AFA President Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia confirmed on Thursday that the Argentina national team will be active in the next FIFA window following the cancellation of the Finalissima against Spain, and announced that "tomorrow we will officially announce the matches we will play in our country." The head of the Argentine federation also stated that the plan is to play two friendly matches on March 27 and 31, with venues to be determined. In this context, the official explained that the Finalissima was originally planned to be in Qatar, but emphasized that the alternative proposed by the AFA also did not materialize. "Undoubtedly, we had everything planned for the Finalissima in Qatar. The alternative on March 31 in Italy, which UEFA and the RFEF did not accept, was what we were asking for because it had to be neutral," Tapia said in Luque during the draw for the continental cups. The official version of the Spanish federation, for its part, reported that Spain will ultimately play friendlies against Serbia on the 27th and Egypt on the 31st, the latter in Barcelona. Tapia also hinted that La Bombonera is the main option to host the "Scaloneta," by stating that "we have to ask the president of Boca to let us use the stadium on the 27th." In parallel, the AFA itself had reported a few days earlier that the friendly on March 31 against Guatemala was scheduled to be played at 8:15 PM at Boca's stadium, although this Thursday the federation president clarified that they were still awaiting a response from FIFA to finalize the entire schedule. Ironicallу, Tapia also picked up the gauntlet after it became known that Spain will play on March 31 in Barcelona. "We found out that Spain is going to play on March 31 in Barcelona, as world champions I am going to defend it as we have to do," he launched in a phrase that exposed his discomfort over the way the clash between the champions of America and Europe fell through. The controversy was also joined by a jab from Alejandro Domínguez, president of CONMEBOL, who ironically said that "if we apply walkover, Argentina is two-time champion of the Finalissima," in support of the position held by the AFA during the negotiation.
