Martino to stay on for Argentina´s Olympic campaign

Gerardo Martino will stay on as Argentina coach for the Olympic Games in Rio, the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) has confirmed.

For the second successive year, Argentina suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat to Chile in the Copa America final at MetLife Stadium last Sunday.

In the wake of the loss Lionel Messi announced his international retirement, while the futures of Javier Mascherano, Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria in the squad remain uncertain.

Martino’s position, too, came into question, but the AFA has assured he will guide the Under-23 team in their quest for another gold medal.

“Gerardo Martino and his coaching staff will return to work next Monday [July 4], in command of the Under-23 national team that will go to Rio 2016,” a tweet from the Argentina national team’s official account announced.

Angel Correa and Leandro Paredes were included in a group of nine players already named for Olympic duty, with the remainder of the squad set to be clarified this week.