Fernando Batista has had little time to work with the Under-20s since his appointment as head coach but Bocha has assembled a talented group for this year’s Sudamericano and warmed up for the tournament with a 1-0 win over hosts Chile on Friday.

PSV striker Maxi Romero scored the only goal of the game late on latching on to a fine assist from 17-year-old Thiago Almada, who had also been introduced as a second half substitute. The two Vélez Sarsfield youth products linking up to great effect and perhaps signalling a promising relationship as Batista still fine tunes his starting eleven.

Without Boca Juniors defender Leonardo Balerdi, who is expected to travel to Germany before the start of the tournament to complete a €16 million transfer to Borussia Dortmund, Argentina defended well with Nehuén Pérez marshalling the back four.

#Sub20 ¡Final en Pinto Durán! @Argentina superó a @LaRoja 1-0 con el tanto de Maximiliano Romero. Sigue firme la preparación de cara al #Sudamericano2019 💪🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/UU0I8p63cD

— Selección Argentina 🇦🇷 (@Argentina) January 11, 2019

Agustín Almendra captained the side and there were starting roles for River Plate duo Santiago Sosa and Julián Álvarez as well as Lanús youngster Pedro de la Vega.

Wholesale changes after the break allowed the majority of the squad to get some minutes under their belts and eventually Romero snatched the win.

Argentina begin their Sudamericano campaign against Paraguay on January 20th before facing Ecuador (Tuesday 22nd), Uruguay (Thursday 24th) and Peru (Saturday 26th) hoping to book a place in the final round and eventual World Cup qualification.

Argentina: Manuel Roffo (Lautaro Morales): Facundo Mura, Nehuén Pérez, Facundo Medina, Elías Pereyra (Francisco Ortega); Aníbal Moreno (Manuel Insaurralde), Santiago Sosa, Agustín Almendra (Francesa Lo Celso); Julían Álvarez (Gonzalo Maroni), Adolfo Gaich (Maxi Romero), Pedro de la Vega (Thiago Almada)