Argentina captain Lionel MESSI spoke following his team’s 2-0 win against Qatar at the Copa America.
The captain commented on the win, the team and the tournament itself. Here’s what he had to say:
“Now starts another Copa. Now starts all or nothing.
“We had a good match and we won, which was the most important. We needed a game like this, to gain confidence and to be calm. The people have always accompanied us and that’a the way.
“As the games go by, the team has to grow and this match served that purpose.”
Heard that Scaloni may start with Pezzella instead of Foyth(Which is ok considering Pezzella is more experienced), Acuna for Lo Celso looks good from the Outside, But if we look closely, it will make our Midfield narrow, Leaving Paredes alone in the Middle is suicidal. De Paul will naturally drift to Right, Acuna will drift to Left too. While both will help defensively, But If someone marks Paredes tightly our supply through middle will be gone. It may work against Venezuela, Well first lets beat them, Brazil is later headache.
Im nervous AF by Ota and Foyth together. First Ota with his suplex in the box against Colombia. And Foyth with that dumb challenge outside the box. Look at the guy doing the splits like he’s Van Damme.
imgur.com/a/1aqOXfO
I actually like his ‘fighting spirit’ , I just hope he will not get carried away and go in ‘total destruction mode’ so we don’t end up with another version of ‘EL ANIMAL PEPE’ 🙂 . but overall, he is tough, he is still young though, clean tackles come with experience. I see him as a DM, just a safer option.
nice split though 🙂
i also like foyth and otamendi combo…..they are stubbron and foyth has a pace to handle quick players easily and both are also very good with the ball
Foyth and Acuna should start the mach and after getting lead we should incorporate Lo celso and Pezzela for stability.Dybla has good possession ability in final thrid.He would be a super sub.
I think Foyth should be kept in case we win and face Brazil, I expect that.
it was a blessing in disguise to finish second i guess. we dnt have to play chile in qf or brazil if we had been third.
Its funny cause Colombia won 3 straight games and they have to play Uruguay (or Chile) while Arg limps by and gets to play Venezuela.
For the shitty luck that seems to have been following ARGENTINA FOREVER, I am NOT complaining.
After losing 4 of last 5 Copa on penalties 2004, 2011, 2015, 2016 no team deserve more luck than Argentina.
For sure, we’ll take it and smile.
maybe thats the type of luck we’ve been missing in the last 3 tournaments
Chile is poor team in 2019, i put Chile same braket like venezuela
Who watched the Uruguay match?
I feel that they are the most complete team in the tournament. Chile also looks good. Uruguay will def go far tho
I posted a few days ago the following about Uruguay:
You can always count on them to give you their all regardless of what competition they play in.
Gritty.
Well coached and drilled.
Talented not as much as ARG offensively but tick all the boxes.
Lastly and the most important one, same coach whose been there forever.
Chile on the other hand, can go FUCK THEMSELVES.
You right. Tabarez has been coaching forever. I am a fan of Oscar.
Lugano and forlan retired but other than that most there players have been on the squad for some time gaining and transitioning with a good mix of youth, they have had a fantastic process over the last 15 years
They have a system. And all of that is because of Oscar tabarez
Alexis Sánchez Plays like shit all year with Man united and now plays like a dynamite super sonic with Chi his country, our superstars are you watching
Scaloni hasn’t maximized Lo Celso’s potential. That is a pity. Put him as a playmaker behind two striker in a diamond formation. Believe me, he will demonstrate how valuable he is. Lo Celso is a creative midfielder we have now. using him effectively will reduce the burden in Messi’s shoulder. Use Messi at the front line with Aguero and leave playmaking job to Lo Celso. Paredes stays on deep lying playmaking position flanked by De Paul and Acuña both as box to box. As for Dybala, Lautaro and Pereyra, use them as subs. With this starting system, I believe Argentina will be champion
Lautaro is a better player than Locelso. He has better character, he is more athletic, he has garra, and he is immensely talented. If someone needs to be benched from Dybala, locelso, or him.. never him. Messi has been taking Locelsos #10 role every game. Locelso needs to adapt like Depaul has done, or we should bench him and let Acuña start. I like locelso, but he is one of many in the group.
The strongest lineup Scaloni has played was:
……………… kun ……………
……Lautaro…….Messi……..
Acuña…. Paredes…… DePaul
Tagla….. Ota…. Pezz…. Saravia
…………….. Armani………..
We should let that team keep having momentum.
This is our strongest lineup and suits Scaloni’s tactics!! Also, after Yesterday’s game Acuna should be given the nod ahead of Lo-celso who so far has been very average. May be he is more used to playing an attacking role in his club but if we are to play without a proper no-5 , it will be better if we drop Lo-celso for Acuna who is a good winger and has very good defensive attributes.
If he wants to develop, he needs to leave Inter. He will never start while they have Icardi, and even if they sell Icardi, they will go and get someone else, like Lukaku.
Lautaro even benched icardi at the end of the season, Lukaku is big LOL
> Lautaro is a better player than Locelso. He has better character, he is more athletic, he has garra, and he is immensely talented
No he isn’t better. First, they play different positions so comparison already a stretch. Second, not sure if you watch Lo Celso but he’s our most talented midfielder right now. De Paul may work better in our current system but id give the edge to Lo Celso in “talent”.
I would keep Messi in the center only as others don’t have any creativity there. Messi is to be seen as a midfielder for Argentina, not as a striker.
imgur.com/a/V8R0HO2
Here’s a quick look at some defensive structure. The first pic is a qatari break. This happens on the back of a really good albiceleste press where parades and DePaul win the ball high, but augero’s tangled feet results in the play breaking in a position where he had a chance to shoot at goal. Because of the 4-3 block the middle line is narrow and DePaul and saravia will have to play a losing foot race in the wide areas. But check Juan Foyth! The back line is an extreme 5m to 10m high but Foyth’s recovery speed allows him to track down the racing winger and save the play. This is the decision on Scaloni’s hands. Play the technical German Pezella to control the physical Solomon Rondon, but give up Foyth’s recovery speed and ability to play high line which in turn enabled the press that gave Aguero the good position in the beginning of this play?? What would you do?
The second pic is my favorite. It’s just a bonus. Who’s that extra boy in the 4-4 block? Kun Fucking Aguero lending solid shape. Play with that desire and you will be in semi’s kun (that solid 4-4 block helps messi win a yellow card on the interception by the way)
> Who’s that extra boy in the 4-4 block? Kun Fucking Aguero lending solid shape.
lol thats my boi! Very telling pictures. Thanks.
The formation Scaloni used in last match was 4-1-2-1-2 narrow or Wide…. I m a fan of this Formation in FIFA….
I am too. It is excellent on fifa 😂😂
Against Venezuela the only sub I will make in the starting line-up is bring back Pezzella over Foyth. Lo Celso should start again. Acuña and Dybala can come in the second half if needed. Paredes is not a DM but I don’t think Rodriguez or Pizarro will necessarily greatly improve us defensively without impacting the passing precision that Paredes can bring. If Ascacibar or Nico Dominguez were in the team, might have been a different story.
I agree mate bring pezzella for foyth
Rest stay same cose Venezuela
Will defend deep and will probably
Try overcrow messi as south Americans
Nations always do
Scaloni just trying to balance the new formation 4312. I hope Acuna and Pazella bring much needed balance to this team. Acuna instead of LoCelso can cover more in defense.
In a Paredes-Acuna-De Paul midfield trio Acuna tends to pull out to left wing, De Paul to right and Paredes remains total alone in the middle to control the whole midfield zone?
Scaloni might use Acuna more centrally as box-to-box
that won’t work
I know for regular football fans it looked like Lo Celso didn’t do much…
But believe me I’m a former pro football player and Lo Celso does a lot for the team
I had to play in a 3 man Midfield that is really tough
Maybe if Messi will drop very deep again to help Paredes in build ups it works, if our strikers could be as dangerous as vs Qatar maybe not a problem, Messi sacrifies himself as so many times.
that won’t work cuz messi doesn’t defend
But de Paul and Acuna yes, maybe more than Lo Celso, we could have problems in build ups.
Suddenly Scaloni’s haters disappeared. Please criticize him..so that he can improve.
No defensive midfield. No wing play or, attacking width. We threw our best players i.e strikers at Qatar. And Qatar couldn’t deal with the quality of Aguero and Lautaro. As simple as that.
The only plan we had was to give the ball to our strikers, hold up the ball there, wait for Messi to arrive in the box, play one-two and hope for the best. Our players looked out of ideas as soon as they reached attacking third on the wing. No overlapping runs either.
Around 80 mins, Aguero understood this is not going to be enough. So he decided to go route1 i.e ran straight to goal and shot.
Criticising Scaloni is more like beating a dead horse by now. He has shown his shortcomings already.
Okay. Just explain with what formation and which available players he should start. I am eager to know if we have a better formation with these players that suits attacking play without losing balance.
What sort of question is this? So every fan in the world who questions a decision should have a coaching badge? Why are you asking me about our best formation? If Scaloni has failed to develop an identity already, It’s his fault, not mine!
This is the best formation he can go with current Argentina. Otherwise you just explain what he should have done…
Hi, still here 🙂
We were defensively awful. Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela could easily capitalize. Ill take the win but there too many close calls here.
Nonetheless, I hope this trend of improvement continues and we smash Venezuela.
First training session before Venezuela:
Pazella for Foyth
Acuna for LoCelso
Paredes and DePaul not 100%. There could be changes…
They are probably exhausted after going all out for 2.5-3 matches. We have 4 more days until the match for them to recover. Should be enough time
I don’t know why most of the guys in here are worried about Venezuela. They are a good side but not greater than this Argentine side. If we play our natural game, no body can stop us. Venezuela has a lot of weakness and instead of talking those things, why we are speaking about our weaknesses. Messi said he gained his confidence back, meaning he will step up when knock out games start. If Messi promises something, he will give his 100% to achieve it. We only have to assist him.
“If Messi promises something, he will give his 100% to achieve it. We only have to assist him”.
Nope, this is no more the way. I believe Messi may have really good game yet in the tournament, scored 1 or 2 goals, but we won’t do that against Venezuela without collective effort and cooperation.
I know Messi is poor in this copa. But that doesn’t mean he cannot change a game within a second. Just wait for Venezuela game. You will see what I mean. Messi will play his best football. This time the pitch would be in perfect condition as the match is played in Maracano Stadium. I also doubted Messi several times, but he proved me wrong all the times. If you don’t have faith on Messi, then call to bench him.
It’s not that I doubt Messi abilities but what has changed is the fact more and more team know how to play against Argentina with Messi to neutralize him. They learned to do that for years. The others players form would be decisive thesedays.
In the WC qualification campaign neither Uruguay, neiter Columbia, neither Chile, neither Peru (Benedetto fucked up every chances Messi created) neither Ecuador were a damn clue about that, and ofc Venezuela luckfest will be over against us too. Brazil is a different story.
I’m talking about present. Wc qualifications are old story looking at current Argentina and Messi. After 30 time is going faster. Now it’s clear Messi will not drag us alone. Or this is not Copa 15/16 when he was dribling against 3-4 Chileans and only the fourth has stopped him. This is past.
We’ve seen Messi now and then failing to score for few games even at Barca , and then sudden he gets a hattrick, scores brilliant FK, etc. Same pattern each time.
Foward ever back ward never progressss from here straight to that cup vamos argentina the most dangerous animal is a wounded one
I love Argentina but I don’t trust this team at all even though we Go to the next round the team still playing bad there’s no real ideas the players still look lost out there there’s no fluidity no real plan whatsoever hopefully Brazil get eliminated before we meet themI rather lost to some other team than losing to Brazil.
This Copa so far reminds me much of last WC… struggling to get pass the group stage which decided by last match. I hope we will have different luck this time. Scaloni must be calm and find the solution, no more trials and errors.
This is exactly the same as last WC. Let’s be honest: this time also little chances to win the tournament. My expectations are to see at least one good game more from albicelestes.
One big difference is that in the WC we played the best team in the world and still fought very hard. We played a good game considering no natural striker (higuain and aguero both did not start). Now we play venezuela with not only 1 but 2 strikers present in the attack playing well. Im not saying we’re winning the copa but we have much better shot than in the WC.
I hope you’re right asado21. After Venezuela will be Brazil..
It’s much different to the WC.
Firstly Sampaoli is a psycho and is stressful. At least Scaloni is calm.
In the WC, we drew against Iceland then got destroyed by Croatia then narrowly won against Nigeria to advance. We did not grow during that group stage.
In this Copa, we lost, then drew, then won, with each game improving our lineup even more. This brings more confidence to the team because we now know what our lineup will most likely be unlike with sampaoli.
Besides, our midfield is now younger, run more and have more quality. They just lack playing time together which our previous midfield had.
I’d argue our forward lineup is better too. Higuain has a mental block and lautaro and dybala are hungry. Messi is still Messi.
This team still has a lot of improvement to do though.
The most important thing about this victory and performance was as many already pointed out : We didn’t need Messi to take the initiative to save our ass for the umpteenth time. He didn’t have a bad game as some may suggest, but neither was he great as he usually has to with Argentina. Eventhough it was against Qatar(no disrespect, they were Asian Champions for a reason, they’d to go through South Korea, Japan, Australia,Iran …by no means a mean acheivement. They just had a bad day yesterday), it’s a big deal. There was urgency from the rest of the team, the fighting spirit and character that has been non existent in the senior side for ages. So credit to all the players and the gaffer himself and his assisting team for making brave decisions( stupid for some maybe) and finally bringing confidence to this side.
De Paul was outstanding, Armani made that crucial save (which was incorrecty called offside, but that save didn’t bring VAR into the equation). Acuna was impressive too after he came on. Argentina badly need these kind of players (Acuna and De Paul) who can operate in various positions. They may not be the best in any positions, but they’re so valuable in any position they play. I see a “TEAM” inside this squad, maybe a bit too early to call that but sparks are definitely there.
I feared Scaloni might enter into the pitch and kick the ball at times, as he was so animated on the touchline. No wonder he got a yellow card (apparently for arguing with the ref), the first manager to receive that in this Copa. I don’t know how that sytem works for the manager, same as the players? Next yellow, he’s off to the stands?
Yes, same applies to the coach. I don’t know if they throw out cards after the group stage, but previously if a coach has received a card two games back to back then he is suspended for the next match. Same as if he received an outright red.
I agree fully with your post. Acuna and DePaul may not be household names but they present a hard working talented ethic that we can build around. The modern football code has been to build around a strong defense on up to the number 10 position. We haven’t had a defense since 2006 and even then it wasn’t superb, but better than now. I always said that I feel bad for mascherano who is an unbelievable player and defender, yet for the national team he won’t be remembered that way because he was running around all alone filling empty gaps that our other terrible defenders left open. We need two strong natural CB’s and then we can build and get back to that number one spot we deserve
Terrible defenders? We conceeded in 11, 14, 15, 16 tournaments elimination matches 4 goals in 11 matches, God-level…Ayala and co were the most overrated defense generation ARG had ever had, specially Ayala, in do or die matches 2 goals in 95 vs Brazil, 2 goals vs England and Netherlands, 2 goals vs Brazil in 99, 2 goals vs Brazil in 2004, 3 goals vs Brazil in 2007m yes these were great teams, but they could never neutralize them. Never, and thats a big problem. Plus his penalty mistakes in 99 vs Brazil and more.
Hence: ” we haven’t had a good defense since 2006″. After ayala and Samuels generation it was slim pickings. they all got old 2010 and since then we haven’t been able to fill the positions of:
Zannetti
Samuel
Ayala
Sorin
Cambiasso
Heinze
Militio
And I will even mention demichelles although I feel he was always a risk.
Tbh, I didn’t watch this match as I didn’t want to go throw the agony which I went thru in the first two games. I was also very tired to get up so early to watch the game after 2 days trip. Even when I woke up, checking the results was the first thing I did. I even checked it expecting worse. Huh, how relieved I was when I finally saw the result.
I watched the highlights and I could see that there were many attacking moves although most of them didn’t yield a result. It was still a vast improvement compared to Paraguay game where we could not make meaning attack moves. However, the defense still remains a worry. I saw rash challenges from Foyth and too much space left by DM & defenders. Our defenders tackle as if they are school kids. I can’t believe those rash challenges are being made by defenders playing at City & Tottenham.
Hopefully, we will improve in the next game. Lo Celso was a bit off, but I would like to stick with the same. It’s not easy to perform with those who have not played much before. We can replace LoCelso later if we want to defend a lead.
And I must say I continue to be impressed with Scaloni. He’s learning quickly unlike Sampaoli. His decisions have mostly been very good. I’m pretty sure we would do well under him within a year.
Hope we can put in an even better performance against Venezuela and anything is possible from then on. Against Venezuela, let’s get the revenge guys! Go Argentina!
Messi should play as a midfielder for Argentina with two forward upfront, messi will not be effective as RW already turned 32 and without any service messi had to drop deep as well as to score goals which we should not expect anymore. Dybala as 2nd striker with clinical no9 is the best formation but i want Argentina to go with same 11 with Aguero Lautaro upfront next match
De Paul need to move at Inter, under conte he will become world class, parades moved hurrily to PSG which is the biggest mistake otherwise this summer can move to top club in Sere A or Atletico madrid
PSG actively looking to sell Paredes after 1 session
Now I want to emphasize what is star in making. Within a while De Paul might play for some big European club or at least he will be taken for everyone in here as star so habitually as if it always was obvious for everyone he is going to be a star (remember Dybala in Serie B?).
But the fact is that he has not status of star yet and if you are not looking closer for our young players from small clubs, instead of look only at caliber of clubs they play in or their popularity among british pundits, or their market price you will miss a lot and claim there’s no future after Messi generation.
The fact is it’s mostly the young generation dragged us yesterday. De Paul, Lautaro, Paredes, Dybala.
You need take the risk of calling promising young footballers to boost their careers and the imagination to realize how good they once might be.
You can blame pitch condition a lot, but this conditions are equal for everyone while I see the fighting spirit is different when it comes to the old and the younger.
Even Alexander the great had to surrender infront of age then messi generation=????? Only 4 player otamendi, Aguero, Dimaria including messi are in this copa and after that noone will be there with the uncertainty of messi. So practically messi generation finished in 2016 which unnecessarily dragged till 2018 and even in 2019 otamendi and Dimaria should not be called up, there are a lot of better options
Irrespective of age, you need the best players for each position. If there is a tight competition, experience of having played the big games would be a good advantage.
Regarding the pitch, it may be same for everyone. But not everyone wants to play passing game. Most teams are now playing counter attacking game which doesn’t need the ball to roll nicely.
I’m baffled by some people, as they still think in “international football’, the players from the “so called big clubs” can only make a “good team”; the rest aren’t good enough. The forget the importance of the “right players” instead of focusing on “superstar names” or “best players”. Where you play club football doesn’t always matter at international football. Players like Rojo, Ron Vlaar can suddenly become tournament stars. Podolski, Klose( no disrespect to either, but both greater in international football than in club football) are another examples.
The obsession with stats and fifa ratings is another thing. How can you enjoy football if you focus on all those stuff??!
Till his 22 best goalscorer of WCs Klose was Kaiserslautern reserves player in 3rd league.
See part of the issue for a lot of folks is Messi grew up in Barca, they never seen Messi play at the Argentine club level. They forget a lot of great players come from South American leagues.
wow!!! what a comment. That gives me the idea about how shit the knowledge of Argentine fans are!!
Klose scored 213 goals in club foootball.
53 for bremen, 24 with B munich and 54 for lazio.
Kaiserslautern was playing great in 1999-2004 and he was main striker,scored 44 goals.
Included to Kaiserslauern A team a july 2000 (22 years!). First game in Bundesliga just few monthe before in may.
In 2001/02 season he was close top striker but who knew him before his 22. This is the point you missed
Ronaldinho was made a superstar by international football too. Brazil’s team of 2002 is actually a great example of what you’re talking about. Personally I love to see players like this in internationals, Brazil had Edmilson, turned out to be Barca legend, but played for Lyon, Ronaldinho played for inter toto team PSG. I don’t even know who Juninho played for, KLEBERSON was a starter, Roque Junior, Gilberto silva played in Brazil.
People need to just chill out.
Thanks for the examples.
actually it’s wrong.
Good players always picked up by good clubs. 2002, that team was playing together for long time ,also players were playing outside brazil,too
Roque Junior, Gilberto silva was playing respectively for MIlan and Arsenal that time.
Cafu with Milan, R.Carlos with Madrid, Ronaldinho had a great season with PSG before WC.
LUcio was playing in B.laverkusen.
So, don’t comment without knowing and don’t give fake info.
Don’t advertise for shit local league and players please
JUninho was playing for Atlético Madrid,
there was only one player was playing in Brazzilian league, it was Kleberson
Gilberto gained a move to Arsenal AFTER WC 2002, and actually Juninho played the season before the WC on loan to Vasco/Flamengo, Brazil GK in the final played for Palmeiras, the point is not about local league players, but they’re not always “superstars” for big clubs that make up great teams.
Roque junior was considered a liability by many people too, they used to laugh at roque junior in cl he was considered like a funes Mori if today
> The fact is it’s mostly the young generation dragged us yesterday. De Paul, Lautaro, Paredes, Dybala.
Nope, not fact at all.
Aguero was MOTM attacker…pressing like a lunatic all game, which directly led to 1st goal. Scored 2nd with brilliant individuality nailing in our victory. See El Mongols posts for other key aspects of Agueros performance. Otamendi and Armani were key too.
Before you twist my post, i’m going to clarify. Teams must give youngsters opportunities. There is NO ARGUMENT HERE. But i prefer a gradual path…mix of youngster and veterans, not just kicking veterans to the curb overnight all in the bullshit name of “rebuilding”.
Aguero saved his head only thanks to the goal. Had horrible game with all the misses.
Lol youre so biased and filled with hate you cannot see anything but “horrible” when it comes to Aguero. Easily one of our best players and all you can say is “horrible”?? what a joke. Goodness.
You have no credibility when it comes to veterans. Clear as day. You do nothing but trash talk l. Even di Maria goal in world cup you called it lucky. Stick to judging youth because your opinion of veterans is worthless
You guys really don´t deserve Messi, He didnt have a below level game the way people are discribing, he played as midfielder and center forward you think that is easy and top of that he assisted twice Aguero just for him to miss badly, He wasnt briliant but wasnt below par at all, in other fields, this Arg team is doomed, your local talents cant read game, cant pass accuratly, cant play under pressure cant reorganize quickly…. Its unfortunate but the pressure you put in the players when they play a average game doesnt help. to end it all. WHO THE HELL SAID MESSI AND DYBALA CAN NOT PLAY TOGETHER????? Maybe that togetherness is the thing argentina is missing upfront….
It was not good match defensively. But it doesn’t mean we need to reduce attack line. defenders and DM should not do mistakes. 4-3-3 is the modest way to play. I preferred almost same line up for next game…
Aside from the qualification to the knockout round, the result is neither heaven nor hell. There were both positives and negatives.
The measured positive:
1) Team showed right attitude in attack. The extra delantero really facilitated the early goal. The front 3 are set (for this tourney)
2) DePaul, Acuña, Paredes, showed them selves willing and able to step up, granted against an inferior opponent, but they played well.
3) Dybala showed that he is hungry, for his quick appearance.
4) Agüero scored an a-la Agüero goal.
5) team didn’t fold under pressure.
The negative/still needs work:
1) The team still struggles without the ball and even modest Qatar was able to dominate possession for a good stretch of the first half.
2) And the problem is that when Argentina is attacked it is frail defensively. The midfield doesn’t mark and the Defense (CBs in particular) aren’t quick or mentally alert enough to close the gaps.
3) The failure of the back line to close gaps is especially noticeable when the front 6 press and fail. The back is typically not high enough to intercept leading to opposing possession with space.
4) The Fullbacks are a bit uneven. Tagliafico didn’t have the best game (not bad, just unclear) and Saravía doesn’t markedly improve over Casco defensively. Both Fullbacks susceptible to being caught too far up. And need to track back.
5) Foyth looked tentative, not solid. Hopefully this sorts out with game time.
6) the team in attack still doesn’t generate goals from build-up play.
I’m a little torn on how to solidify the midfield. If we add a DM do we bench Lo Celso? Who are the options? One of the Guidos? Foyth? I think Foyth might have been an interesting option before, but now you have to leave the back line alone. I might consider taking off Lo Celso who has struggled a little and starting Guido Rodriguez, or maybe Acuña.
The thing with Lo Celso is that almost everybody wanted him in for WC 2018 but that didn’t happen. Now he’s in we’re a bit like pffft we need something more..
Thing is we’ve seen Lo Celso put in some serious displays as a box to box midfielder or even as a covering DM at PSG. Lo Celso just needs to show what he’s made of and that would go along way in shoring up the midfield. I thought Lo Celso was going to be an ideal player to play a Xavi style role at Argentina.
The team was weak in defence. Argentina that i knew was a beast without ball, aggresive pressing and getting the ball back in the middle of the pitch. In these days i can not see this anymore.
So happy that I was wrong, I thought a draw may happen, fortunately we were a bit helped by luck, that’s really great to see them win again in a real competition. Everything can happen now, we are qualified for the quarter finals. Now the thing is how to find the balance, we still need a real DM if we play against more serious opponent. De Paul, Lo Celso and even Paredes have been decent so far, Aguero and Lautaro as well. It’s very hard to drop anyone.
I have not posted on this forum since world cup but I thought I should now. Argentina team has been getting a lot of brickbats in the last few days, especially on here, but I feel this is a new, young team playing together for the first time and there are signs that it is gelling together. This team probably won’t win the Copa but has my 100% support. Scaloni might not be Zidane but given the resources he has, he is doing his best. Pochhetino and Klopp took 5 years to build their teams. It is the same case here. We cannot expect to compete with Chile, Brazil, Uruguay or Colombia in this Copa but the team has promise for future.
Great display of character from Argentina in the match vs Qatar. Happy happy happy we get at least another match. I thought Messi had an average-poor game by his standards but the plus point is aguero and Lautaro both scored, that’s what really matters in the bigger picture it don’t matter who scores but if 2/3 forwards score this is a good thing from Scaloni’s point of view.
Dybala and Messi needs to play together for some minutes in the 2nd half, when that happens the attack gains pace. Lo Celso is good but Acuna has more pace, The front line should be the same for the rest of the matches. Foyth/Pezzella who ever starts it doesn’t bother me, because both of them along with Otamendi makes stupid mistakes. De Paul badly needs to practice how to pass long balls other than that he is alright. Our attackers have the potential to defeat Venezuela, where as our defenders have the tendency of gifting them the tickets to semis. Let’s see what happens on Saturday.
I’m not worried about Venezuela because we have enough fire power to beat them or even thrash them. But I highly doubt this Argentine side against a world class team like Brazil. Our attackers are better than them and some of our midfielders have edge over them. But our defense and goalkeepers are not even comparable to them.
De Paul and Paredes are the revelations of this copa. For me De paul is MOTM. Against pacy athletic venezuela we should drop one striker (I know.. but we will concede too many goals with the current formation) and go for 4411
Armani
Saravia Pezzella Otamendi Tagliafico
De Paul Locelso Paredes Acuna
Messi
Lautaro
If we win in QF we will be beating BRAZIL in the semis too. Waiting for that match
I don’t agree with this line up. I think the better fix is to drop Lo Celso for a 5.
Saravía ….Foyth….Otamendi…..Tagliafico
.,……………Guido R…………….,……..
………DePaul……………Paredes
…..,…………….Messi………………..
…….. Agüero……. Lautaro
This had been my line up from day 1.
I would sacrife one of the strikers and put either acuna or pereira to me that balance in midfield
Is it me only that, When ever Messi is gonna take a Free kick for our NT 9 out of 10 times it looks like he wont score??Where as in Barca its vice versa. The entire Vibe is different too. Well thats that nothing can be done.
Where as Paredes took a superb Free kick yesterday. But where as there was another instance where Messi took the Kick even with the Angle demanded Paredes to take the kick.I think Messi don’t have to always take the Free kick,Depending on the Angle let Paredes take some too. Messi is forcing too much on himself sometimes.
Messi has 3 freekick goals at international tournaments . How many FK specialist actually scores more than that in major tournament? Maradona never scores FK at World cup and Copa and Maradona is better FK taker than Messi.
FK is never easy even if you’re really good at it. Only two of Messi FK chance in this Copa has been from normal distance, the rest were from about 35-40 yards. Who can actully score from that range without some luck involve?
No it’s not just you, this is happening. Messi has changed so much over years, yesterday I was thinking of 23 year old Messi at Barca it was like it was impossible for him lose the ball/be tackled or misplace a pass he was absolutely electric. But, this is life I suppose sometimes we have good days and sometimes we have bad days, I just hope Messi will have some more good days for Argentina. I’m sure he’ll do better against Venezuela! 🤞
Glad you brought it up since not discussed much. Parades set pieces were really on point yesterday. Especially three lethal accurate corner kicks. One tagliafico header that skied, one otamendi header that missed, and a Kun point blank shot that I don’t know how the keeper saved. He’s also been taking the off-angle free kicks, the ones that messi has no chance of scoring. Glad that leandro has this role now, in the past when DiMaria had this deputy role the deliveries were fairly hit or miss.
Barcelona players exactly knows the angle and areas from where Messi’s free kicks can be highly effective…they operate near those areas and tries to get a foul in those region of the pitch…Argentina does not play like that and Messi gets the free kick in almost impossible angles, where he cannot target the goal and rather looks for support
But I think this year 2019, Messi’s free kick success consistency has dropped fractionally, although he scored that best champions league goal from the thunderbolt free kick against Liverpool…in 2018, Messi free kicks were finding the back of the net almost every second time…Hope he gets back that Midas touch in the KO
Despite my criticism toward Scolani , as a fan I’d still support the team at the end of the day.
1993 Copa side only won 1 game at group stage, then won 2 shootouts in QF and semi, then beat Mexico 2-1 in the final and won.
Uruguay only won 1 game at group stage aswell in 2011, and then beat us on shootout in QF. That’s 1 win out of 4 first games!! and nobody bats an eye when its Uruguay lol!! , when Argentina won 2-0, the fans are still fuming over everything they did lol, amazing.
I’ll never write our chance especially every Argentina opponents now would be considered as hot favorite. What people never take into account is our opponents has their weaknesses aswell, they can have bad performance aswell. They can also make some mistakes during the game , like Qatar just did early in this game.
Argentina must stick with same playing 11 against venuguayla
I would say Scaloni can improve by having a defensive midfielder – Paredes,De Paul, Lo Celso cannot defend and will expose the defense..Between the 3 midfielders, someone has to be sacrificed to protect the defense..
Or play a Sabella tactics – Park and attack..which Scaloni will never do..
Scaloni has tried sabella tactics during his starting friendly matches when he was appointed on interim basis before his contract was extended upto copa 2019 so who knows he might apply same against vevenzuela but it a good idea to have a DM and only guido rodriguez is the only decent DM called for this tounament
Messi’s freekicks have so far pretty ineffective in the tournament. Maybe it’s a confidence thing as he said. It may change in the Quarter Final. Let’s hope!
Take a break and enjoy the win for a second as the new challenge are waiting in the front door. Ye some positives lessons we got for the group matches. The team needs a lot of improvement and evaluation to succeed in QF., they have not yet turn the water into wine. Mid field and defense issue has to be sort out however fortunately GK Armani has improved a lot and gain confidence. Keep moving
Sampaoli couldn’t find a way or formation where he can play Messi and Dybala together…!
Scaloni…showed him…how you could use them together…!
I loved Scalonis comment the other day “with me they can play together…”.
I hope he finds a way to consistently play them. Having those on the pitch together playing really well is a dream.
Great that we won, Congrats to the team and Scaloni for making it to the Quarters.
As always there will be negatives and positives in each Match. Even Qatar players were easily getting behind our defense. A better team will definitely utilize those spaces far better. But that’s a sacrifice we have to make because we are playing with 2 Strikers and Messi, We cant change that which is the only way we can score some goals. Against Venezuela its better to start with Pezzella and Otamendi considering the experience they have.
Is there any way Acuna can start, He bring more width. De Paul is a must too. Paredes is irreplaceable. So it is between Lo Celso (Who looks out of touch) and Acuna. problem is our middle of the park will get extremely narrow if we start Acuna,Who always drifts to the left and De Paul who drifts more to the Right, Leaving Paredes only to deal in the middle which is suicidal against higher quality teams.
Lets win against Venezuela somehow and lets see who waits us in Semis. BRAZIL probably, So that is what it suppose to be.
And one more key thing i think is this team is not dependent Solely on Messi, Even though we are playing poorly, Messi is playing bad too. His impact on the team is lesser compared to the past. And that i think is good because it reduces Messi’s workload and gradually like he said We will grow. Credit should go to players like De Paul, Paredes, Lo Celso. They are not always looking for Messi only.
I think the team is ultra dependent on Messi now. You could see that when there is a push from midfield, it is usually Messi centric. But the good thing is that Aguero and Lautaro both were giving him additional options up front. They struggled link perfectly in this match but if allowed to play again, then they will be able to guess where Messi wants them. He is crucial. I loved that Messi miss in the box, it was poor finishing; but the way his teammates read his late run into the box was perfect. And the understanding was improving with passing of time.
By the way, this Qatar side has shown that they are no pushover and they could play some football. We should give the same team another chance to gel together. If their attitude is correct, then they could progress further.
Messi is right, it felt in the second half that the team was regaining confidence, he included. The difference in Aguero itself was brilliant, he fighting for everything was good.
Don’t change anything. Let’s allow them to play one more game with the same lineup. Maybe we can bring in Lo Celso for Acuna but I wouldn’t even do that. But Scaloni should be smart enough to make the smart substitutes may be early in the second half. The second half was brilliant after Acuna came in. Let’s do the same and may be brought in Acuna in the start of the second half and then press like hell.
going ahead, substitutions should be used more wisely as matches can go overtime, we might need to save a player or 2 for those extra 30 minutes and maybe penalty shoot out.
No more extra time bro
After 90 minute straight
To penalties that is what heard
I will double check
Really, I did not hear that
In the semi-finals, third place play-off and final, extra time is played, where a fourth substitute will be allowed for each team
I heard last night sport radio
while I was driving .
In the quarter-finals, extra time is not played, and the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the semi-finals, third place play-off and final, extra time will be played (two periods of 15 minutes each), where each team is allowed to make a fourth substitution.
Extra time only in final
Yes in the quarter, it has to be decided in 90 minutes. So Scaloni should be smart enough to do the early substitutions.
Some are smashing Foyth but Foyth is far better than Pezzela who is slow.Foyh has deceptive or fake pass ability and pace which gives us stability he is rackless but not in penalty box.Foyth should start over Pezzela. Lo celso is of no use we should start with Acuna he can give 2 or 3 flashes of his brilliance per match just like the world cup.Dybla was great today a super sub for Aguero or Martinez.
Only problem is Sarvia he can not hold the ball for long that scares me he looses possession.Casco can be tried.Armani is getting good
Saravia is the only TRUE RB we have. He can defend well (when not caught out position) His only weakness when playing high pressing football. he is caught out of position. Playing him as a RWB exposes his weakness. our right side of the pitch is still worrying.
exactly foyth was incredible
Foyth and Otamendi together kinda gives me panic attack inducing thoughts. They’re great until they WWF someone in the box.
Scaloni comes out with an aggressive plan and is rewarded for it. Using Lautaro as the point man he asks Kun Aguero do to a lot of dirty work around the outside areas of the action, pressing and pulling defenders all around him. He is rewarded early with Kun’s pressure helping el toro open his copa score. Knowing the importance of the match, Scaloni also engages part of the sideline press package we had seen in early friendly matches last year but which had gone missing. Engaging both of his full backs and his deep midfielder as well in the press the team looks more aggressive. Possibly the presence of juan foyth and his recovery speed allows Scaloni to be more confident doing this. Though Foyth has rough moments, especially when trying to be cute with the ball, he does shows he is able to keep up one on one situations versus the qatari wingers on the flanks.
Over the course of 90 minutes Scaloni seems to have solved two immediate questions for this tournament. The first one being who is the best midfielder in this team to do lionel messi’s dirty work? After LoCelso and Pereyra’s failure in that role, he turns to all round chess piece rodrigo DePaul and he does not disappoint. With the passing channel from otamendi to foyth to saravia to DePaul, the ball moves smoothly on certain occasions from all the way around the back to the right with lionel messi connecting in between on that flank. On turnovers, Rodrigo is quick to cover messi’s responsibilities helping saravia out.
The other big question has been how to stretch the left comfortably. After DiMaria and Suarez’s failure in that role the only possibility was DePaul but with his use on the right it seemed at the first half that argentina had given up trying to create anything there. Giovanni LoCelso was asked to cover the large spaces in left midfield with help from tagliafico but there was no real desire or ability on that channel to push the ball. Gio is heavily left footed but he does not know how to press the left channel. It is not his fault. Its not his bread and butter. LoCelso’s role was made further difficult because of the team sitting in 4-3 defensive blocks when it was without the ball rather than traditional 4-4 or 4-5 blocks. Being one or two men short in the block meant there was always a danger of qatari wingbacks overloading the channel and he had to be more careful.
This was solved at the 55th minute with two changes. The first was Acuna’s introduction. Now with someone comfortable sitting on the sideline as well dropping into the block the balance did not look off. The other was a more subtle change. After the break Kun was asked to do his dirty work exclusively on the left effectively helping to form the missing connection between the left back and the left midfielder. He dropped deeper down into spaces on the left, collected the ball 35-40 meters lower to run at defenses and was a general troublemaker. On a good day he might have bagged a hattrick but was rewarded by a sweet dybala pass that he converted after another run.
Crucially Scaloni has been showing he is learning his lessons. Now the stakes are higher. Controlling Salomon Rondon might need a more technical defender like Pezella now. This might in turn mean the team cannot play the higher press line that it had shown today. Let’s see what Scaloni comes up with.
Vamos!
I’m 100 % sure pezzella will start
Against Venezuela the reason
Foyth started vs qatar
Scaloni knew Qatar will
Sit back and foyth is ball playing
Center back so he could come
With the ball more but early goal
Helped us .
Tough problem to solve. Do you think dropping Lo Celso for Acuna will solve our defensive weakness?
Aguero – Martinez
Messi
Acuna – Paredes – De Paul
Tagli – Ota – Pez – Saravia
A good coach can transform our team team to World number 1 easily.
My worry was MF, now we have good options.. paredes,lo celso, de paul, palacios, lanzini, lamela,..U20 – ferreira, barco..
We need a good coach, a very good coach.
“AS THE GAMES GO BY, THE TEAM HAS TO GROW AND THIS MATCH SERVED THAT PURPOSE.”
“NOW STARTS ANOTHER COPA. NOW STARTS ALL OR NOTHING.”
This win was very much needed to boost the confidence level of the players, it was a huge win on the psychological level. expect this team to improve as we advance. Some players showed resilience today, True we are still not to the level expected but WE CAN DO IT. all is needed now, stand behind the players (ALL OF THEM)
If WE improve and beat Venezuela convincingly, WE will have the momentum to beat Brazil in the Semi finals and go for the kill. that will be historic !
Armani
Saravia-Foyth-Pezzela-Tagli
De Paul-Pizzaro-Paredes
Messi-Lautaro-Acuna
Kun is must. If there is any desire to go up. No team will bench greats like Kun.
If we had a good pitch, we could have won the match by 5-0. I feel that Brazilians did it on purpose in our matches.made us playing in worse pitches.
Exactly friend!!
I never understood this point. Bad pitches impact both teams. Better pitch = better performance for both teams
One of the best positives about Sabella was, he allowed same set of players to play for long. More than 2_3 years. And that worked.
But in World cup he was forced to made abrupt changes, because of his persistence of using mediocre players like Federico Fernandez etc.. his player selection was far from best.
But whatever it was, he used to stick with the same players for long…
This is the only thing we need to adapt now, after the Copa.Don’t change squad massively in between every international breaks. Ignore those in form players (of course, keep an eye on them) especially new Revelations from local league, let the fight & grow.
But don’t risk to destroy the squad chemistry.. let these players play together for long.
Exactly what I shouted for always.
Just look at the teams who won WC, the squad always played together for long time.
Brazil 2002, Italy 2006 ( has all Juventus and Milan squad), Spain 2010 (barcelona), Germany 2014 (Byern), France ( almost same squad was in euro final).
Plz,Plz, keep the same squad… don’t experiment with local shit players. Don;t experiment with 54 players like what sampaoli did..please….
Or like Sampoli’s father, Madman did for 2010, a 100 players in 1.5 years.
So many football pundits here!!
But guys you have to understand Qatar is a good team who is Asian Champion, scored 2 against paraguay and played very good against strong Colombia side.
SO, this result is very good.
We should keep the same starting line up.
Only worry is defense, which looked very shaky couple of times, specially Otamendi back passes.
I hope the CB comes back to form.
After long time it’s nice to see our MF playing good.
its After LOOONG time!!
Dybala,Dimaria,Pereiyra/Acuna and Guido as a reserve now looks promising.
if The miss chances from Messi,Aguero and Lo celso would become goals….but it can be anytime.
We lost to Venezuela in last match, but it’s probably a good because now we know how they will play. And that match Scaloni played with 3-5-2, which was worst formation I have ever seen.
At last, I want Scaloni to go after copa, he is probably Average coach, but as an Argentine fan, we want a very good coach to win World Cup 2022.
A coach like Bielsa,or Gallardo. Or even Bring back Sabella. Lots of options. Sampaoli wasn’t a wrong choice but he was in panic and didn’t had enough time to do experiments.
Otamendi was stupid. But I’m more worried about Foyth. ! May be we should go with Pezella.
Otamendi will be ok.
they both was shaky, I think it was mistake from Scaloni to change Otamendi-pazella duo. the goals the conceded wasn’t their fault at all. first amtch it was pizarro, 2nd match it was our full abck, who was in paraguay half when they scored.
I was thinking on the same line of replacing coach after the first 2 copa matches, but have a different feeling now..Let Scaloni stay on for some more time, in case Argentina can manage to go till finals or even semis…Looks like Scaloni understands the problem in the team at least…he is trying to play Dybala , dropped Di Maria who’s terribly out of form, or played Foyth at the correct time, did not stop playing Aguero ,who might be missing chances still he is one of the top strikers in the world who can come good any moment…unlike people like Sampaoli who did not even have the understanding what was going wrong in his team
wow, a victory atlast. How we long for a victory nowadays compared to thinking of winning titles those days.
Gk:Armani -stick him as a starter in term to get more confidence
RB: Casco instead of Saravia
CB1: Otamendi – no more coice
CB2: Pezella . Foyth look shaky
LB : Tagliafico- the only best LB that we have.no choice
DM: Paredes – gv him more time in the pitch…more time more cofidence
RM: DE Paul – new asset for AFA’s team
AM : LO Celso( sub dybala)
LM: Acuna
Striker : Messi
Forward : Kun Aguero
🙂 where is our goal scorer?
Martinez sub for Lo Celco while messi change role as a AM…lautaro up front with aguero
One big improvement on this game, our players were willing to run and pressed thus Qatar couldnt settle for long with the ball and never had free time to organize their position. When they did attack, it didnt look like organized counter attack like Paraguay and Colombia did to us, because in those two games we simply to press them all day.
Today’s football is very high tempo and alot of running and high pressing are simply a requirement. This is even a team with less less quality can still match you if they’re willing to run and press alot.
Messi really should have taken his chances instead of making those casual passes all the time. Its killing our momentum when we’re counter attacking. Why cant he just run and shoot it like he did countless time at Barca ? or against Ecuador in 2018 qualifier?
There were many occassions in this game when we intercepted the ball in midfield, pass it to Messi and despite having plenty of space, he just passed it immidietely to Lautaro or Aguero instead going for the kill. There’s also a moment where Aguero could have shoot and he passed it to Lautaro and Lautaro gave it back to Aguero instead of shoot it, wtf. We needs to be more direct when attacking.
Again, I’m liking the fighting spirit that the players showed today. Everyone did alot of running , even Dybala looks great and quick footed when he came in. 3 defenders were marking him but he’s able to free himself when he made that pass for Aguero to score. Grit and determination can cover our lack of great teamplay. Parades and De Paul were great aswel so did Nico.
I liked our midfielder even lo celso
They need to play together more
It’s not important to have a destroyer
As many in here want but football
Is team work if Argentina become
more Compact without changing
Any individual we can beat Venezuela
But the pitches are awful real terrible
Yes, if you watch the replay, Messi close range miss was due to the bad pitch. The ball bounced from the ground before touching his foot.
I cant believe they actually hosted 2 major tournaments within 5 years and couldnt even maintain the pitch condition.
“he just passed it immidietely to Lautaro or Aguero instead going for the kill.”
One explanation would be that Scaloni and Messi instructed the players that they all have to participate in the game, not just wait for Messi to do magic, I guess that is what everyone is calling for. So by doing that , Messi and Scaloni are forcing the players to participate .
If Messi would have taken a solo run and take his chances and fail, then players will be blamed for not doing anything ‘to help him’ and just wait for him to do everything. If he scores, then we will branded as one man team. Don’t think the players are not aware of the criticism that it going around.
There was also a moment where Aguero was in better position to receive the ball but Messi passed to Lautaro.
“There’s also a moment where Aguero could have shoot and he passed it to Lautaro and Lautaro gave it back to Aguero instead of shoot it,”
I observed that and I was saying WTF just like you, Lautaro has a good angle to shoot at goal, that is not to be held against Lautaro though, He was excellent today, as expected.
“If Messi would have taken a solo run and take his chances and fail, then players will be blamed for not doing anything ‘to help him’ and just wait for him to do everything. If he scores, then we will branded as one man team. Don’t think the players are not aware of the criticism that it going around.”
Yes but today wasnt exactly the same case as previous 2 games where everytime he got the ball he was already closed down by multiple players. In this game there were many times when we intercepted the ball and Messi had plenty of space in front of him with the last 3 defenders already marking Aguero and Lautaro so why should he passed it right away?
Remember the game against Ecuador? that’s should be Messi’s mindset in this tournament. He should activated his killer instinct, not just play it cute. Also, the game against Nicaragua, I know they’re weak opponents but Messi was so confident on taking the defenders and when he dribbled pass 3 defenders, Aguero just put both of his hands up cause he already knew Messi was going to do it by himself.
Its not just Messi as you also noticed, Aguero and Lautaro sometimes making an extra pass in final third while they should have been more direct. Their goals today came from direct play, that’s where our forward can be most effective.
Messi was not at the standards of ‘Messi’ today, He was just another player, it is good, but bad at the same time, if you know what I mean.
as for that Aguero/Lautaro combo I was speechless, but Lautaro is not at fault here, it must be the pressure on him as one of the main stars of the match.
I hope now the players have more confidence to step up and play.
Gk:Armani -stick him as a starter in term to get more confidence
RB: Casco instead of Saravia
CB1: Otamendi – no more coice
CB2: Pezella . Foyth look shaky
LB : Tagliafico- the only best LB that we have.no choice
DM: Paredes – gv him more time in the pitch…more time more cofidence
RM: DE Paul – new asset for AFA’s team
AM : LO Celso( sub dybala)
LM: Acuna
Stricker : Messi
Forward : Kun Aguero
finally Argentina reached quaterfinals by beating Qatar but now they face Vevenzuela who are good at defense and counter attack.ARGENTINA NT need a DM against them like guido rodriguez(would have preferred ascaibar but he is not in tournament) against vevenzuela maybe replace guido rodriguez with lo cels0(good midfielder but not played that good against qatar) he can be used as late sub if ARGENTINA is leading against Vevenzuela becuase last time due to not having a DM was one of the reasons for vevenzuela defeating argentina in their previous match
Don’t forget we played 3 in the back and montiel was our right mid and Tagliafico our left mid so we were very limited in attack. Also no otamendi, no aguero, and importantly no de paul. But i agree maybe we need a defensive mid. We can always make subs around halftime to 60 min mark amd change game. My only worry is not enough movement in midfield if we play guido and paredes. Only de paul will be running in the midfield. Maybe acuña is a good choice because he is fast and can track back but also very good in attack
IMO, in knockout stage, play for PK shootout is not a bad strategy for this team. No needs to take any risk or dominate the entire game. If our superstars can score, that’s good. If not, play solid defense and play counter attack.
Agree, no need to concede easy goal or opening up the field just stay compact and give no space or running lanes to the opponent and let Messi, lartuaro and Aguero do the damage up front. Now we have super sub Dybala looks eager and ready to go.
We’re not tournament favorite, I dont see the point for us to defend all day. We need to take the initiative and press them like we did today against Qatar. When we press them hard and attack, they wont have time to settle with the ball which naturally will prevent them to threaten our goal aswell. Qatar dont have time to organize themselves cause we’re attacking them alot since opening whistle. The first goal was scored due to our preasure, which forced them to made some mistake,
The ultra cautious approach in first 2 games are the reason why we struggled to create chances since nobody actually try to attack other than the forwards. Today we could have scores 5 or 6 in a good day.
Lol hell no!!! Pk in tournaments is a no go… We don’t have recent success. I’d stay stay clear
Thanks for the wonderful option, but tie breaker is always a lottery even if you have Pele-Maradona-Best-Messi-Ronaldo in your team as well…Only team who could manage this tactics somewhat successfully was Germany in 2002 , because they had a Oliver Kahn in goal…do you see anyone in this team like that?
Tactics for KO should be simple…Try stay solid on back, score the first goal of the match and then focus on ball possession … that’s all what most champion team does in KO
I hope Argentina can smash Venezuela like 2016. Venezuela is playing gritty defense with the 4-1-4-1, as they showed the flexibility to play D against Brazil and can counterattack swiftly given the chance. Ideally, a 3-5-2 has the best chance to shatter the 4-1-4-1, but I don’t have much confidence in the back three, especially Otamendi.
It is very hard to justify having Lo Celso, De paul and Paredes..none of them can defend..and would expose the back four..in such a case, we need to park the bus and counter attack with Martinez and Aguero..
This would the strategy with the current selection..
Scaloni does not have Kannemann, Ascazibar, Battaglia, Palacios,etc..He should play counter attacking football..but being a understudy of Sampaoli, he is going to mess it up..
LParedss , KEY piece in @ argentina : -The player with the most touches (224) and most passes (205) in group stage. -The most accurate passing: 87.3% vs. Colombia, 93.8% vs. Paraguay, 96.1% vs. Qatar. – He created 5 situations of goal He played all the minutes of the National Team: 270 ‘
twitter.com/SangreArgenta/status/1142930473632575488?s=19
Thanks for the stats chori. Any stats on other players in the group stage ?
That is the play who was getting
Most criticise I had faith in him
When most people disregard him
Imagine he and young masch in
Argentina midfielder
Another player who was outstanding
Was rodrigo de pual I surprised
His flexibility he can play central
Midfielder you know
Well, Finally a win, even though I thought ARG should have scored 2 more, the Messi miss obviously and the Kun shank that should have been in the net. I think one has to try to incorporate Dybala into the game plan who looked very eager to contribute in the little time he was on the pitch today, maybe 442 with him being slightly behind Kun and Messi and see what happens! at least for the 1st half
Defending shouldn’t be this hard!! Otamendi is not some rookie off the street but sometimes he plays like one.
Finally some happy faces 🙂 🙂 … Congratulations guys , we won…
Just would have been happier if the finishing was better , from both Messi and Aguero in particular…Would have loved to see Aguero scoring that assist from Messi in the first half, that would have sealed the game within 30 minutes … never mind, way to go ! Vamos Argentina
Venezuela is a good team. Has an amazing Goalkeeper and good defence.
Can’t take the next match lightly.
This team can’t take anything lightly lol, they struggled to create opportunities with Qatar and Paraguay.
Now we have to be compact as a team and make the lines closer between defense midfield and attack to limit space of the opponent team to compensate lack of speed and to help our right and left back not to be out paced again. We should not concede silly goals and let Messi, Arturo, aguero counter so fast and inflect maximum damage. Our super subs now Dybala, Acuna, and maybe Maria can bring some PSG form in next stage. Most important be as much compact as possible against teams like Brazil, Columbia, chili ( Roman tactics to beat faster stronger opponents) we have to outsmart the wolves
Argentine radio show is blasting otamendi and Foyth right now. They are saying that both decisions will cost us next game and that out team only defends with 7, and need to defend with 9. They said that everyone except for taglafico needs to be benched. Also said that Armani is lucky he didn’t have too much to do this game. They also said the only player on the field that was moving off the ball was aguero…
They straight trashed our team, said they were happy about win, but don’t expect much more to from team this tournament.
They have a point. But I expect more from this tournament
Congratulation, Capt… Lead yourself and your squads to be the champion!
Be the winner! Be the champion! Go Tango! VAMOS ARGENTINA!
God bless everyone…
I really think we need to start dybala , who agrees?
I do.
And Messi needs to play as an attacking midfielder.
How about this:
Armani
Foyth Saravia/Pezella Ottamendi Tagliafico
De-Paul/Paredes Acuna/Di-Maria
Messi Dybala/Di-Maria
Aguero L.Martinez
(4-2-2-2)
If either Dybala or Acuna is not working, then replace him with Di Maria.
Or may be this:
Armani
Foyth Saravia/Pezella Ottamendi Tagliafico
Lo-Celso/Acuna Paredes/De-Paul
Messi Dybala/Di-Maria
Aguero L.Martinez
Dybala definitely needs to play, but he should be asked to defend as well.
We shld just stick to current team. Pezella replaces foyth. Playing 11 shld be same. Acuna & dybala shld be subs like last time. That’s where impact is.
Vamosss Albi LPM.
Good !
— Messi: “We had to win this game to gain confidence. Now things have changed. I got my confidence. From now on, a new Copa America campaign will begin, and I will give my everything on the pitch to win it.”
“AS THE GAMES GO BY, THE TEAM HAS TO GROW”
Well said. It’s not how you start, but how you finish.
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