Highly anticipated young talents of Argentinian football, Nico Paz and Franco Mastantuono, arrived at the Buenos Aires airport with their blonde, straight-haired look to join the Argentina national team for the FIFA international window on 22nd September.
Their appearance and straight hairstyle at the airport caught fans’ attention, generating memes and comparisons all over social media.
The players arrived for the upcoming friendly matches for the September–October FIFA international window.
Argentina has three upcoming friendly matches against Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Benin on September 30th, October 3rd and October 6th, respectively. The last match on October 6 will be Lionel Messi’s farewell match to international football, hosted at Estadio Monumental.
It is a very emotional scenario for the Argentinian fans as the 28-player squad of Lionel Scaloni consists of veteran players and promising young talents like Nico Paz and Mastantuano.
When Tyc Sports interviewed Nico Paz on his arrival at the airport, he expressed his excitement to join the national team and said he hopes that Lionel Scaloni stay in the national team. Scaloni is in talks with the Argentina Football Association (AFA) for his contract extension.
“ For me, Scaloni is the most important. He is the one who gave me my debut. I hope he stays.”
Mastantuano commented on his experience on Italian football and that he is enjoying in Florence, regarding his experience in Serie A.
“ I’m very happy, I’m adapting to Italian football. I’m very happy. I’m playing, I feel good, and I’m happy ”
He also expressed his stance on playing in the team for Lionel Messi’s farewell match. And that he will do everything to bid a good farewell to the legend.
“ It will be difficult, he’s an idol for all of us, not just as a footballer. I think he’s an idol for the whole country and it will be sad without him. But we have to do it for him, and he’ll certainly be happy ”
Ever since the video clips of the player’s arrival have surfaced all over the internet, fans have been talking about how they look similar to different characters popular in pop culture. Mastantuano has been compared to Light Yagami, Green Lantern in Superman, Mario “El Pájaro” Gómez of the band Vilma Palma, and Troy Bolton from High School Musical 3.
While Nico Paz’s look has been discussed widely among fans for the striking similarity between him and Leon S. Kennedy, the iconic protagonist from the Resident Evil video game franchise.
Fans have been loving his blow-dried blonde hair and overall attractiveness, comparing Paz to a warrior figure, straight out of a rescue mission series.
There are also comparisons of him with the Backstreet Boys and 2000s band members.
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder was eligible for both the Spain and Argentina national teams, and he was first called up by Argentina in March 2022. His World Cup debut was on 17 June, during Argentina’s 3–0 group stage win against Algeria, coming on as a substitute for Lionel Messi in the final ten minutes.
He is the son of former Argentine international Pablo Paz, and his mother is from Spain. Paz received particular negative reaction from Argentinian fans because of his Spanish origin when he was selected for the Argentina squad.
Currently, he plays for Serie A club Como. He is also a product of Real Madrid’s academy and played for Madrid’s under-19 team and Real Madrid Castilla. As he progressed, he played for Real Madrid in the 2023 Champions League and La Liga.
The 19-year-old Franco Mastantuono plays as a winger for Serie A club Fiorentina, on loan from Real Madrid. He also made his debut for the Argentina team under Lionel Scaloni .
Argentina fans are excited to see both the young talents play in the friendly matches. Other players who also arrived at the airport, including Dibu Martínez, have expressed their emotional stance on playing in Lionel Messi’s farewell match and are making sure that it will be a pleasant adieu for the Argentinian legend.
