Paulo DYBALA, Juan FOYTH, Lautaro MARTINEZ start for Argentina

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Argentina’s starting eleven for the match against Mexico is confirmed with Paulo DYBALA and Lautaro MARTINEZ starting in attack.

In the back line, Juan FOYTH gets the start alongside Ramiro FUNES MORI. Here’s the Argentina eleven:

MARCHESIN; SARAVIA, FOYTH, FUNES MORI, TAGLIAFICO; CORREA, LO CELSO, PAREDES, ACUNA; DYBALA, Lautaro MARTINEZ

214 Comments

  1. Some people are pissed off about scaloni. They think scaloni is tactically weak. It may be somewhat true, but we are not getting any better coaches. After the fiasco of sampaoli, no established coach would take Argentina coaching job. Sampaoli resigned sevilla job to take Argentina job. So he took risk and his risk didn’t pay off. So, it is way too optimism if someone thinks Pochettino or Simione or Gallardo would take charge.

    Now, coming about Scaloni’s tactics. What tactics, ppl r asking for? Scaloni is defense minded coach. He fixed his defense first. Now he is concentrating on midfield. In yesterday’s match when in second half mexico was taking a bit of charge, he reinforced defense by changing midfield. It is a tactical decision. He wanted to win, instead of showing sublime football with 2-2 draw. So, he was tactical. Every coach has his own tactics. It may be eye catching or boring result oriented. Scaloni is result oriented. In modern football, after losing 3 finals, i would take a boring result oriented manager instead of an eye-catching tactician. We need to win, by any means. It may sound strange but its true. Period.

    • I support your words. Scaloni has to start picking key players after next Mexico match in order to start working on team chemistry. To establish cohesion and a solid group, he needs to start picking key players who will go the full 90 minutes and minimize his substitutions rate.

      If he does not do that, then I will have to highly expect him not be the permanent coach, as things look right now, he seems to be setting the stage for another permanent coach.

      • @Ebo, Scaloni has not been appointed as permanent coach yet. So he is selecting players and checking every positions. Till now he is doing his job well. Moreover, due to libertedores he could not call the players like pity, palacios, pavon. There are plenty of players missing due to injury. So, i can’t blame scaloni for calling numerous players. I agree with u, he is preparing soil for future coach to sow.

        What i like is, he sorted the defense. If a team like Argentina can maintain clean sheet, then with the tremendous striking force they can manage a goal here and there. That’s we need to win.

        I praise 2006 Argentina for eye catching football but we were knocked out from QF, but we reached 2014 final by playing defensive football. Finally, u need luck to win a tournament.

        • defense isn’t sorted out though. Brazil match was flattering and doesn’t highlight the overall performance. They could have easily scored 2-4 more goals. Even Mexico B team could have scored a few. Defense has improved over Sampa but it still doesn’t give me confidence like under Sabella. Pezzella + Otamendi is a must for now with Foyth and Funes Mori as subs until they prove to be better.

          > he reinforced defense by changing midfield. It is a tactical decision. He wanted to win, instead of showing sublime football with 2-2 draw. So, he was tactical. Every coach has his own tactics. It may be eye catching or boring result oriented. Scaloni is result oriented. In modern football, after losing 3 finals, i would take a boring result oriented manager instead of an eye-catching tactician. We need to win, by any means.

          Tactical decision to sub out the best mid and attacker Lo Celso and Dybala immediately changed the tempo for the worse and gave more possession to Mexico. When opponents have possession, more opportunities open up and goals are more likely. If anything, doing that would have resulted in 2-2, not the other way around. If its Simeone or Sabella bunkering down, i would say go for it, but yesterdays match we were weakened by his tactical decisions. Again, it was Mexico B, against France, England, Brazil, Uruguay, etc…the goal count could get ugly. Btw, Im not being negative just for the sake of it, I do hope everything works out.

  2. Great game and solid display by Dybala, Foyth, Paredes, and Saravia. I liked what I saw and the team is still getting shape and getting better and better. Considering the absence of Pity, Pavon, Pezzella, and Palacios it’s obvious that we didn’t use our best XI. I think after last night’s game Scaloni has started taking note of the players he is gonna select for the Copa if he stays till the start of the tournament.

    The team played very well as a unit which is something I dreamed of for years. Paredes did a great job in our midfield as he linked the defense with the midfield very well. Palacios and and Pity’s return will add more fluidity to the midfield and our passing will be free-flowing. Since Aimar is there I hope he will direct our midfielders how to make crisp passing and creating many chances that can help our strikers to score more goals.

    Some people are still crying for the oldies and whenever the team gets a good result they come up with a very cheap excuse to say bad things about the team. It seems they will never be convinced even if we play the best football and score more goals since their preferred players aren’t in the squad. A leopard can’t change its spots!!!

  3. Why there is negativity about Casabala and maxilopez they are the ones who provide some actual content about football others are just enjoying time in being philosophical like they know something special.

      • Some opinions can be supported by evidence so they eventually become facts. Like when i say “Messi is vastly better than Pity Martinez and Cervi combined”. That really isn’t philosophical or debatable… 😉

      • I want di maria in copa …..I think we still lack a pacy and creative winger….di maria should play copa ….I don’t want aguero and messi ….we can win without them ….but di maria is irreplaceable ATM

        • “i don’t want Messi but Di Maria is irreplaceable” are the last words i would imagine reading today lol. i love ADM, but i love messi more. id include both…

          • “I think we still lack a pacy and creative winger”

            Isn’t he the same guy who failed to deliver a single proper cross for years? Di Maria and the likes of him never be near the NT. Yes we thank him for his past services and efforts but his time with NT has to come to an end.

          • I think he is just joking.

            In a perfect world, Di Maria as RW, Pavon as LW, Aguero/Benedetto up front and Messi right behind the striker is the best formation for our attack. Imagine how busy the opponent’s defense will be?

            Too bad We don’t live in a perfect world.

          • @dadir10

            Di Maria is the best if the coach plays Inverted wingers, this is modern football. Having wingers who will only provide crosses is history. Classic No.9 who stands in the box waiting for crosses does not work all the time anymore ( Why do you think Icardi is scoreless till today?).

          • @Ebo, no matter where Di Maria plays he will fail to make any impact on the game. He overdribbles and always ruins the tempo and passing. When he gets the ball you can bet he will give it away cheaply and on top of that his prime years are pretty well behind him. I think that’s not the kind of player who can help our team to achieve good results and win trophies. Di Maria is always Di Maria no matter whether he is on the right wing or the left.

          • @dadir10

            > no matter where Di Maria plays he will fail to make any impact on the game. He overdribbles and always ruins the tempo and passing. When he gets the ball you can bet he will give it away cheaply and on top of that his prime years are pretty well behind him. I think that’s not the kind of player who can help our team to achieve good results and win trophies. Di Maria is always Di Maria no matter whether he is on the right wing or the left.

            Don’t let negativity bias against him distort reality. He’s a big game player and steps up. The Real tragedy isn’t his performance, its his injuries at crucial times. Really poor luck.

            2014 WC – assisted and scored, subbed off, really missed in final game.

            2015 Copa – couple goals and assists, and won penalty which Messi scored in a 2–2 draw. He was substituted injury.

            2016 Copa – Messi was not playing and Di Maria really stepped up. scored against Chile opening game and assisted Banega. another game assisted Otamendi. subbed off again.

            2018 WC – scored goal against France gave us life until sampa tactics and defense started to fail like a house of cards.

            for years, he was one our creative sources and so far, i don’t see someone thats directly replacing his quality yet. Theres potential but its not here yet.

            (btw, not ignoring that he was wasteful during WC18, frustrating at times, i get it)

        • @Choripan, one assisst and one goal throughout an entire tournament and that is enough for Di Maria to be a superstar? SMH……We need more than that. And worse than that his fitness is very unreliable to an extent that you can’t count on him when the team is in advanced stages.

          Truth be told, Messi was the one that carried Argentina for the past decade while Di Maria didn’t reach to his full potential for Argentina. Yes he played well for Real Madrid and helped them win the CL after a long time but for Argentina there is a different story.

          IMO, the team doesn’t need Di Maria anymore as we have Pity, De Paul, and very soon Lanzini will be back from his long injury (he is as injury-prone as Di Maria, but he is more productive than El Fideo at this time)

          • 1 assist, 1 goal in 3 matches, do you consider this a failure?
            He played his best days under Mourinho when he was used as a RW.
            Sampa used him as a RW vs Peru in the qualifiers, he was among the best performers of the match.Go watch the match.
            Some will ‘claim’ that fans who talk good about him want him back in the NT right away.
            The truth is he is still the best at his position than current young players, they played few matches, and they all had their bad moments, too. even with his frustrating moments, he is still better, today.
            I am supporting the rebuilding project because it’s obvious that the seniors can not carry us any longer, but denying the facts of this moment is pure lunacy. If things stand as they are today, Comes next Copa and we still do not have proper replacement, it’s a matter of rational,smart thinking to call some of them back to participate in the tournament, unless you don’t care about Copa and want it to be an ‘experience show’ for the younger generation.
            now some smart member will come and say, yeah Di maria for 2030 in pure mocking fashion.

          • there is no doubt how good DI MARIA is…. but he is a headless chicken in LW…… we have best player of the history in the right wing….so he wont get any chance on RW….
            the main problem of all argentine coach is they dont use inverted wingers……..inverted wingers give you more chance of scoring….
            DE Paul’s long shots are amazing if scaloni use him on the LW he can score some amazing goals…..

          • Messi’s days as a right winger are long gone, His favorite position now is behind the striker(s). and you still see him all over the pitch as he deserves to have free movement
            Mo Salah(liverpool), Riyad Mahrez(Man City) are inverted wingers, and they score almost every match.
            Argentina vs Peru in qualifiers, Di Maria played RW and He was very good.

  4. @amit Dimaria from this season certain to be the part and pity only played two friendlies he isn’t 100% certain at all pavon has better chance to make in ahead of pitty

      • and Brazil beat Uruguay only with penalty goal. Chile lost to Costa Rica.

        If they have same kind of fanbase as Argentina, they’d have ask for a new manager aswell lol

        • I only bring it up because our naive friend Romance KING seems to think that Gareca’s Peru are invincible and conveniently ignores the results that don’t favour his narrative 😀

      • @EanganChe peru was unlucky to loose , they would have easily scored 3-4 goals, they could not finish the chances still peru dominated the whole game ,talanted ecuador team had only chances duiring counter attacks, either of benavente or cueva would be playing , result would be different.
        Not a fan of peru, but i watched the game but they played very well, peru will surprise in copa.

          • Bro i dont care about peru or ecuador, not supporting any team Yes result is everything, if you would have watched the game , you yourself have praised peru, bad luck doesnt last long.

  5. People need to calm the hell down with Scaloni and this team. This generation has tons of ability and will be great with some time and stability.
    Just a few points.
    Saravia could be one of the best backs we have had since Zanetti and even better than Zabaleta. Certainly better than Mercado and some others. Tagilafico is a very solid captain. Foyth Mammana, can be the future very soon.
    Palacios, Lo Celso, Paredes are all wonderful versatile active players with calm heads. The scoring will come once these guys have some games under their belt.
    Not a huge fan of Icardi, as I think Simeone is more active and will do better with Lautaro and Dybala up front.
    These guys can play, they just need time to gel.

    • you need to be the fan of farmers like simeone and bench warmer slow lautaro not best in the world Icardi

      • I will support a “farmer” who realizes the value of the shirt over some of the so called publicity whores who have never won anything for our country.
        It’s nice to have you back Kidadulthood. Nice try with your romance king name you phony fan.

      • This shit romance king is waist .he always go behind superstars.Hey idiot super stars are also normal person before they made superstar. It’s all about hardworking and talent. So tomorrow lautaro can be also superstar.then what will u say idiot .same is in the case of farmers .they also can be tomorrow super stars atleast for Argentina.i want only Argentina super stars. If it is even barcos or bendetto I am ok.if they score in a final and score a goal to win trophy

  6. Considering Copa is 6-7 months ahead , its time to take a view on how the final 23 is shaping .
    Baring injuries – below is my view : Happy to hear from genuine NT lovers !!
    1) GK ( 3) – 100% – Romero , Armani
    3rd spot between one of Ruili vs Gazzinga . Not imp for Copa – but imp to have the right selection considering WC22
    2) Defenders (7) – 100% – Saravia , Otamendi , Pezzella , Tagliafico
    Strong probability – Foyth , Mammana , Funes Muri (also LB backup) , Mercado ( 3 from this 4 will go thru. I think Mercado vs Mammana )
    Outsiders – Kanemann , Montiel , Bustos
    3) Midfielders (9 including wingers) – 100% – Pity , LoCelso, Parades , Palacios , Ascacibar
    Strong probability – Lamela , ACorrea , Pavon, DePaul,Pererya , Acuna , Battaglia ,Cervi ( 4 will make it , its maybe Lamela vs Depaul ; ACorrea vs Pavon , Pererya ,& Battaglia ( hoping injury recovery , his height will be useful ))
    Outsiders – Vasquez , Lanzini ( depends on how fast he comes back & ramps up in form)
    4) Attack ( 4) 100% – Icardi , Dybala , Aguero, Messi
    Strong probability – LMartinez , Simeone ( all depends on Aguero & Messi final decisions )

    Notable Misses – JCorrea , Benedetto, Banega , DiMaria, Meza , Ocampos , Caseres, Angileri (LB), Andrada ,Marchesin, WBenitez,

    • Romero Armani Gazzaniga

      Otamendi Pezzela Funes mori Tagliafico Saravia Foyth Mercado Acuna

      Paredes Ascacibar Locelso Pereyra Battaglia Lamela Palacios

      Messi Dybala Icardi De Paul G.Simeone

      • 90% in agreement with you pallab. Only changes for me here is :
        1)aguero for simeone( he shld retire post copa. Still our best striker by a mile with all due respect for icardi)
        2) pity for de Paul. I am now a big fan of pity & feel he is going to be a key star for our future.
        3) maybe go with 7 defenders & drop acuna for a pacy wing option like pavon or acorrea for some variety. Funes can be a backup for LB.

  7. I still don’t understand how any Argentina fans can support scaloni after 6 friendlies which Sampaoli can’t get. Argentina failed to dominate against any team except Guatemala whom iraq destroyed 7-0. Argentina playing worst football ever under scaloni, yes defensively improved by leaps and bounds but doesn’t look scary at any point of the match, despite young dynamic midfield Argentina can’t keep ball position neither creating chances for Icardi/Dybala who are criticized unnecessarily, I’m scared with scaloni approach a good team selection can’t make any coach better if he failed to deliver from them, Aguero/messi under new coach in March friendlies score hatrric where icardi/Dybala wasted under scaloni

    • Sabella also fixed things this way. First is to get defense fixed & bring fluidity to our midfield. If this is fixed , attack will automatically click. We are always blessed with good strikers

    • Messi also miss the penalty against Iceland

      That never cut points to his greatness

      Same goes for Dybala (not same standard of messi)
      But we are with Dybala Icardi now

  8. i liked and i enjoyed the game last night.
    i saw improvement to the team and i am happy about that but we need much more work to do more.

    from March games and after we will see the pieces united about Copa.

    really i would like to see in one friendly game the follow 11 to see how it will works.

    Romero.
    Saravia , Otamendi , Pezzella , Tagliafico .
    Paredes , Battaglia , Lo celso .
    Messi , Icardi , Pavon.

    or Dybala in place of Icardi.

    i will be very interested to see them in one friendly game to test.

    • Pity would be better than Pavon and, in most games no need for two No.5 Palacios and Battaglia. Instead of Battaglia Palacios

      • yes you are right about two no 5.
        just i want to see that in one friendly to check if we can find one fresh new and why not better duo like Masche-Biglia we had in world cup 2014.

        i don t mean i want we play like that.
        just i want to test.

        as about Pavon i really like this player.
        i believe he can improve and i trust he can give to the team much more.

        maybe you will be shocked but even i am big River plate fan
        i prefer Pavon than Pity.

        i have more faith to Pavon because he is nice character together with talent.
        Pity have so much talent too but i don t like his character.
        his brains take so much air lately and as it is right now things
        i bet on Pavon.

      • I will have to disagree here, for now at least, I still think Pavon will be one of the best wingers we have. I like Pitty but to be honest I like Pavon more, I see more potential in him

      • Battaglia/Ascacibar and Paredes are not the same #5s though… including both or excluding 1 would depend on the opponent.

        Ascacibar and Battaglia are defensive ball winning mids.

        Paredes is deep lying playmaker..

    • We are missing more than just Messi in the current starting lineup !! That’s FOR SURE… Banega and Dimaria must start… Unforunately but true … Battaglia, Pavon are not the same class at this junction. Remember we need youth and experience; there MUST be a mix of the two

  9. a real coach always strives to get better. He does this by testing and instilling competition. Just because you played good it doesnt mean there isnt anyone who does even better. Good is not enough so a real coach doesnt stop searching for better until he has best.
    Foyth played great. Added competition that position.
    Dybala had his best game for Argentina so far.
    When palacios returns I would like to see that midfield of palacios-paredes-lo celso again. Another midfielder I rate is Ascacibar.
    Hopefully Lamela plays next match from the start.

    There is noalternwtive we must continue to rebuilt.
    This team must rebuilt,only Scaloni-Aimar-Samuel can do it. We will not be the best team now or in a year but we will be in 2-4 years.

    Real Madrid appointed Zidane from assistent and youth coach. They appoitened Solari from the youth team. They have won 3 CL and some minions here act like we cant do that and appoint Scaloni, especially when there isnt a real alternative.

    I sometimes disagree with the poster JACK, but he is completely right about these Barca fans who are stans for Messi and his generation.
    It‘s over.
    They had their chance and some of them overstayed their welcome.
    Messi can come back and I expect himto come back but there will not and should not be any babysitters who hold his sack on the team. We need players who are good with their feet and head and not sack holders who are good with they mouth and hands.

    • “Real Madrid appointed Zidane from assistant and youth coach. They appointed Solari from the youth team. They have won 3 CL and some minions here act like we cant do that and appoint Scaloni, especially when there isn’t a real alternative”

      Exactly!

      • comparing Real Madrid(2016-2018) which the best squad after peck Barcelona (2009-2011) proves your football knowledge, let Zidane win something with another club then i accept your logic. Argentina playing like europa League teams which can’t be digested when peru under Gareca playing better football despite low quality squad

          • Enganche ..Has scaloni really shown any style or even a consistent line up to really grow from?! He calls 30+ players every time… for me, we haven’t impressed under him… but what are our options at DT? Hopefully gallardo but we will see

          • In terms of consistent line-up, Copa Libertadores and injuries prevented Scaloni from fielding the same players. If Pezzella and Otamendi were not injured and Armani, Palacios and Pity were not involved in Libertadores I think we would have seen them play. Like you said though, we don’t have an embarrassment of riches lined up to coach. Beggars can’t be choosers.

        • One thing for sure. My little toe knows more about football than you!
          Why didn’t Mourinho, Ancelotti, Benitez and Lepotuegi win 3 CL in a row?

          You are comedy relief here. A piss break.

    • Bullshit.
      Pep gaurdiola also came from Barcelona b to barcelona team means scaloni is as talanted as pep use your brain bro, scaloni has not shown any sign that he knows ABC of football. If sampoli was a failure then scaloni was also a failure because he was there too to assist him.
      Its not scaloni its AFA decided to call up young players after WC failure.

      • You lack reading comprehension so you are the one who doesn’t know about ABC’s.
        People like you have been saying that Scaloni should not be coach because he is inexperienced.
        I stated facts! ZIDANE AND GUARDIOLA prove you wrong!
        They had a great squad you say, then why didn’t the other coaches win as much as them?
        You probably have never played a minute of organized football in your life.
        That is a fact!
        You don’t know shit!
        Fortuneteller.

        • @Ghostdeini bro plz stop trying football is not for you i never talked about experience i talked about tactics , when gaurdiola started coaching barcelona they lost two continious matches against krakow and numancia but it was his eye catching tactics that made everyone to trust him and continued but scaloni doesnt have that character.
          ancelloti ( 3 champions league ), paisley(3 cchampions league), heynckes( 2 champions league) , these coaches are way better tactician than zidane, if zidane was so good why real madrid fired him, why did he struggled to win la liga.

          • Keep embarrasing yourself! Zidane was not fired.
            Nobody won the modern cl back to back. He took over when Benitez left the team in shambles. He made all the right subs everytime and changed the course of the games.

            You have never played organized football.
            But here is your chance!!!
            Tell us all your formation and tactics so we can learn from you arm chair tactician.
            We are open to learn from you enlightened mind.
            Amuse us!

  10. I think its time to introduce messi again iin this team before copa. Bcz he need to unit with these youngsters and need little time to progress.
    I m sure messi should get good support from taglco and saravia from wings and paredes and celso from central midfld

  11. Dont worry guys. Scaloni again shows us how these friendlies are effective for our young unit.
    He gave chance to foyth in a right time. And played with our future Rb lb .No change inthat positn.Tried to gve thm more plyg time and tried to test celso dybla lautaro combitn.
    And again gave more plyng time to our future midflrs like pareds celso.And f.mori going to back his usual foam.
    Dnt worry its going rigtawy

  12. Only Gallardo can save Argentina AFA should have kept Sampaoli at least he will do better than scaloni anyway what Sampaoli did in 2018 WC was unforgettable, A good tactician is needed for Argentina not learning in progress scaloni

      • being an Argentina fan i can’t digest Argentina tactically outshine by Gareca Peru, Argentina can’t dominate against week opponents under scaloni a huge disaster for in advance if scaloni continue and i hope messi will not return for Argentina unless a good coach arrives, Dybala can’t do what messi, a group stage copa exit confirm under scaloni even with messi Argentina can’t reach semi final and i don’t want messi criticized again because of poor manager, messi only got a good manager sabela and almost won the world cup without a good manager Argentina struggle will continue just look at peru under Gareca and Argentina current squad even without senior players ability wise Argentina better but peru playing beautiful football

        • Argentina is currently in Rebuilding mode, its a painful process and it takes time. So you will not get immediate results.

          We Haven’t played peru yet, so your apprehension of Garceea outshining us with his tactics doesnt hold any ground. Wait a mnute ,we were unable to beat Peru in Bombonera with all our superstars playing, are you referring to that as the outshine by Garceea?? Then you are right 😀

  13. My 2 cents on the match:
    GK: Didn’t have to do much. However the 1:1 save right at the start kept the team afloat. Else conceding a goal that early could have sent shockwaves among the team and staffs.

    Defense: Again a nervous start by both Mori and Foyth , however after the initial few minutes both of them settled down and looked good. Mori a few errors here and there but still held his fort. Foyth was excellent in defending and even was taking part in going forward here and there. The future may not be so bleak with Mammana in the brink also. Our Copa 4 CB’s should be Otamendi-Pazella Foyth/Mammana, Mori
    Saravia again had a decent game with both his trackback qualities and taking parts in attacking build ups. Since Mercado is no more a young we have to find a suitable back up for this position. Tagliafico was also compact however I didn’t liked his link up with Acuna( maybe I am wrong but still). Again back up in this position is a must as Acuna is no more than a makeshift.

    Midfield and Forward : Paredes was rock-solid and sometimes reminded me of Mascherano, the prime one obviously. Lo Celso in flashes was brillaint but also looked lost sometimes. Dybala had his best game for NT in long time. Unlucky to have not scored a goal at least Correa was restless and a bit all over the place. May be the formation didn’t suite him that much. Depaul with his twists and turns looked refreshing. Acuna was decent in both moving forward and tracking back.
    Lautaro needs more game time at club level in order to reach his potential best. Icardi had nothing much to do however during the 2nd goal his presence made the Mexican player nervous as he knew that Icardi was right behind him and sloppily put the ball in his own net.

    Overall a 6.5 to 7 out of 10 from my side with much more scope of improvement. As its almost sure that Scaloni will stay ( I would also like him to stay as no point changing now since the new manager will get only 2 more Friendlies in March and may be another one before the copa which is not always the best preparation going into a tournament) its time that he finalizes his best 23 and 11 so that in the March Friendlies he could set up his team and lock the formation.

  14. I don’t care foyth proper play
    So calm comfortable with
    The ball good reader
    For me he has to the 23
    Going to copa funes mori
    Is not NT player there is
    Always mistake in him
    Paredes control the rythem
    Of the game he is good
    To watch he is our requelme
    With good defending ability.
    Scaloni need his team to do
    More possession control
    At the moment we re bit ugly
    To watch if we don’t retain the
    Ball more .. we will become like
    Uruguay ..

  15. There is one certain fan who has like 4 or 5 accounts and commenting the exact same thing again and again. there is similarities between words like mexican B team scaloni should step down.
    let me tell you one thing no one gives a crap….
    You can shout all day say what ever you want to say it doesn’t matter…..
    no one gives a value to your opinion…..
    you are just a keyboard warrior whom no one likes…..
    i just wonder how do you live with so much hatred ?
    you can only comment and then reply to your own comment with another ID……
    it doesn’t matter how Argentina plays ( Good or Bad )….
    you always gonna come and say the same thing….
    scaloni is doing better than expected…..he will be the main coach and poor you could do nothing about it…
    his team is inexperienced….
    he is trying out young players……
    when he will have the main starting XI our attacks will improve…..
    the chemistry will grow by every training and every game we play…..

  16. I’m ok with what I saw because the players I considered as starters (Saravia, Paredes, Lo Celso…) were generally good. The weakest points were generally the players that seems not to be our starters when all players are availabe. Waiting for come back of Copa Libertadores players. Still starting eleven is for me:

    ……………………………Romero
    …………………..Pezzella……Funes Mori/Otamendi
    Saravia…………………………………………….Tagliafico
    …………………………Paredes
    …………….Lo Celso……………..Palacios
    …Pavon?……………………………………………Pity
    …………………………..No.9

    • Some people talk something like that: “yes Foyth had a good game but he did big mistake at the beginnings”

      Really?! The kid has his very first minutes for NT and they want to see still rather the initial stumbles than his potentiall he show later. Ill will is ill will.

      • I really dont know how some people are judging a players performance, A debutante will be obviously nervous, Its a dream come true moment u r suppose to be little nervous, Some r comparing 100 Game played Romero(God knows how many errors he made) to 2nd Match of Armani(that too in the Damn QF of a bloody WC) or a 100 Game played Di Maria against Acuna. Its not fair..

    • De Paul may take also the right wing instead of Pavon. He showed good moments of understanding with Saravia on the right wing.

      • @gonzalo
        Foyth had absolutely fantastic
        game..
        Funes mori he is mistake carrier
        He shouldn’t be in the team
        If we honest Arg have much better
        Defenders than mori

      • at first min it was mori’s mistake.
        mori does a lots of mistake.
        foyth is fast, calm and mature……..
        when one of Pazzela and Otamendi isnt there foyth should get chance….
        DE Paul is a good option on the Right to lamela is also an option…
        i feel for scaloni this is crazy.
        if messi comes back then no one is getting any chance….by the way…

    • I always thought Ascacibar-Paredes-Lo Celso Midfiled was what wanted but then comes Palacios (He brought another dynamic to our Midfield say can revolutionize our midfield)Paredes-Palacios-Lo Celso Midfield is even better right.

      And by the way No Mori , He is not consistent i would like to see more of Kanneman or Mammana too. Foyth is a must in 23 moving forward. There will be probably 4 spots for CBs Otamendi, Pezzella, Foyth, Kanneman and Mammana(Who can be taken as RB back up too). I dont know what all coaches sees in Mori.

      And of course Romero/Armani i would take Armani.

  17. I have mixed feelings about today’s match. Defensively we are getting better and better every game. It’s clearly evident Scaloni’s main priority is to not concede. Our players are defending as a unit and finally i am getting the sense of security from our defense. Paredes needs to move back to Italy or to Spain. He is too good to play in Russia. He is our new El-Principe!!! Dybala had an excellent game. Had Martinez been a little more clinical , Dybala could have 2 assist and 1 goal. Even though we were caught napping in the first 15 mins of the game we did control the game after that. Luckily Mexico couldn’t take advantage of our sloppiness. Marchesin had a descent game today and his one on one save early on was a good one.

    I have few concerns after today’s game. Our passing game is looking unattractive ,on very few occasion we could get 3-4 passes together. We lost possession cheaply and did not press to get the ball back. Mexico was surprisingly enjoying good possession and watching our players trying to absorb Mexico’s attack instead of trying to get back the ball was little concerning. The reason our attack minded players were looking average at times was due to ultra defensive game tactics. Funes mori had few sloppy moments but overall he was okay! Most likely we will only select 4 CBs for Copa and he will be fighting for 2 positions as Pezzella and Otamendi barring any unfortunate injury are expected to make the squad. I think some of you are being extra critical on Lo-celso. If our midfield is unable to get 3-4 passes together how do you expect him to deliver? Besides he has been in red hot form with his club.

    Some of you already want Banega and Dimaria back in the team. You guys are asking for trouble. By now you should have known that these players will never reflect their club form when playing for the national team. These two are the most inconsistent players for us. Don’t get fooled by Banega’s pass to Messi in the WC. He has 1 good game and then 10 consecutive bad games and when was the last time you saw Dimaria get a simple cross right??Angel-DM is more like a striker now. Like it or not , Dimaria, Banega and Higuain’s time in national team is over. The only players we need back in the team are Messi and Aguero. Another player that needs to go is Meza. I feel like his club is pressuring the team management to include him so that he could be shipped off to Europe. There is a reason he is still playing in local league at the age of 26.

    Scaloni so far has done an excellent job and best thing about him is he doesn’t seem to be stubborn like his predecessors . Yes he is still testing new players and formations and it’s better to experiment now than in Copa. If he had stuck with same group of players we wouldn’t have discovered players like Saravia and Foyth. I still feel it’s too early to stop calling new players as we need to have at-least 3 players ready for every position and there is no guarantee that all of our core players can stay injury free. Once he is done testing players and formations, I am confident he will start working on team chemistry . Scaloni’s biggest achievement has been our rock solid defense, our Achilles heel for quite a while but I think its about time he start focusing on bringing balance by working on his offensive tactics . There is no flow in our attack whatsoever. We are not used to watching Argentina attack like b-rated club. At times our midfield looked like they were playing ugly street football.If Scaloni doesn’t bring balance in the team tactics soon he will raise more eye brows and people will have second thoughts about continuing with him.

    • We need Banega his cross to Messi was best even his pass to Di maria against France was best. In WC he gave his all.He was really trying hard on behalf of himself.His slides were better than center backs.Against France my only hope were Messi and Banega as a starter and as substitute Aguero.But things did not end well due to Sampoli’s bad selection of player.He is hypocrite.Even in this team some clowns are present who have nothing to give to NT.

      • While I like banega v much for his brilliance (in spite of his inconsistency) & always defended him earlier- I think we can afford to move on without him. He is 30 & not going to last for wc22. So start investing in fresh blood who currently may not be at his level – but who need the exposure NOW to peak in an year or two. Also in midfield we do have gòod young options. The case is different for otamendi ,romero & aguero where we don’t have right replacement youngsters & hold on till at least copa.
        Btw banega’ s pass to dimaria in France game was an ordinary pass😊

          • In fact I always had high hopes of Pastore – Banega Duo. And instead we got Mascherano – Biglia Duo. (Well i know they add defensive cover to our weak defense and all but still i think 1 was enough, They played so many games for us together really??) Well never mind they r retired. So Sighsss..

    • how dare you to say meza needs to go, meza excels on coach bedroom which matter most no matter how he performed for Argentina

    • @sulav. You are right about banega and di maria. Banega could have stopped pavard goal but watched like he doesn’t care, He has zero stamina for a midfielder.
      As for di maria the less said the better.

  18. Otamendi and Mori along with Mercado do know how to squeeze in with Odd Goals sometimes. Otamendi and Mori r good in Air too. But Mori can’t be trusted he will make an error every 1 out of 2 matches, no consistency. For now, Otamendi – Pezzella looks solid. Foyth is someone we can build our future back line around. Without purring pressure just start him in some games as he is young he will learn and slowly become a starter. His position is something in which rarely produce World class players. Got to give credit to Pochettino for Gazzaniga and Foyths development. Kudos.

    As always glad to see us win, because as per some if we couldn’t beat Mexico then Scaloni didn’t deserve to continue. So that is out of the court now I guess. It’s not a pretty win against an experimental Mexico side too. It’s a friendly obviously, But it’s a Win. But we didn’t lose or concede. No team is perfect it has to be made perfect by time. The group is slowly growing it will improve. Because all these youngsters want to prove a point. And they r hungrier to represent their Nation.

    I really don’t know till when we r going on to hold on our Old guys, How long? Till when we r going to hold to the likes of Aguero, Di Maria, Banega (In fact one of my all-time favourite Midfielder) etc etc. We have to leave them, Even if they r brought back we still will not be World beaters, So let’s stick with the current group at least slowly we can move upwards. The more they play together the more the chemistry develop. (there is no disrespect towards any older players, they all represented the Nation in their prime time and tried their best to win us something, they will always be remembered and respected, but for everything there is an end)

    Marchesin who did well today have huge competition from Andrada, Rulli, Gazzaniga and Herrero for the Number 3 spot. Romero and Armani are competing for the No 1 spot. As per Scaloni…

  19. Another match in the books. What have we learned?

    I will ignore the two mistakes in the opening minute. One was due to fantastic positioning
    by the mexican forward where he just destroyed Saravia’s positioning for the aerial
    ball and the second FunesMori tripped on the grass(!). These are things you can’t game
    plan for, or have tactics for, and comes down to individual player quality and bit of luck.

    After the fiasco the match settled into shape. When the lineup came out I had mentioned that the names called seemed to suggest a squad that would change smoothly from a back 4 to back 3.
    While it was not smooth we saw again Scaloni show off his Sampaoli roots
    and essentially play a back 3 in a 3-4-3 or really what i thought was a
    3-1-3-3 and mexico start in quite a traditional 4-4-2 type shape.

    A large amount of moves and threats throughout the game came with Saravia’s extremely high positioning and him working close with Dybala. While the threat was always there the kid needs to keep working on the accuracy of his cross balls and also keeping his concentration
    while working backwards.But at the moment he is making progress
    and is a lock for at least the 23 if not the 11.

    While movement on the right was with simple through balls, with foyth releasing balls to
    saravia, and dybala/locelso always there for support and creating plenty of danger on the far right;
    on the left they tried to find Acuna with long diagonal, vertical balls. This wide shape resulted in the midfield getting lost and locelso and parades often found themselves in outnumbered situations since the mexicans had more men in the middle, hence a bit of a poor possession statistic for the game. But this brings me to one of my main observation.

    Parades is irreplaceable right now. In the 3-1-3-3 he basically sat in the back hole the whole time, sending balls forward both short and long, linking with locelso who had the more creative ground role, playing as the 3rd ‘centerback’ at times due to his natural height,and basically having to do an incredible amount of middle of the pitch work. We saw him in this role against brazil in the firt half as well when Tagliafico was pushed quite high and he had to drop into the back lines as well. While this reflects well on Parades, it is scary for the team. There is no clear replacement for this type of player, either on the benches, or anywhere in superliga or europe that i can think of.

    Moving on, LoCelso was the linkup from parades with the front line and despite again being surrounded in the middle he had a good game i thought eating plenty of fouls but linking well with dybala and saravia, and driving the ball forward well.In fact his fabulous ball win and hard charge at two players caused the dead ball situation leading to the first goal. This brings me to hometown Cordoba boy Dybala who though did not score but he showed a lot in open spaces, drifting back to pick up balls at midfield. But we always
    knew when left free he performs better than when coaches ask him to stay stuck to the sideline.
    As a small point his set piece ball delivery was on point today (including the opening goal).

    The pressure from the width allowed a few good ball wins and space to run for the forward lautaro. While Martinez has potential, it was clear today that he still has some ways to go. I won’t dwell a lot on his missed header. Every striker misses one or two. But it was his decision making which concerned me. An example in the 19th minute stayed in my mind till the end.In a 2v2 situation he completely froze while dybala staring at open space. This is a result of a striker who is not game sharp due to being on the bench for long. While it doesn’t mean he has lost his spot, the search for the 9 continues.

    While the midfield still created chances while outnumbered what about the other forward Correa. Anybody seen him? The big problem in the first half was the left side. Watching Angel in the brazil game and today makes me think he does not work well on the left at all for this team. I dont think this is a question of talent. Angel has plenty. But of structure. Continually, he showed a desire to drift to the right where the action was, but already Dybala and locelso were controlling the spaces there and he just caused confusion. The mexicans saw the need to shut down threats on the right and soon they were able to by
    sliding their defence left. The first half screamed for a forward to take control of the left but when he needed to be at his position on the left on the few occassions Acuna needed a partner he was never there, or ball never really found his feet. I actually think Dybala’s movements completely confuse him as to what his role is supposed to be. When DePaul came in for him at the open of the second half, things looked balanced at once. The midfield now showed solidity with both the left and the right balanced now.

    But the Mexicans had not come as tourists in the second half. They immediately came out with three or four changes, pushed wingbacks high, pressed for the ball and tried to take initiative. There was some fantastic back and forth and our young defenders, foyth and taglifico did well to hold off the charge. With DePaul in now it initially brought what the first half was missing. Balanced threats from both flanks. A breathtaking pass from parades to dybala to the left and a cheeky shot over mem ochoa made me jump from my chair in the first 5 minutes. With spaces now open since the mexicans had come out of the shell, it seemed the fast strike was there to take with many players missing shots on goal.

    But the next change confirmed what I suspected. The rash of mexican changes and their aggressiveness had made scaloni nervous. He slowly withdrew the aggressive back 3 shape and introduced more midfield muscle with meza and vazquez and shifted to more 4-5-1/4-4-2 type shapes to take back control with icardi in a thankless lone striker role. I wont hold this match against mauro. He was just not put in a position to succeed, and when the opportunity was there, his mere presence resulted in an own goal after Saravia’s continual deep aggressive positioning.

    This confirms what we all had suspected. Scaloni in his heart is a defense first coach. There is nothing wrong with it per se, but I think we all should get used to seeing more of draws and narrow wins under his regime. Maybe it is not such a bad thing when in the past we have seen the team unable to defend leads even for the a couple minutes. I think he almost coached a tournament type game today rather than a friendly. While the scoreline was not flattering I was not unhappy to see him being able to read the other coaches changes and make his own subs to defend a lead. This might not please many
    fans looking for free flowing argentinean football, but i don’t yet mind simple blue collar football when the lack of it has cost us so much in the past (2010, 2018 etc).
    All in, the absence of many names have effected the coaches selection. Yet I think he showed a good first half in terms of aggression and we are starting to get a sense of names that are must haves for the 23. The most important thing in my view is now to confirm what your base shape and your go to players are AND to stick with it for full 90 minutes.

    Finally, a thought for Foyth and FunesMori finally. Young Juan seems a good talent. Besides his backline work I always watch if CB’s have the ability to send simple, but correct forward passes through, and I really liked what I saw from him. I don’t know if he’s a starter for sure, but a spot in the 23 for him is worth a thought. FunesMori. Well what can you say. Some excellent one on one recoveries from
    him but also boneheaded one on one mistakes. For me this is a questionable spot in the 23, and since you can carry at most 4 CB’s he is tricky considering Otamendi and Pezella positions.

  20. At least we’re on the way up, while WC winners France are on their way down. They could create nothing against Holland yesterday. One lousy header from Griezmann and that’s it. Argentina created much more. It is rather worrying that both Icardi and Dybala have yet to score. They hardly play the full 90 minutes in NT games but with their record…

  21. Coach still experimenting with players and formation, in the meantime we are still doing bad, when all the players will be available and he has a fixed formation team will play more fascinating football for sure. Lets be optimistic.

    • Coach still experimenting with players and formation, in the meantime we are still not doing bad, when all the players will be available and he has a fixed formation team will play more fascinating football for sure. Lets be optimistic.

  22. I always have high opinion on Lo Celso but at this stage, it seems to be a luxury to have that profile of players in the 11 than necessary. I think Palacios is a better fit to pair with Paredes. For the next game, I think should try with Vazquez who can also play deep. Strong in ball holding.

    On the left, maybe Cervi should start in the next game. I insist on his quality on freekick, corner and crossing. Great value added to this team.

    De Paul should definitely start on the left. When Pity comes back, I think the attack should be Pity-Dybala or Icardi-De Paul. Dybala spent a lot of energy this game, I like his courage and efforts.

    For the next game, without Pity and Palacios, we should stay in the same system 3421 with slight adjustments: Pezzella, Foyth, Tagliafico-Saravia, Vazquez, Paredes, Cervi-Dybala, De Paul-Icardi

  23. Boy you know your in bad shape when even Funes Mori scores against you! 😆
    Just kidding…… (partially)

    Anyway, this win doesn’t really change much. Yes we won 2-0 but one was from an own goal and another’s a dead ball. Not too convincing if you ask me.

    We had 15 shots total but only 4 on target?!!!!! Most of the shots we’re out of pure desperation, not thinking.
    We lose possession again, against a B-team Mexico at home! We committed the most fouls… if anything Argentina under Scaloni is dirtier than ever… and these are friendlies mind you! These two times looked like they belong in a second division

    Mexico’s should’ve been up by 2 in the first five minutes! Give those opportunities to Lozano, or Suarez, Cavani, Firminho, Neymar, Alexis, Falcao and they put those away!

    Lo Celso again showed why I just don’t trust him! He needs to be carried by a world class midfielder like Carvalho in Betis to not look like a complete flop! Acuña is just as cringe worthy to watch. Didn’t know who he was before Sampaoli, and I’m trying to forget about him now! Lol

    How is Acuña, Correa, Meza STILL being called up? Looks like you just need one mediocre game to be called to play for a two time World Cup winning team, where legends like Maradona, Riquelme, Batistuta, Kempes, Messi, Zanetti have played. Unbelievable!

    Like what the commentators were saying before the game, why fire Sampaoli and keep his assistant? You might as well should’ve kept Sampaoli! FFS!

    This team keeps proving we need Messi, Aguero, Banega, Otamendi, maybe even Di Maria, all the experience we can get! Cause so far, we still have yet to impress, and the midfield hasn’t been the biggest disappointment of them all!

    Uruguay vs Mexico = 4-1
    Argentina Vs Mexico = 2-0 (an own goal)
    Brazil vs Argentina = 1-0 less than 40% possession!
    Brazil vs Uruguay = 1-0, But at least uruguay we’re trying, having 4 shots on target, same as Brazil!
    Argentina vs Guatemala = 3-0
    Israel vs Guatemala = 7-0
    Iraq vs Argentina = 4-0
    Let’s see how Bolivia does against them next week!

    How are people still vouching for Scaloni? He’s just like his mentor Sampaoli, picking young blood but having no plan or identity whatsoever!

    • The way I see it, it’s not Scaloni’s fault that many players did not deliver.
      What I think is that Scaloni has to stop with the try outs, and stop calling for more and more new faces. and start picking main squad, the more he keeps rotating and adding new players and line ups, the more lost the team will look.
      He has plenty of talent to pick from. I said that before, if things keep going the way they are for couple of more friendlies we will lose the identity of the the NT.
      I started thinking that Scaloni is certain that he is doing a temporary job and that’s why he is still calling more and more new faces As if his job is only to run try outs for the next coach. I thought that the team will start taking shape gradually but it has a new look every match.
      I will wait and see if the face of the NT change, again, for the next match.
      The AFA should come out and tell us if Scaloni is going to continue or not, I think that will push him to pick solid players and start forming cohesion between players.
      There is no question that most of the players are talented, but WE need to start forming cohesion and chemistry between them and form a solid team with it’s own identity, I can understand when changing one or 2 or 3 players each match, but not more than half the team. the players need to play the most possible time together in order to establish cohesion.

      • Exactly! Calling more and more players will add to the problem, not solve it. And the players he’s calling aren’t necessarily world class either! That was Sampaoli’s problem, there was a stat that he called something like 100 different players to the squad in his brief time as manager. 100!!!

        We DO have talent!!
        Tagliafico is Argentina’s best LB right now and for years to come! Foyth (If Tottenham bought him so young its for a reason), Pezzella, Mammana, Musacchio, Otamendi, Saravia
        Midfield we have Banega, Argentina’s best CM at the moment, Vazquez, Pereyra, Paredes, Ascacibar, Lamela, Palacios, Lanzini…
        Attack we have Aguero, Icardi, Lautaro (absolutely LOVE this guy!!!! Transferring from Racing to Inter at the learning age of 21, he will be a STAR ⭐️!!!! Mark my words!!!!), Pavon, Dybala, and…. the best in the history of the sport… Messi!

        We have the talent, but what we need is a new manager with experience and having an actual plan in mind, to sit down and say “Ok! I’ve seen a bunch of guys play for the past couple of months, but now I need to choose a handful of these guys and build their relationships with the experienced players (Banega, Aguero, Messi, Otamendi, etc).” Keep playing new faces over and over again will get us nowhere!

        What the new manager needs to do next year is pick who he will work with from here on out, say a named 24 man squad to call consistently every international break next year from January to the Copa America, and stop calling new faces every international break, and start building the foundation with the rest of the experienced players in order to even have a chance.

        A strong top 4 best in the World Argentina can be accomplished again, but the REAL process needs to start now!! Not seeing mediocre results and labeling it process.

        • “Calling more and more players will add to the problem, not solve it.”

          “Keep playing new faces over and over again will get us nowhere!”

          Agree, point blank. WE need to pick the best, and build their relationship together, The talent is certainly abundant.

        • every new player, unless is god messi, or Aguero, new faces are going to have marginal improvement to the overall team. We have a ton of talents, lets get on with narrowing it down.

      • > What I think is that Scaloni has to stop with the try outs, and stop calling for more and more new faces. and start picking main squad, the more he keeps rotating and adding new players and line ups, the more lost the team will look.He has plenty of talent to pick from. I said that before, if things keep going the way they are for couple of more friendlies we will lose the identity of the the NT.

        Completely agreed. We haven’t made the necessary tactical advances or cement the 23 and starting so i lack confidence in Scaloni. dontbethatguy is being harsh though – Lo Celso did really well box to box, he was everywhere, attacking, chasing, and tackling non stop. He helped bridge the def and mid and the game immediately changed for worse when he was subbed off.He will certainly play a key role for us. Lo Celso, Dybala, Paredes, Foyth, and Saravia all did well.

        > I started thinking that Scaloni is certain that he is doing a temporary job and that’s why he is still calling more and more new faces As if his job is only to run try outs for the next coach. I thought that the team will start taking shape gradually but it has a new look every match.

        Really really well put. The merry-go-round of players is really “tryouts”. And Scaloni role is setting the stage for a more permanent manager.

    • calling for Pezzella
      Then Let’s see Mori partner with him
      When Otamendi came back, all are calling for Pezzella and Ota to play all matches together, because they showed great understanding together for only one match.
      then wanting kanneman to try
      but waiting for mammana to be back from injury
      NOW praising Foyth and some saying he is the best after just one match

      next weak a new CB will be our ‘temporary star’.

      I can repeat the story above for every line of the NT, including the GKs

      Do you guys see how easy it is to lose direction?

    • Lo Celso was not complete flop, was very good at first half. Looked bit tired at second half , not to forget he arrived in Argentina after playing three big games in less then eight days. He is only 22 , and getting better and better everyday under a great coach in Betis and already a top midfielder in La Liga. But unfortunately yet to be trustworthy to some Argentina fans.

    • Instead of positive vibes…..ur frustrating us all………it was great effort from guys who are still young……they are our asset and we should have full faith in them dude………SAY WE WON NOT SAY AGAINST 2nd Mexican team and bla bla…….common they dint have good players I agree…..still we also don’t have palacious , lanzini , Messi…….still we dominated the game and won…….I think u r writing such nonsense coent

    • Yes it was Mexican team B but with a lot of experienced and good players like Layun. Those players are smart and very hard to play against. If you take the current French team, not sure they can beat them easily. Not totally wrong on the quality of play, we can always improve the style. Lo Celso may appear nonchalant but very creative player. Should play in a more advanced position, in competition with Dybala, Lamela and Pity.

    • Huh?? Lo Celso was one of the best players on the pitch today. Did really well box to box, he was everywhere, attacking, chasing, and tackling non stop. He helped bridge the def and mid and the game immediately changed for worse when he was subbed off.

  24. I don’t care if scaloni intend to give more possession to opposition team unless they are creating clear cut chances……we don’t have talented defenders to play possession base football…..our all defenders are mistake prone……but again do we have enough pacy players to counter attack teams?……what it seems like to me is that in scaloni style we need good counter attacking players.
    Nonetheless keeping clean sheet in 4 out of 5 games is admirable.
    I would like to see scaloni as argentina manager for coppa.
    I also love to see possession based football or one touch attacking football but guys for playing that we need best players in every single position and I don’t think we have that luxury so I prefer scaloni style for now…keeping clean sheet is must.

    • I don’t want to come off as rude, but Did you even watch the game?

      Mexico should’ve been 2-0 in the first couple of minutes! They just played their B players and those guys got no game, losing their last 4 friendlies!
      Give this chances to ANY other striker and they pu those away! Neither game played well, looked like we were watching two second division teams going at it!

      Argentina under Scaloni wouldn’t even qualify for the World Cup, much less win a Copa America!
      Change comes soon after appointment, not ten years down the line!

      • “Mexico should’ve been 2-0 in the first couple of minutes”
        But they didnt right? There is no point in talking about should’ve or could’ve.
        You are a hater and you only view the negatives.
        If mexico should’ve been 2-0 then I can also say argentina should’ve scored 4 goals i.e. chance by lautaro and an hand ball in penalty box.

        “Give this chances to ANY other striker and they put those away! ”
        Then why didnt top players like Neymar, falcao, firmino didnt scored against us.
        Also keep in mind that our last game against mexico was under tata martino and it was a DRAW.

        • If you call fair criticism being a “hater” then whatever, but I’m stating facts! How can a deadball goal and an own goal be positives?

          And why guys like Neymar, Falcao, Firminho didn’t score against us? Maybe because it’s hard to score against a team where there are 10 defenders parking a huge ass bus!

          Also against Mexico three years ago… maybe because Mexico started their strongest team, played at the AT&T Stadium in Texas… otherwise a home game for Mexico!
          And the subs Tata Martini made taking off guys like, guess who!!!, Correa in exchange for Lavezzi, Aguero, Pereyra had an instant impact to the game, and we equalized scoring 2 in the span of 4 minutes.

          So no, I’m not hating! I’m speaking truth, that we are not good right now, and even boring to watch . You think a neutral will pay to watch us play like this? And yes, the truth hurts, but if you accept it, you will be set free!

      • Too much criticism that is not warranted. If we call this Mexico b, let’s also appreciate that our team was not in full strength. Our goalkeeper & CBs are not even having a place in 23 as of now. Acuna, martinez & correa again are not starters. So half of this team is not starting 11 which negates the fact that Lozano, vela, herrara, chichito didn’t play.
        Clearly we played better. But there is also clear room for improvement. I agree to ebo’s comment that we shld start now playing the key players & reduce experimentation. The only tweaks should be dybala’s position, right wing, icardi or aguero as main striker , 3rd goalie & finally most importantly Messi factor.

  25. To win a mexico B team is a must. But Argentina can’t dominate the match is true. first half is better than second half .the whole team is still lack of tactics to score goal .dybala ,icardi still no goal .scaloni once again can’t make use of dybala well

  26. We started the game pretty sloppy, Funes Mori could have cost us a goal. He scored but was occasionally shaky in defence. Never been a big fan of his. Otamendi and Pezzella partnership looks more solid. In any case Mexico put pressure on us from the get go and hit the post.

    Foyth on the other hand plays with maturity that is far beyond his tender age of 20. A future world class defender.

    Tagliafico was his usual solid if unspectacular self. Saravia was good in defence and attack. His cross led to an own goal.

    Marchesin was ok but was not tested that much.

    Paredes defended well – his tackle was sublime. Also spread the ball well. One diagonal pass to Dybala stands out. He must start every game.

    Lo Celso showed flashes of brilliance but I think he needs to play higher up the pitch to bring the best of him.

    Correa worked hard but it didn’t work for him today, same for Acuña. Lautaro was unlucky not to score.

    Dybala possibly had his second best game in Argentina shirt. 4-4-2 suits him well. The thing with 4-4-2 though, in my opinion, it solves one problem, i.e. Dybala’s optimal position but creates another in that we can get outnumbered in midfield especially against a 4-3-3. I still think our best formation under Scaloni was 4-3-3 with Paredes, Palacios, Lo Celso and Pity on the pitch at the same time.

    • Next friendly should be
      Gazzinga( or ruilli)
      Saravia – mamanna- kanneman- taglia
      Lamela – ascacibar- pererya- cervi
      Dybala – icardi

      -Parades, locelso is clearly in with pity & palacios.
      – de Paul also did well & earns himself more chances
      -Acuna , correa didn’t make the best of their chances . I still believe they can click for us & shld be in 23
      – scaloni- pls drop meza , Vasquez.. they are not our future
      – foyth looks like will break into 23. Funes may not inspire of goal.
      – Saravia also seals spot. Lb tagliafico dosent have a replacement for now.

    • Well said and their individual performance is really image of their recent ones with their club. To me, the 2 best players in their current form are Vazquez and De Paul. I would have moved Dybala to forward position, Vazquez in Dybala’s role and De Paul instead of Correa.

    • Foyth made a HUGE mistake that should have cost us a goal… it played better later in the match, but against a Mexican B team… he will feature some day but still acouple years away

  27. I see them moving together instead of staying static like few months ago during the WC. It’s a huge progress in such a short time. I just wonder how Palacios and Pity will fit in this new system.

  28. Post World Cup positives Argentina defense strengthen, plenty of options in midfield, Found new superstar Foyth, Palacio. Negative: still GK problem continues, Scaloni tactical weakness

  29. Peru under Gareca dominating against top teams, beat Uruguay comfortably where Brazil struggled. Argentina can’t dominate against even weaker opponent yes because of park the bus tactics by scaloni Argentina can’t be humiliated but never going to beat any top teams, like pep says it’s better to lose playing good football rather than win by playing worst football

  30. I missed the match, I saw first 10 minutes and had to go somewhere important, Just watched the highlights.
    the goals showed some improvements in tactics. good result to build the team’s confidence.
    did not see how L. Martinez played, but the highlights showed that he missed couple of chances.

  31. Although Argentina missing Senior players still our current squad players are much better than peru just look at the way peru played and Argentina, Gareca is so much tactically superior, Argentina NT isn’t for experimenting who don’t have any tactical knowledge, yes this would come with time but i can see under scaloni Argentina is losing against Gareca peru

  32. So much moaning and bitching in typical MA fashion. I really miss the days during the 06-10 years of this website had great and knowledgeable posters who would bring insight and great debate rather than people(trolls) cry and complain about every single thing.

    As for the game itself.

    We had many positives today. Foyth was excellent. Paredes showed that he is a committed player who can defend and be the genesis of the attack. Dybala helped with the midfield. Saravia had another excellent showing. De Paul also proved that he is worthy of being called up again, he should be tried out as a starter and Angel Correa as a bench player.

    Our players were so much better than Mexico that they were just playing 1/3rd of their abilities. They played Mexico off the pitch and the subs came on and threw the balance off a bit.

    I wish more people knew how to read a game rather than think the sport is the same as picking up your PS4 controller and trashing teams 7-0.

    • Here comes a philosopler, bro football is not philosophy, it works on tactics otherwise other team will kick our your ass like in WC 2018.
      Argentina didnt play well against mexico B team , gave them 53 % possesion.

    • Well many people today just focus on dribbling, tackling or other individual actions. They don’t look at how the team play in bloc, how an offensive player runs for counter attack or in order to free space for his partners, how a player can stop opponents without even tackling.

    • Well… for starters, the Argentina team from 06-10 was ACTUALLY good! Lol

      In 2006 we had Carlos Teves, Hernan Crespo, Maxi rodriguez, Riquelme, a young Mascherano, Cambiasso…
      Now look what we have:
      Acuña? Meza? Salvio? Lo Celso? Correa? Kannemman? Funes Mori? Bet you if most of these guys walked in the streets of Spain of Italy, France, Germany, England NOONE would know who they are! Now if Aguero, Messi, Di Maria, Otamendi would do that they’d be surrounded for autographs.

      We complain because there is not much quality to be optimistic about!

      We need to stop calling up guys who simply are not good enough for the National Team! Like Maradona said that Biglia should not be called up because he’s not Argentina national team quality, same with ALL those guys! They are just not fit for the jersey!

      Stop calling new guys every game, start building a foundation, and bring back some of the veterans, because we need to regain our status!

      • Acuña? Meza? Salvio? Lo Celso? Correa? Kannemman? Funes Mori? Bet you if most of these guys walked in the streets of Spain of Italy, France, Germany, England NOONE would know who they are!

        No football fans on the planet knows players on Russia national team… yet, they eliminated Spain , so?

      • Dontbethatguy

        You’re clearly forgetting how close we were from missing out on the 2010 World Cup. We got spanked by Bolivia 6-1, lost to Brazil 3-1 at home but yet people didn’t turn on the tears as much as I have seen since Scaloni has taken over. We had discussions and looked for answers. But now? Even when we’r showing positives you got people who will complain about everything and anything.

        And you’re dead wrong… There is plenty of quality coming up, just because there are far more Messi and Barcelona fanboys out there that have brought down this forum. Some of you are need to move forward from Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, Banega and all these players that you’ve seen over the last 10 plus years.

        Move on. This is our team now, you just have to deal with it and stop your negativity.

        This is one of the main reasons why so many of the originals posters have left this place.

    • I appreciate your positives… unfortunately being argentinan I take a lot of positives as “normal seleccion plays” and nothing above average of what I personally expect from la seleccion quality.
      Like you, I though Saravia and foyth did well but I must point out foyth huge defensive error in the first acouple minutes, which he did recuperate from in rest of the night;
      Also Saravia was badly beaten on a headed the hit the upright in the first two minutes as well… big mistakes but the potential is there …
      LoCelso with parcedes was solid but they need a CAM to combine with… maybe palacios… Banega or Lamela …
      it’s also sad to say but dybala is overrated… a lot of expectations but his positioning of the patch is questionable. I don’t know where he fits!
      For the Copa America our “old guard” of otamendi, Dimaria, Aguero, Banega and Messi are all going to be a big part of the team.. whether starters or substitute; mixed in with the youth of palacios, Martinez’, tagliafico, loCelso, Pavon and parcedes….

      • I am Porteño, so I understand criticism but criticism should be warranted. We’ve only had this team for a few games and people are sharpening their knives. This team is not going to be built for the CA but for the future. If we manage to go deep and make a final and win, wonderful but we must give this group of players time.

        This was Foyth’s first game, so naturally he was going to have nerves and make mistakes. But we shouldn’t highlight this as a cause of concern. Some of our greatest defenders have had some major blunders in high profile games.

        Saravia at least gives us something going forward, we’ve clearly lacked something from either full back positions since the days of Juampi and Pupi.

        Dybala should play closer to goal but he was doing what Messi does with us, pick up the ball from the middle of the pitch and tries to create something. He got an assist and should’ve had two had Lautaro finished his chance. I wish the midfield helped him get going but he tried to do it on his own.

        The likes of Parades and Lo Celso will need time to figure out where they mesh.

        I am waiting for the gallinas to retune to the seleccion, the likes of Palacios and Pity could be useful players.

        And finally, I will reiterate what I am going to say, there is far too negativity that goes on in wins. Had we beaten Mexico 6-0, it would’ve been, “BIG DEAL, ITS MEXICO B TEAM! THIS PLAYER SUCKS! THIS PLAYER THIS AND THAT!” But when we win and show flashes of alent, it is “Big deal, it is only Mexico’s B-Team, this team beat them 174 to 0!”

        The hypocrisy that goes on from many of the boludos in this place is nauseating. Many don’t even bother watch the Superliga and they call themselves fans of Argentine football. As I have always said, the heart and soul of Argentine football is the league.

  33. Icardi is so unlucky in terms of scoring goals so far, neither he got services nor getting penalty on messi absence and icardi two clear goals converted own goals, hope icardi starts next match from beginning and end his goal draught for his, icardi is the best striker in the world considering his age

    • Icardi’s goal is only about time. Remember that Messi scored his first goal after 8 matches and only has 16 after 65 games. Suddenly he’s scoring 50 since 2012. Dybala wasnt playing as #9 like hs’ in Juve, he’s pretty much replacing Messi’s role right now in NT. He’s more like midfielder at times, receiving the ball near halfway line most of the time.

      As you said, Icardi basically had 2 goals in NT which converted by opponent defenders, this is due to his good offball movement like Crespo.

      Argentina has no traditional playmaker since Roman, Veron and Aimar era, they had to rely on creative forward like Messi and Dybala to pull the strings.

  34. What a irritating game. Unable to find out who played worse arg or mexico.
    Really waiting for 90 mns to get over , dont know is this the way to play football.

    • Foyth is awesome and he is a diamond if not spoiled….

      Next game—
      —————— Romero ———————
      Mercado- Foyth- Mammana- Acuna
      Vazquez Ascacibar Pereyra
      De Paul ——————– Lamela
      ——– ICARDI ————

  35. How on the earth argentine midfielders cant dominate a shitty mexican b side on home soil? Scaloni’s motto: dare to be small…at least his defensive concepts are good, but this mexican team is so poor, these matches mean nothing

  36. The second goal was nice work of two current and former Racing people Saravia and De Paul. If not defender that would be Icardi’s goal as well

  37. No big surprise it’s a balanced team, as I said in the previous post, it’s the safest way to play. Don’t think it’s a bad game for Acuna, his main role is to stop Mexican attacks on his side and help defending in the middle. Happy to see finally Gimenez after some many years!

  38. Acuna is not suited in this game. It’s a total waste of a valuable midfield position. Ascacibar would have brought more control. Lautaro, Correa & Dybala all needs to improve a lot to get a chance for the first team.

  39. Rulli instead of Mascheen, Ascaliber instead of acuna and Icardi instead of lautaro will be the strongest XI

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