-tournament injury.
“I was scared because I knew there was little time available to recover and the injury was serious,” Dybala said. “They were days of great effort in which I was able to dedicate little time to my family and my girlfriend, but the dream of recovering was too big.”
Picking up a World Cup winner’s medal would make that sacrifice worth it. Dybala, one of three outfield players yet to appear in the tournament, would like to play an active role along the way.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
