Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was irked after team news of injuries was divulged from his side ahead of their World Cup quarter-final clash with Holland.
In the lead-up to the epic clash, reports in the media got wind that Rodrigi de Paul was in doubt after picking up a muscle injury in the training session.
However, the alleged injury that has struck De Paul came about behind closed doors training on Wednesday. Something by the looks of things was meant to stay within the borders of the Argentinia's camp, this made Scaloni livid. Argentina boss got into a tiff with the reporter.
'Why do you ask me about De Paul's situation?', Scaloni had asked reporters at his pre-match press conference on Friday, as reported by Argentinian outlet Ole.
'Because he did some studies and did not finish the training, DirecTV journalist, Federico Rodas replied.
Scaloni then asked Rodas who had leaked the news - with De Paul having since denied the injury. He said: 'If you tell me who told you, I'll tell you about Rodrigo's situation.'
The reporter denied Scaloni's request and replied: 'No, I'm not going to tell you who told me.'
Rumours were running rife that that the two-time champions had been hit with an injury blow after influential midfielder Rodrigo De Paul had suffered a hamstring strain. However former West Ham defender Scaloni was quick to rebuff any such claims while also informin that Juventus star Angel di Maria was inching close to recovery after overcoming a muscle problem in his left leg.
"Our training session was behind closed doors, why are you asking me about De Paul? Are you trying to help the Netherlands? It’s not good for us when information leaks out into the media, it is all very strange."
"There is one more training session and we’ll see whether Rodrigo and [Di Maria] are able to play or not. The system will also probably depend on how the wingers are doing physically, as the important thing is that whoever plays is at 100 per cent.”
Scaloni admitted that Friday night's clash will be a close and bruising encounter. He said: "There are eight teams in the quarter-finals and any one of them could be playing in the final. It’s very close. A very thin line.
"We think there are eight evenly-matched teams out there. They’ve all earned the right to be there. I hope our people enjoy the game. We will break our backs for the country.
"But this is sport and I really hope we are happy at the final whistle. If it isn’t a positive result, I hope our people can identify with these players and what they’ve done."
