Argentina vs. Colombia, Copa America Match Thread

By
Roy Nemer
-
258

Argentina play against Colombia in their opening match at the Copa America.

With the press conference done and the starting eleven announced, we know it will be the veterans Lionel MESSI, Sergio AGÜERO and Angel DI MARIA leading the attack. Here’s the starting eleven:

ARMANI; SARAVIA, PEZZELLA, OTAMENDI, TAGLIAFICO; LO CELSO, Guido RODRIGUEZ, PAREDES; MESSI, AGÜERO, DI MARIA

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258 Comments

  1. Every year people use the word rebuilding which makes me laugh

    Yes aimar ruqueome mascherabo win nothing

    But go watch 2004 Argentina vs Colombia semi final or Copa 2007

    We never gave opponents the ball abd controlled the game

    Killers like Kily Gonzalez , lucho, Ayala, el pato, zaneti sotin eyc

    Now we have saravia pezella guido Armani

    The worst squad I have ever seen

  2. International football is so cut throat. The tiniest change can go wrong and you lose all balance. Everything was ok the first half except juan cuadrado was able to physically beat di maria into the space left in the middle because of the width in the argentina 442. Fideo was just unable to stand his man up leaving cuadrado with room to overrun parades and guido causing both of them to commit to technical fouls and yellow cards (for guido which proved crucial later) to catch up.

    However that is fine as the scoreline was balanced. All scaloni needed to do to adjust was insert dePaul in the same framework. Many people commented this and we were happy to see this as second half opened. The effectiveness of this was obvious straight away. In the opening thirty seconds, cuadrado received the ball in an area he had dominated the whole first half but this time DePaul challenged and poked the ball free leading to a break for argentina. If Paredes was accurate by 1 meter for his shot in the end we would have been up in 45 seconds of second half.

    If that was all the change Scaloni had made we would probably have been ok. However there was one more tiny thing he did at the half. He moved his back line up by 5 meters to better challenge and press for the ball (proof below). He also left parades with instruction to push higher for the ball and to move into the space in front. We saw this play out with leandro moving to a bit more advanced positions in the second half when team was in possession..

    For twenty minutes Carlos Quieroz struggled to adjust to this but he showed why he is a superior coach and the huge disadvantage Scaloni has. First, once the tactical advantage of Cuadrado was lost he inserted jefferson lerma to stop the bleeding in the middle. Then James was pulled back just a bit and given room to try and hit the space behind the slightly advanced argentine line now and he was able to find Martinez on the wing with room. While Saravia will be blamed for this any half decent dribbler has an advantage over a full back one on one when he has 10 meters to run at him and another 10 meters behind him.

    Paste this link in your browser. Here you will see two comparisons. The argentine back line at minute 20 about 20 meters from the center line (the patches on the grass tell you distance). In the second image you will see the argentine lines just a little bit more advanced, 15 meters from the half and attacking the ball just before James unleashes for the goal.

    paste link
    imgur.com/a/9y2E161

    This is the tiny difference in modern football. Scaloni showed his cards too early and Carlos Queroz the old fox hit him back. Hard to blame a person trying his best on the job especially when no one else wanted or actually still wants the job. Anyways all is not lost. Still first game and we can make it through. Please Scaloni forget about the nonsense of beautiful football everyone gets on.I will say again, the most important thing in modern international knockout tournament play is structure and tightness first. Being able to keep everything IN FRONT of you. Remember how in the messi, aguero and scaloni interviews all mentioned the importance of taking space away. The only thing i said was PLEASE DO NOT FORGET THAT when game starts. You forgot that.
    Please not again.

  3. the game gave 1 thoughtful insight – where you play club football dosent matter.
    I generally don’t think rate highly players from Argentine , Mexican , MLS leagues – Roger Martinez plays for Club America ( mex) & clearly was the MOTM
    2nd goal scorer & creator – Zapata & Lerma play for avg clubs like Atalanta & Bournsmith .
    infact I have never heard of Lerma & Martinez before & all the three were Quieroz’s brilliant substitution

    • Atalanta isn’t an average club. They were 3rd in Serie A this year, and Zapata scored 28 goals this year with them. Bournemouth spent 30 million years last summer to buy Lerma. And they both came from the bench. Colombia has a lot of talent.

  4. Well Alejandro SABELLA, was the last real coach we had. He’s the only coach who adapted to the opponents tactics correctly every game. Gimme another names if anyone has one? Copa is the just a party to expose Scaloni’s weaknesses as a coach.

  5. We lost mostly due to unnecessary fouls by our midfielders and full back which resulted in YC;
    Colombia got it absolutely right tactically; They didn’t allow ARG to play or get passing rhythm in the 1st half, making tactical fouls and going down easily when touched; They furstrated ARG and our players lost concentration;

    Both the goals came from Saravia side as he couldn’t make a tackle; Already got the YC;
    2 goals were conceded by lack of positional awareness or anticipation of Pizzarro; He seems to lost it; The sub was made as G Rodriguez was also on YC and Pizzarro can go hard/tackle if required;

    For the 1st goal he allowed the shot to be taken once the opponent got past Saravia; No intent at all from Pizzarro to stop from taking the shot or cover the shot;
    (Pereyra should have been brought in if he was fit, in place of Pizzarro;)
    Even for the second goal instead of going for the ball, lost the movement of Zapata and was slow to react;
    (Why always ARG players try to get behind the opponent players when crosses were made into the box; They won’t try hard to get ahead of the opponent players);

    One more problem seems to be intent from some of the players (midfield to defense), they play as if they are in some training ground; Lack of clear communication/wayward passing was seen from GK to defense, Defense to midfield; This what happens if you change the starting 11 every match;

    Other than that we had better 2nd half than Colombia; Still we lost by 2 – 0;

    Hope Scaloni doesn’t shuffle the players all around for the next match; Start with De Paul in place of Di Maria;

  6. My player ratings

    Armani: Wasn’t at fault for either of the goals. Benitez should be playing, but Armani wasn’t responsible for this loss.
    Saravia: Very average. A player who would never be considered for the NT until Scaloni discovered him. He tried to overlap a few times with Messi and looked completely lost. The bigger and faster Colombians (Martinez, and Lerma) made him look like an amateur.
    Tagliafico: Held his position better than Saravia. He should have tried to overlap more, but the game didn’t allow him to.
    Pezzella: Wasn’t bad.
    Otamendi: Not bad either. Good header.
    Rodriguez: Who? I didn’t even realize he was playing. Why were there two DMs playing in exactly the same space?
    Paredes: Better than Rodriguez. There was no reason to play them both.
    Lo Celso: Tried to do some quixotic runs playing as a RW in the first half that led to nothing. The team played better when he moved to the midfield.
    di Maria: Didn’t get the ball at all. Was completely isolated due to the lack of a midfield.
    Messi: Very isolated in the first half. Was the best player in the 2nd half, and forced the Colombians to resort to dirty fouls.
    Aguero: He tried but didn’t do much.
    de Paul: He tried, but wasn’t helped much by Tagliafico or by the lack of a left CM.
    Pizarro: Same exact problems as what I described above with Rodriguez.
    Suarez: Nonexistent.

    • to me the key issues are :
      – locelso is lost in RW. Should be made central like a CAM .
      – the full backs are not contributing in attack overlap. But not sure Casco or Acuna will make any difference
      – the DM pivot is static. Going by today’s game , Parades is fine . But other spot seems to be the issue. rodri was so static . Pizaro definitely looked more agile – but many here see him on fault for the goals ( IMO he is not the culprit ) .

      Armani
      Saravia – Pezella – Otamendi – Tagliafico
      Pizzaro – Parades
      Messi – LoCelso – DePaul
      Aguero

      Subs
      Lautaro
      Pererya for one of DMs if we are chasing game
      DiMaria – for one of the 3 who is not playing well

      I keep thinking – cant Foyth be transitioned as a DM partnering Parades ? its experimental , but Guidos are limited players at this level.

  7. Slow build up football is done a long time ago. Modern football is fast forward European kinda football everywhere except Argentina. I told my earlier post during Brazil – Bolivia game that to break a bus parking side, opponent must use fast wing players. Guess what?

    Argentina was that bus parking team from the beginning tonight and Colombia was that fast football playing side!

    Now the thing is, We can still progress to next round if our team change the style against Paraguay. Because we have players like De Paul, Pereyra, Di Maria to adapt in this style of football.

    Again, we don’t lose because of our defense, rather a plan which kinda backward for us to use against opponents like Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil(speedy opponents). We have to run our ass off to progress to the next round. Otherwise an early group stage exit waiting ahead of us unfortunately. That’s the reality Argentina dealing right now! It’s all depends on Scaloni’s choice.

  8. The pressure for a youth movement after the World Cup is one of the reasons we look so disjointed. We have a mix of youth and experience who are lacking chemistry. Aside from that, the desire and pressure to select players playing in Argentina, as though that makes the team more Argentinean, is a joke. If they cant play in Europe, they shouldn’t be selected. Take the players who play against the best competition, and tell the local media to shut the hell up.

    Why Armani is our goalkeeper is beyond me. I never thought I’d long for the days of Romero; but here we are. There are multiple options from European leagues we could have picked, but no. Why didn’t Benitez get a legitimate chance? He had a good year at Nice. Why sub off Aguero for another attacker? Play with TWO strikers when you’re down a goal. It’s not rocket science. Why did Pizarro even make the team?! So many questions.

    The AFA needs to get their shit together. It already seems likely they’ve wasted another international tournament in Messi’s career, and we as the fans are running out of chances.

    • Argentina will recover once messi stops playing for us. Too much dependence on him is our problem.

  9. Armani should not start anymore,when an attcking forward comes near to him from left he goes to left side of goal much more and leaves tons of space in his right side and goal happens in right side of the net.Second goal was same as we conceded against France.He got no positional sense why Romero is not selected i miss him.Gk is the most important position.Aguero has become lazy once more i think age is catching up.Di maria talk less perform more.

    • No GK changes now. Its only more confusion. Stay with Armani. But I agree he is not our future. But this Dumbo coach shld have realized this much before Copa.

  10. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Only one team played to win it and that was Colombia! Was it Argentina I saw playing? Nah, can’t be! Even the Indian soccer team plays faster than this. Even Diego’s daughter runs faster than them! Are they playing only for money? Has playing for Argentina became this easy and cheap?They should be kicked out from the tournament. Don’t deserve to play QF.

    By the way, stay tuned – you’ll see the full range of Messi skills and magic against QATAR. Sheer motherfuckers. Shouldn’t have wasted my time 😣

    • Better don’t waste your precious time for the rest of Copa. Give yourself much needed peace. We shall be greatful too. Thanks!

      • It’s a free platform and anyone can express his own opinion on subject matter. Who the fuck wanted your opinion on my comment?? Hope you’re not dumb enaf to not understand what is meant!

  11. i remember the days when we used to have one of the best midfields…..now we have a pretty much non- existent midfield they can’t hold on to the ball.. the passing is shit.. it looks like they are passing the ball on a training pitch very lacklustre.. there’s no vision…no creativity and no control of the game…. we actually look like a b rated team… i miss Riquelme he was a genius… in the last decade every coach we had was visionless and couldn’t build a team that had more than one plan.. and for all of us diehard fans it’s painful to watch us play this way….. and i am an eternal optimist…..i just hope that somehow a miracle happens and we start to gel and play like a team should.

    • how many titles we won with riquelme ,aimar, masche, m.rodriguez, cambiasso etc…..the ans is none…
      give this team time bro….nearly more than half the members are inexperienced player….

      • true that Shubham. People forget actual history. They were beautiful players- but didn’t win anything. The fact is team is rebuilding . Need to accept that & look at it from that prism.

      • lol we won the 2008 summer olympics with Riquelme so your answer is bull! And i was talking about playing style.. and other teams have had young squads too with young players but they didn’t look like a bunch of headless chickens making mistakes all over the pitch… take chile for example.. was a young squad but played beautiful passing football

        • so riquelme who started playing in 98 or 99 & finally won Olympics in 2008 ( as an overage player ) is fine, while most of this team who are in their 1st year takes all the barbs . good logic!!!
          BTW the no offense to Riquelme – he & Aimar were beautiful players.
          To me , the way we played in 2nd half till 1st goal was good ( against a good side like Colombia ) . Can coach discover that play & implement it consistently is the key. I like the players – but not Scaloni.

          • how long does it take for a player to integrate into a team? the difference between a player like riquelme and these players is the difference between the earth and the sky.. he had the ability and vision to control the game and those type of players are few and far between..

  12. i m happy with the performance ……….lo celso was missing today…..that’s what happens when u play the whole season as a second striker…he was slow in the passing …taking tooo much time to get rid of the ball …he was looking for eye-catching pass…….i had huge expectation from lo celso….i hope he learn from his mistakes…..
    de paul was excellent……de paul was the best player for argentina….
    messi wasn’t himself……
    di maria was aawful………
    aguero was okay he didn’t hv any service ……..
    tagliafico should work on his crossings……
    paredes was excellent in the second half….
    guido rodriguez was solid ….he had a good game …he did his job defensively.
    saravia also played well….he just don’t hv natural forward skills so it would be harsh on him to expect something superb from him in the attacking half.
    pezella hasn’t look comfortable in the whole match.
    otamendi was good.
    armani doesn’t give that positive vibes.
    i think guido pizarro decision was the game changing one…..he was going too much forward and expose our defence….guido rodriguez was doing good…
    there is just no pace in the team…
    still i think we can win the whole damn thing.
    optimism is still here.

  14. Parcedes played better in second half and both DePaul and Pizarro should start next game … …. stay positive Chile lost opening game in 2016 and won Cop America … we can still do this !!! We just have to build off positives from 2nd half

    • I don’t think Pizarro behavour was good on the goals. Unfortunately both Guido and Pizarro didn’t looked to me good choices before the tournament. No Battaglia, no Ascacibar, no Nico Dominguez – no real destroyer.

      • I don’t think what Argentina needs is a destroyer. What they need is two midfielders in front of Paredes (or whoever plays the 6 position) to support the wingers. Probably Lo Celso and Pereyra. No serious team in the world plays with the DMs covering the exact same space, while the wingers have no support whatsoever.

        • 2 DMs – Parades partnering with a destroyer makes sense IMO. But we need Fullbacks who can contribute in attack. I think we lacked those FBs today. Tagliafico & Saravia couldn’t make any impact on attack .
          Overall Parades was fine today compared to what lot of us initially thought before Copa

  15. The only sadness in my heart is for Messi who has been giving the AFA a pass for over a decade.
    These fat asses need to develop a football program that is from the ground up.
    And stop pretending like we are the Argentina of old. It’ll be a struggle to qualify for the wc at this rate.

  16. i dont know which son of a fucking retarded chimpanzee sets up argentina preparatory matches. We are never testing ourselves against good opponents. Same case with pre-World cup!!! how do you know how good you are if you play against far weaker opponents just so you can shag off to the victory in the locker room?

    the next time i see Argentina vs Tonga or Argentina vs. SouthSudan, i am going to start punching holes in the wall. is the administration full of fuckin monkeys in suits?

  17. Next match, do not play Suarez. Ever! Scaloni, you have to fix the right flank. And give Lo Celso more role to direct the midfield so that Messi does not have to bother looking for ball. Scaloni seemed not to have Plan B. I think 4-2-2 formation should be our option against Paraguay. i hope Pereyra will be fit so that he can fill the right flank.

  18. I still have hope seeing some of the plays in the second half. And with this schedule, finishing second in the group is not a bad thing. I think we can bounce back. Like to see the following changes:

    In the first 11, make 2 changes:
    Pizarro for Rodriguez
    DePaul for DiMaria

    Subs:
    DiMaria
    Dybala
    Lautaro

    Suarez, Rodriguez are not ready yet. I missed a good amount of football till 70th min due to fucking links. So my opinion wouldn’t be perfect. They are either not good enough or need more time with the rest to improve their game. Pizarro was much more mobile, but I need to see the highlights if he could have prevented any of the goals.

    Saravia is a bit slow is a worry. Both their goals came from that end. Too many space left in the back when Argentina attacks.

    • right flank has somewhat messi and locelso with saravia
      left flank has ADM/de paul paredes tagliafico
      now choose yourself which flank will give space to our opposition?

  19. Awful substitutions!!!! just the moment guido rodri was started playing good first time in his life, coach subbed him with pizarro, who was the sole responsible behind both goal..both goals were preventable by pizaro.
    ANd when we needed goals, he subbed aguero!!

      • Its ok when you think Pizarro’s fault. But if we keeps playing Rodri we will get bombed for over 80 mins. Rodri with his yellow card situations probably forced to play more safely and wont dare land a tackle. Plus you see the balls keep moving when Pizarro helped the attack, not passive like Rodri did.

        • Pizzaro clearly looked mobile compared to rodriguez. Rodriguez-Parades look like the Masche- Biglia combo. While we really needed Masche then , Biglia killed it ( post 2014) . 2nd goal was for Pezella to block the cross. Pizarro couldn’t do anything on that . He was on Zapata’s right while cross comes on Zapata’s left which was Pezella’s area. I am not blaming Pezella – but he is the nearest to block that cross. & again winger bet Saravia like in 1st goal .
          1st goal , Pizarro tackle there could have led to a penalty . Martinez was already inside the penalty area . again 1st goal was to with Saravia getting outplayed

          • amit
            Agreed. There was no one predicted Roger will shoot after he do the flick. It such a diagonal angle and Pizarro was there already to prevent Roger’s run, not to blocks the so-suddenly shot.
            For 2nd goal, Pezzella’s position is the suitable one to block the crosses but still.
            I think we can try Casco over Renzo next fixtures.

  20. Pizarro is a DM. He should have done better. I dont buy the comments of many here writing to include Pizarro to starting x1. Rodrigues could have done better in second half. His yellow card made the decision from Scaloni. That was crucial.

  21. Ladies and gentleman, this is Lionel Scaloni for you. Shove it up ur @$$. An interim and complete novice to lead the most troublesome team in the world. Still, some of you guys supported him because you hated the so called “friends club” that much. He has called 50 players. Everyone got their fancy player called up. Now enjoy your reward.

  22. Sad.. Very sad.. But, it’s OK.. Hopefully, Argentina will win the next matches to bring the Copa America 2019 trophy for us..

    Vamos Argentina! Go Tango! Be the champion!

    God bless everyone….

  23. Its ok guys, no need to flip out or be fatalistic. The 2nd half turnaround gives me hope. we’ll take the loss and improve from here on. Think De Paul earned the right to start and sub in Di Maria for the crazy spark later on the in the game. Not sure who would do better between the Guidos…

    Really liked Scalonis subs except for Suarez. I would have with Martinez.

  24. Suarez is the new MEZA . Coach’s beloved.
    Any positive takeway from match –
    1) Depaul , Pizarro should be starters over Dimaria & Rodriguez.
    2) The first 20-30mins of 2nd half is when we got back as a team . If we sustain that we can still do well.

    But overall for a diehard Argentina fan ( since 86) for me , my expectations are grounded. Not expecting anything from this team . Jus want to see some positive play.

      • I wld say it was more of Saravia for 1st goal.. or rather Colombian brilliance. Pizzaro cldnt have done much . Martinez was already in penalty area & Pizarro cld have else got a penalty .
        2nd goal has nothing to do with Piazzaro. It was Pezella who had to block that – tough one to block though. Pizaro was behind Zapata on his other side. You cant tackle from there buddy!! Being close to action dosent make you the culprit.

    • pls don’t change GK . Not that Armani is great – pretty useless – the amount of time he just holds the ball & looks around …. But its absolute panic & confusion when GKs are changed. Whatever happens he should be our starter in Copa. Post Copa , change GK for once & all & get one of Ruilli/ Benitez/ Musso to take over.

      • Håber jeg ikke, det pinligt, Scaloni, Aimar og walter samuel skulle aldrig have fået et så stort ansvar. Argentina mangler en ordenlig træner, de mangler målmænd, 7-8 af de udtaget spillere til copa har ikke niveau til Landsholdet. sergio Romero tror meget lidt spille tid vil pynte i målet.

  26. I am sure scaloni will not quit the job .He is the worst coach in history but he is the cleverest coach in history to find scapegoat. Just look at the friendly matches ,actually only win vs weak team .those two wins vs mexico is a mexico C team

  27. no chemistry, too many giveaways, shitty transitions – what happened to the poetic football played by Argentina? so pathetic. As a lifelong Argentina fan (sadly i will be till death) i loved how Columbia played. Fearless, free-flowing, attacking football and clever man-marking. The coaches’ battle has been lost miserably by Scaloni.

    Fuck this man i’m ready to take off my argentina jersey now only to wear it again next match waiting for another heart-break..

  28. as soon as the bald guy came on they created chances !!! The bald guy didn’t even stop his shot he just ran ti him and fell over!!

  29. We played a better 2nd half and we lost 2-0
    So stupid it was both from right flank… shit yr.
    I don’t really understand wots really happening… Suarez substitution was the game changer… it was like we are done… di Maria wasted the fast half but atleast we where 0-0
    Yet an another heartbreak with Argentina

  30. Maybe im blindly optimistic, but if we started de Paul that whole game I don’t think we lose. If we play 90 mins like the first half theres no way we dont score. Messi missed the header and had some good but not great plays in the box because he didn’t get a chance to get the ball in threatening positions.

    Paredes had a very solid game besides a few mental errors. Cuadrado was Colombia best player and no other team has a player that good because Neymar is out. Guido RODRIGUEZ was ok but he did have some clutch challenges, maybe he stops that first goal over pizzaro.

    If Scaloni starts di Maria on the left again we are fucked, if not I have no reason not to remain optimistic because that second half was very good football.

    If de Paul, paredes, Pereyra, lo Celso can play enough defense that midfield will win us games because of how good they can be going forward.

    • Håber jeg ikke, det pinligt, Scaloni, Aimar og walter samuel skulle aldrig have fået et så stort ansvar. Argentina mangler en ordenlig træner, de mangler målmænd, 7-8 af de udtaget spillere til copa har ikke niveau til Landsholdet. sergio Romero tror meget lidt spille tid vil pynte i målet.

  32. Nobody can save this team and not going to win anything for next million years. Look at Ospina and Armani i dont this motherfucker coach select Armani.

    • There are many Armani lovers in this group who compare copa liberatendos with UCL 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
      Armani should start taking coaching from 18 year old gk’s of Europe

      • Absolutely Not a fan of Armani, we have at least 5 better goalies IMO, but tell me what could do Armani on both the goals. Think twice before you write. He is to blame for the lost?!

  33. Two shot on target..both goal..!!
    We had many opportunity…no goals…! Second half we played better than Colombia…but they scored two. Apart from the result and Saurez substitution…I am OK with second half. We had big improvements in second half.

    • Yes, me too.

      In the first 11, make 2 changes:
      Pizarro for Rodriguez
      DePaul for DiMaria

      Subs:
      DiMaria
      Dybala
      Lautaro

      Saravia is a bit slow is a worry. Too many space left in the back when Argentina attacks.

      • Malabari
        Yes mate. Pizarro shows how he let the ball keep rolling in our possession. He knows how to find position to help attack. Little bit nervous in his first minutes but he shows what he can do.

        De Paul its ok if he can be more calm. I think atleast we can try Casco over Renzo next match.

  35. I always say Scaloni shoukd be fired ,you guys don’t agree. You see the difference? A coach without any experience just look like playing winning eleven. Tapia and scaloni should be fired. I don’t think a ten years project work

  36. Every Single best player looks weak when they start playing together then we have no choice but to blame the coach. Even with my eye, I can see the tactical weakness everywhere. Sorry but no player can save this team. Period.

    • Because we taken risk to play better football in second half. They scored two in two shots. It happens some time..not all the times. On the other side we could not score any goal….some..I thought we should have scored…!

  38. I seriously doubt what did we do during our training camp? I can’t see any chemistry and playing style!!!!

    Did they just watch Scaloni’s Mom doing strip dances??????

      • Why Otamendi why do you stay and whine after you miss a header on a free kick or corner instead of SPRINTING back like all defenders do! That’s why we kept getting scored on he’s screwing around up the field leaving our already overworked wingbacks exposed. He is only useful for heading clear high crosses. What a waste. Anybody else crying? 😭

  42. How many times do we have to witness this shit and everyone here is hyper. This is what we are now a piece of shit with a fucking shit federation and brainless coach who doesnt have a system .

  43. Argentina is a mess. They have no coach and talent to win this tournament. Messi made big mistake coming out of retirement to suffer another heartbreak.

  47. Well I need to watch 90 minutes of this like I need a kick to my balls.
    This team just doesn’t mesh. I hope those fat asses in the AFA are watching us get pantsed.
    It’s not the coach, you need midfield defense and a lot more before you win anything.

  54. Saravia has done better till now. May be he and Guido could have done better for that goal. But still thats a great goal. Saravia was avoiding penalty or second yellow. Thats why he was not trying hard there. Mercado would have been beaten every time by this speedy wingers.

    • He is a funny guy on the pitch. We should have selected Mercado. I don’t trust any players who are not from Europe in major tournaments . Guidos, Saravia, Armani are all jokes.

      • Funny thing but the guy who score such beatifull one play in… Mexico. Think twice before comment

        • Why are you talking about Colombia? Are they world champion? Why don’t you think of Brazil, Germany, Italy, Portugal? Do they have players from MLS and Mexico????

  64. It’s too much for Saravia and Amarni…. These two players can do normal jobs, but can’t save us in those moments.

  69. I love that ambitious pass from Messi a few mins ago! Almost reached intended destination. I think passes like those will help unsettle Colombia’s defense.

    • Loving the last minutes. This is what Argentina is all about. Hoping to see this momentum continue. Maybe last sub shld be lautaro for aguero

  77. some of the guys here have to throw your love on some players and hate on some players somewhere. Just see now. Scaloni have done a single change..! The game is in Argentine control now.

  78. De Paul within few minutes marked himself more than Di Maria within 45 minutes. So this is not about midfield service

  83. …………J Correa……..Icardi………………….
    Cervi…….De Paul………Lo Celso…..A Correa
    …………………..Ascacibar…………………….
    Tagliafico………..Barboza…………C Romero
    ……………………Benitez……………………..

  86. Wellll it’s still 0-0
    We must be doing something right.
    The team sits too deep.
    They scared to leave gaps behind.
    The game is too physical for locelso
    He’s stuck on the right instead of the middle

  93. Is this for real??? I can not believe my own eyes. Have we ever seen such a completely terrible half by our NT? I was expecting trouble and at best a draw, but no shots on target, no chances and absolutely NO chemistry…this is even worse than I ever could imagine.

  95. Why blaming DiMaria Again?
    People really understand shit abt football, it’s modern football where DM runs the game. He destroys the attack and creates attack.
    And we have Guido Rodri Shit!!!
    There was no pass, all back pass, 1 yellow card, consistently beaten by cuadrado, and lots of wrong pass..
    Tha’s our main problem guys. Our main reason behind the WC failure was Macherano, who never created any attacks. all back passes.
    just compare our DMs to other DMs ..PLEASE!!

  97. The strategy seems like Let Colombia attack in the first half to prevent their counter attack (may also be to tire them up a bit). I think Argentina will attack more in the second half with passing game.

    There are too many morons here who have reached into a conclusion just after 10 mins.

  98. 2nd half needs to be different!!Why Don’t the midfield provide any balls to front line?I hope I wasn’t wrong.But what is Scaloni doing?What tactcis is he going for?

  99. Holy shyt, I have never seen any worst midfield than this. Even at the age 36 year old MASCHERANO would have been way better than Parades and Guido combined.

  101. what a boring match…….both the team don’t want to play football…..but we are superior to colombia shouldn’t we take the first step to open the game…..
    i think this boring play suits colombia better as they are physically stronger than us…
    i didn’t sleep for the whole night to watch this.

  102. Di Maria nothing shocking
    I knew long time we can’t play
    Di Maria and aguero with
    Messi simply arg are unbalanc
    It’s easy to attack scaloni
    Huh

  103. You need box to box midfielders. We have one in Lo Celso. This double pivot nonsense basically eliminates your forwards.
    For 20 years they’ve tried this formation with nothing. Masche biglia. Masche Gago. Masche Enzo. Same old crap. You need 3 midfielders that can defend and attack. Is that so hard to understand?
    You would be better off with Barco and Zaracho or some other combo. Even Nacho and Pity.
    Right now though in this game you need to take out DiMaria and put in Lautaro and remove paredes for DePaul to have a shot.

    • “You need box to box midfielders. We have one in Lo Celso. This double pivot nonsense basically eliminates your forwards”.

      We suspected some time ago Paredes is too static to even suppose he will kind of Box to Box.

  104. Some point to evaluate :
    Armani and Otamendi ball distributions are bad, and Guido always beaten by Cuadrado in 1v1 clashes. Messi always found himself trapped by 3-players when possess ball.

    High-pressing line that Colombia performed seems going well, and luckily Paredes doing some good task with doing technical foul and buying time to loose Colombia’s press. That’s why I do like Pizarro more than Guido. He adds more mobility to atleast capture Cuadrado.

    It is not Scaloni or every players mistake. This just what Colombia had anticipated before the match and we have one more half.
    Still hope Argentina doing better in 2nd half. Pizarro Guido. Vamos!

  105. Predes is the worst player on the pitch looks like he is playing for colombia. none of the front 3 messi, di maria and aguero getting ball from midfield.

  106. the problem is that most people nowadays don’t watch a full game they watch you tube highlights and expect it to be the same action packed. can’t expect them to create chances every ten seconds. First competitive game with this manager. Give him FKing chance !!!!

  107. Both of our double pivot #5 are our weakness… parcedes over commits and is out of position… Rodriguez is average … BANEGA is missed because he can make a move and start the play … parcedes is flat footed as is Rodriguez with the ball..
    It is not aguero or dimarias fault that they have to come back to get the ball… the midfield needs to set up… locelso most come back deeper as does Messi…

    • Lo Cleso and DiMAria was forced to go deep as Colombians controlled the midfield. LoCelso trying what Messi was trying in other matches….coming deep…controlling the ball…trying to pass forward. But DiMaria cannot do the same in this match.

    • Let’s wait. It’s just one half. Some tactical changes & we shld be back. Lo celso needs to be more central. Dimaria looks non existent. They need to be integrated into play. I am still hoping we will improve in 2nd half.

  109. Pereyra being missed here. We need a ball playing midfielder. Lo Celso needs to head the diamond. Same problem cropping up. Nobody to take responsibility of transition play. Don’t know if Pereyra is fit. Not much possession and mediocre pass percentages too. ADM looking lost as predicted.

    • Defense is solid for the most part but the double 5’s must step up and start the play.. creating passing lanes… it’s not angel dimaria’s fault if he can’t get the ball … locelso and Messi must drop in second half… and banega is missed in holding midfield

  110. Can someone tell me why there is noone in midfield? Lo and ADM on one side behind them are side back each. Paredes and Guido just infront of the midfielder. What is this formation. Any time anyone in our team got ball there are 3 Colombian around him and no our teammate. Is this how scaloni ask them to play? I am confused as fuck.

    • its a flat type 442. not like a diamond but with a 2-2 midfield. only problem is gio is too wide to be effective and dimaria is not physical enough to be in that position. possibly kun needs to drop back a bit too.
      i mentioned in the past this team might break into a 424 with a midfield hole and that’s what we are seeing.

      its not too bad though. nothings changed. still 0-0. just some small tactical changes are needed by scaloni lets see if he can adjust.

    • I am sure, this is not how flat 442 should be play. Both Locelso and ADM are not true winger plus both Messi and Aguero are not target man. And hope you have seen our mighty long pass. SMH

  111. Truth is that Colombia played a better football. Their formation were good. They tried to score first..may be then sit back. Now they are getting tired..!
    For Argentina…they forced to go defensive. Aguero didnt get any ball…other than some long ball…!

    Worst player on the pitch…DiMaria…! If Pereyra fit…I will prefer him to come for DiMaria in second half that will change the match. If Pereyra not fit..DePaul will also work.

    • Who will pass to DePaul or Pereyra that isn’t passing to dimaria?! Argentina is not getting service in attacking positions .. no matter who would be in in dimarias position … dimaria is not the problem it’s Rodriguez and parcedes …

      • DiMaria lost many balls also he was running like chicken head most of the time without any idea whats going on. Also his passing was not good today. Colombia muted Paredes effectively. They knew Paredes will be the one starting the play.

  112. Some so called fans who only spits venom about Argentina have come out all guns blazing.

    Just one half has gone. Wait till the game is over morons!

  115. Not one player in that midfield is asking for the ball, checking back towards the defense to link the forwards and defense. They don’t want the ball as midfielders – something is wrong.

    Di Maria, Paredes, Rodriguez, Messi, etc dont run to defend in a pressure style leaving gaps when other players are closing down the ball – they have so much space compared to us – because they defend as a unit. All working hard.

  117. I understood this clueless fucking Scaloni – he is here for a draw against a championship contender.

    Those midfielders are jokes and jokes, can’t win the ball from Colombians without taking fouls.

    The worst Argentina team I have ever seen.

  122. So Lo Celso really is playing on the wing where he’s completely ineffective. The kid is a midfielder, and that’s where he should be playing. As long as the team plays this boring 4-4-2 Messi will keep walking and not participate much in the game. Also Saravia is very average. I can’t believe a country like Argentina can’t produce a better RB. Scaloni doesn’t have the talent to be a great coach. Very disappointing first 30 minutes.

  124. Armani … What a joke. I wanted to give him benefit of doubt.

    BtW why is he still the goalkeeper of Riverplate?

    To be fair to him, others donning the blue n white stripes are playing without any zest.

    • The strategy seems like Let Colombia attack in the first half to prevent their counter attack (may also be to tire them up a bit). I think Argentina will attack more in the second half with passing game.

      There are too many morons here who have reached into a conclusion just after 10 mins.

  139. Ok my friends, muchachos, muchachas and comrades……!!!!!
    Let’s get this going, keep it clean, short passes, compact defense, and calm collective beautiful futball!!

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