Javier MASCHERANO: “We hope to avoid Spain”

21

Argentina veteran Javier MASCHERANO has spoken about the upcoming World Cup and the situation with the National Team.

Javier MASCHERANO came out stating that he would have stepped aside had the team not qualified for the World Cup. Speaking to TyC Sports, the vice captain of Argentina had this to say:

Javier MASCHERANO

“We hope the group will be an easier one. A World Cup begins from the strongest to weakest and we hope to avoid Spain (in the group stages) because they are a National Team that can be uncomfortable to play against for us and they are one of the candidates.

“If Argentina would not have qualified for the World Cup, many of us on the team would have stepped aside. The National Team would have undergone another cycle with a new generation of players. Although I am not sure about the coaching staff.”

21 Comments

  1. Probable line-up vs Russia:

    Sergio Romero; Javier Mascherano, Germán Pezzella, Nicolás Otamendi; Eduardo Salvio, Enzo Pérez, Matías Kranevitter, Ángel di María; Giovanni Lo Celso; Messi, and Agüero

    Who is playing as a left wingback in this formation? Although it isn’t the confirmed lineup but I wanted to see Dybala and Ansaldi in the starting XI.

    • dimaria left wing back… salvio right wing back lo celso act as a box to box midfielder… watch real madrid vs totnam… eriksen role is lo celso role i think…

  2. stop dreaming bout beating spain easily…stop dreaming about beating anyone easily…we beat noone easily…we win when messi scores….if any team manages to take him out of the game we will lose every match at the world Cup….all u need to do is defend deep and Counter attack on the wings and we are very easy to beat….we r not a dark horse in the world Cup….at least not for the last 8 or something…maybe we reach the round of the last 16 but thats it…if we draw a difficult Group we r out after three matches…plain and simple…the dream is dead

    • So wats is the point of supporting any team if you are so pessimistic? Yes we are struggling currently but i would prefer to play against Spain than Ecuador or Uruguay. Portugal won against all odds, why we cant beat any team in the world? The team i fear the most is Germany due to our recent losses against them and their play cannot be easily counter as they play hybrid of possession and counter attack but for team like Spain or fully bus parking team, we can easily counter them and beat.

      I bet you are still in school and have not tried anything in life because in real life you can always be hopeful about things. Their is not fixed order for things to happen in real life, it can change in blink of an eye. I believe same for Argenting and i believe we will defy any logic and win WC against all odds and people like you who dare to dream. I challenge you not to support argentina if you cannot be hopeful.

      • i will always support argentina no matter what…i went to buenos aires in 2014 to watch the Team there…i didnt go to brazil i went to home soil…i am nearly 40 years old i have seen so many argentina matches u can only dream about that number…so many qualifications…so many high hopes…with by far better teams then now…they all failed bitterly…ist a fact…we cant beat the top Teams…ist not possible…what do u think will happen when Germany Counter attacks us…when France Counter attacks us? what do u think what will happen when Germany will park 10 men behind the ball and let us Play 30m away from Goal? when France is doing this? spain? brazil? u have to be realistivc Boys…against all Odds is a romantic Approach and i have seen a lot of Teams beat the Odds…but not this side….

    • Manuel, since you’re such a clairvoyant. Why don’t you tell us the winner already?
      No one is dreaming here. Do you even understand the terminology dark horse?
      Yes we’re don’t have balanced team now but we don’t what changes will happen between now and June. Well if you’re pessimistic about the team’s chance fine but your opinion is not the absolute truth to us.

  3. We play Italy on March 23.
    The strongest team in Europe after Germany is Belgium, quality players back to front. They have the best playmaker in Kevin DeBruyne.

    • Belgium are strong and they have some of the best players in Europe right now. But I think they have one very big problem as I observed in Euro 2016, they didn’t play collective football though they had very strong team on paper. Individual brilliance is nothing if the team can’t play as a unit. Prior to Euro 2016 every person was predicting Belgium would at least be in the final but we all saw what happened to them. They scored approximately fifty goals (most of them against very small teams) in their recent qualifying campaign but I still doubt when they are at the WC or Euro they can achieve something great.

  4. Yes we know France, Spain and Germany are better than us. However what do these teams know about us apart from our players, after switching 3 coaches? Nothing, Coz IMHO even Sampaoli has not settled on his own players yet, despite early rumors that he already has 14 players in mind. My point is that after these RUSSIA and NIGERIA friendlies there will be no more practice sessions together for the European based players until May when the WC camps starts. Unless Sampaoli asks for his European-based players to join for training sessions, the March friendlies are slated for the local Primera players, there will be nothing much for the group and title rivals coaches to spy and strategize on.

    Personally, I like this situation. For the first time since 1998 WC, we’re only considered as dark horses instead of favorite contenders.

    • Being a dark horse is gonna be a big advantage for us and that will lessen the pressure on the players which is a positive thing. But in general big teams like Germany, Spain, France and Italy, if qualified, will watch out for Argentina because they know Argentina cannot be underestimated even at its lowest point.

      • Sabellista,

        “My point is that after these RUSSIA and NIGERIA friendlies there will be no more practice sessions together for the European based players until May when the WC camps starts.”

        Do you mean that Europe-based players will not take part in March friendlies?

        If I not mistaken there was some news that Argentina will face Italy and Spain/France in March friendlies. Do u think only local-based players can face those strong teams? I don’t think so!

        • And why not? The point here is not necessarily to win at all cost but for Sampa to test players and tactics. If the locals have to face Italy or Spain so be it. Losing a friendly only matters when it’s against Brazil. It’s not like local players cannot hold their own. Some of those local may not be the best Argentina has to offer but still good enough to walk into NTs like Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Portugal, Nigeria etc if they were from those countries.

    • There is going to be friendly in February and before May there will be at least 5 friendly matches including one or two with only Local players.

  5. @Kitty, you are putting words on my mouth. I did not say that we can easily beat european teams however i also refuse to accept that we don’t have quality to beat any team in the world. I believe Sampoali saying other teams are better is being coach and respecting others;that does not mean we as fans stop believing in our team. I believe in Argentina and if we put good efforts we are capable of beating any team in the world.

    • @arg2018, as you said Spain can be beaten easily I said that; I believe Argentina can beat any team but it’s not going to be easy; Still we need to solve our midfield and wing play problems

  6. I personally think Spain will be beaten easily if we play compact on defense and hit them on counter. Yes they have skilled players however they also have soft defense. As Barca fan, i do not rate Pique as defender as he always lose battle on one on one, Romas has nightmare playing against Messi and Di maria, Carvajal and Jordi alba are not good defensively. With counter attack and dribbling skills of Messi and Dybala, Argentina would easily beat Spain. The team i fear the most are ones that are defensive and want to hit us on counter like Portugal, Poland or other boring European Team. I am pretty sure, if we get Spain and France, we should beat them comfortably,not Germany though.

    • Agree with you 100%. Argentina can beat every team that plays open and attacking football like Spain, France and even Germany. Germany are very strong I am not denying that, but Argentina have the muscles to beat them. If Sampa gets the formula of gettin the best out of evry player in the squad then no team can stand in our way that is for sure and I am confident Sampa has a plan to build a scary team. The most important thing that Sampa needs to work on is the way Argentina can beat “park the bus” teams which give us a lot of headache in the qualifiers and at the 2014 WC, too.

    • I think Masche and Sampoali know better than us. Spain, Brazil, Germany and France are ahead of us; It’s not going to be easy facing them

Comments are closed.