Angel CORREA has been called-up to the Argentina National Team.
Atletico Madrid’s Angel CORREA deservedly makes the Argentina squad, a week after the initial list came out. The former San Lorenzo man’s last match with Argentina came March 2017 in a 2-0 defeat against Bolivia.
This is the first time that he makes the team under coach Jorge SAMPAOLI. He has impressed this season being a star man for Diego SIMEONE’s Atletico Madrid team and even recently scoring in the Europa League.
The more I watch Barca playing during this season, the more I find that 4-4-2 is the best system for Argentina because:
– more freedom for Messi. Unlike in a 4-3-3 Messi need to stay on the right and cut inside occasionally, in this 4-4-2 he has 1 winger and 1 fullback who cover him.
– we have all types of winger in this team: high work-rate(Salvio, Acuna, Angel Correa), dribbler with excellent crossing(Pavon, Meza), inverted winger(Di maria, Perotti) and central winger(Messi). The best way to leverage that is to have the maximum of them on the pitch with 4-4-2. In this sector, we have our best players. Salvio and Acuna as fullbacks, Di Maria and Pavon/Angel Correa as wingers, Messi the freeman. We also have a forward-winger type player like Joaquin Correa.
– I can see the pair Otamendi-Mercado for Pique-Umtiti, Maschereno/Biglia in Busquet’s role, Lo Celso/Paredes/Banega in Rakitic’s position and Enzo Perez for Paulinho as sub. Hope to see Enzo in the list of 23. The point is we have the right players for trying to replicate Barca’s style of play.
let’s see how Argentina will play in the next 2 games. hope we can finally see this 4-4-2.
Club game is different u can see Barcelona always plays better in 4-3-3 system.4-4-2 gives more defensive stability.we don’t have players like Barcelona.no iniesta level attacking midfielder or even coutinho level midfielder.nobody like busquets also.umtiti pique cb pair is awesome we don’t have that also and fullbacks also far superior than ours.mayb aguero or icardi can play Suarez role perfectly but our other wingers is as talented as dembele?? I doubt.so Barcelona and Argentina incomparable.we need different formation and different tactics for Argentina national team .previously in Copa 2011 Batista tried to emulate barca style and failed miserably so what works in barca system will not work here
Really
[…] National Team coach Jorge SAMPAOLI reportedly held chats in the past with Angel CORREA about the possibility of the Atletico Madrid man playing as a right wing […]
I believe Lo celso will be the breakthrough player of WC2018 for Argentina.
He is primarily an attacking central midfielder.But he did improve his defensive skills.He was employed by Umery as a lone defensive midfielder as Thiago Motta was injured.He did well in that role except against Real Madrid.Its asking too much from him to play as a lone DM against the champions Real Madrid.Predictably he failed there.
But for Argentina,he can be partnered with Mascherano and Biglia in 4-3-3 format quite comfortably.
The Pairing of Masch and Biglia will not work as we’ll struggle for scoring goals due to less creativity in midfield(That’s what happened in WC2014)
*But for Argentina,he can be partnered with Mascherano and Banega in 4-3-3 format quite comfortably.
what i really love about locelso… if he dont see any passes… he makes a run and put lovely pass… it will unlock many defence… he will be my hope.. i have been looking for while.. what argentina lacking… he is good in the tackling and pressing… banega and pastore wont do that… and he is good playmaker too… thats what sampolli sees from him… i also sees…that…
in future locelso —-parades—-lanzini will be the best midfield trio…
hope smapolli use those players…
I really want to see how Lanzini and Pablo Perez going to perform in Friendlies. I always wanted Pablo over Enzo.Sampoli should have chosen Pablo in Qualifiers over Enzo.Enzo’s ball retaining ability during running is bad.Di maria should play as midfielder not as a forward.He is showing some decency in his game at club.
I agree with both of your observations. Pablo should have been there before; even if not ahead of Enzo, surely ahead of Gago against Peru in which match he came and went injured within a minute or so!
My prefered IX for WC2018
Formation – 4-3-3
Romero
Mercado Otamendi Mori Tagliafico
Mascherano
Lo celso Banega
Messi Dimaria
Aguero
hi guys…. i have been watching all those post in mundo….
those riduculas things i have are
1) again messi took his friends…
my answer is do you have own mind … if you had you wont think like that.. may be journalist can sell the paper with this kind of news.. icardi and dybala not in the form.. when he was announced the line up.. what sampolli said before i remember that.. no one is deserve starter other than messi.. it can be applied to dybala higuain aguero icardi… when he ommitted higuain… he performed well.. he deserves this call up… icardi last 7 matches 1 goal(before this weekend) dybala too… because in striker position we have many.. if he select same guys.. we dont have good dybala or icardi in the world cup… then they have to perform… this is what happened in recent weeks.. dybala 3 goals in impotant matches… and icardi 4 goals in the weekend… defence wise we dont have lot of players… he want to check rojo and mori.. with his system… thats why they are called up for this friendlies..
2)when locelso just made one mistake he is not eligible for argentina… guys if you have watched psg vs rm… kross looking for the penalty in the third minute and he just dived locelso touched… he learned with psg.. that is what i think.. when psg dominated 80 minutes lo celso is there… in the second leg real madrid dominated…even with the position… with messi locelso will be very good… he will prove the doubters wrong.. he is used to play possesion football… other midfielders… parades… he is good.. other than our midfielders will make mistake possession football
some of them here argue bataglia… he is even not starter for his club… some of them here want he want start for argentina… here they can argue he performed well against juve and barca… yes behind him and side wise he can have many back up in sporting;.. in argentina different football… with messi iceland nigiria will defend… if he makes five mistakes in sporting he wont get a goal… but argentina one mistake other team will punish you… dont throug local league players… if they are good.. they will be play top club… many scouts are all over the world… he is not 20 yera old playing for sporting( even not played fernandes and willaiam calvalho take his place…)
ascasibar is 100 % better than bataglia… he is starting every game… his passing and tackling.. are good his individual performance against bayern… he is learning… he will be the future…
sampolli will know everything… i am 100% sure both dybala icardi will perform better for their club and they will earn worldcup spot… i am hoping higuain choke agaisnt real madrid… sampolli have the reason to omit from the world cup…
with possesion football other than otamendi macherano messi all are stuggled example icardi dybala gomez( when he wast starting in the world cup qualifiers he stugguled because of new football when he was atalanta he face only one player but here he need to handle two players… thats why he stugguled.. dimaria too.. in madrid he was helped by a leftback overlap run.. in argentina he was having rojo….. and he loose the ball easily… last tournment defending argentina team we dont have any player for messi football… thats why messi struggled in the against top team.. messi needs more player before him not behing him… if argentina want to win world cup… if we play as a team and press well we can dominate …. atacking wise we can create many chance… even higuain miss another chance in coming final… other players have some chance messi have some chance too… then u will know what will be the result this time…
My friend Di Maria said that Higuain is back not because we said so but because he deserves it. It clearly shows that players have influenced some decisions. How do you bring a player who plays for everton which is mid-low table team, He never been on the bench and you call that player…. while we have Pezella and Garay. i have absolutely no trust in Sampaoli and his team.
pezzalla and garay right foot player…. rojo and mori left footplayer… when we play three man defence we can loose the ball… rojo and mori played as a left back.. so then can cover the space… they can do well with those cross they can block… right foot player like garay and pezzalla it is not possible… thats why he chooses… rojo mori and taclifico.. they have played cb and left back….. did you catch what sampolli thinks… dont compare center back to strikers…..
watch nigiria match what pezzella doing… in three center back… left side//// left foot is must… he want too check theese players whether they have played for the club… but they played with otamendi and mache… thats why they are called up…. u will see the difference agaisnt italy…
hi guys…. i have been watching all those post in mundo….
those riduculas things i have are
1) again messi took his friends…
my answer is do you have own mind … if you had you wont think like that.. may be journalist can sell the paper with this kind of news.. icardi and dybala not in the form.. when he was announced the line up.. what sampolli said before i remember that.. no one is deserve starter other than messi.. it can be applied to dybala higuain aguero icardi… when he ommitted higuain… he performed well.. he deserves this call up… icardi last 7 matches 1 goal(before this weekend) dybala too… because in striker position we have many.. if he select same guys.. we dont have good dybala or icardi in the world cup… then they have to perform… this is what happened in recent weeks.. dybala 3 goals in impotant matches… and icardi 4 goals in the weekend… defence wise we dont have lot of players… he want to check rojo and mori.. with his system… thats why they are called up for this friendlies..
2)when locelso just made one mistake he is not eligible for argentina… guys if you have watched psg vs rm… kross looking for the penalty in the third minute and he just dived locelso touched… he learned with psg.. that is what i think.. when psg dominated 80 minutes lo celso is there… in the second leg real madrid dominated…even with the position… with messi locelso will be very good… he will prove the doubters wrong.. he is used to play possesion football… other midfielders… parades… he is good.. other than our midfielders will make mistake possession football
some of them here argue bataglia… he is even not starter for his club… some of them here want he want start for argentina… here they can argue he performed well against juve and barca… yes behind him and side wise he can have many back up in sporting;.. in argentina different football… with messi iceland nigiria will defend… if he makes five mistakes in sporting he wont get a goal… but argentina one mistake other team will punish you… dont throug local league players… if they are good.. they will be play top club… many scouts are all over the world… he is not 20 yera old playing for sporting( even not played fernandes and willaiam calvalho take his place…)
ascasibar is 100 % better than bataglia… he is starting every game… his passing and tackling.. are good his individual performance against bayern… he is learning… he will be the future…
sampolli will know everything… i am 100% sure both dybala icardi will perform better for their club and they will earn worldcup spot… i am hoping higuain choke agaisnt real madrid… sampolli have the reason to omit from the world cup…
with possesion football other than otamendi macherano messi all are stuggled example icardi dybala gomez( when he wast starting in the world cup qualifiers he stugguled because of new football when he was atalanta he face only one player but here he need to handle two players… thats why he stugguled.. dimaria too.. in madrid he was helped by a leftback overlap run.. in argentina he was having rojo….. and he loose the ball easily… last tournment defending argentina team we dont have any player for messi football… thats why messi struggled in the against top team.. messi needs more player before him not behing him… if argentina want to win world cup… if we play as a team and press well we can dominate …. atacking wise we can create many chance… even higuain miss another chance in coming final… other players have some chance messi have some chance too… then u will know what will be the result this time…
Battaglia is one of their main players(fernandes play in different position). I agree Ascasibar is future but at present battaglia is better, Atleast better than biglia. Biglia cant do anything against bus parking teams
yes he may be better than biglia… but he has the experience… bataglia.. wont work in few friendlies… its very important possition… parades is my chioce… he is with us… long time he can understand… i hope sampolli go with parades. .. this time may be sub mache/biglia…
aganist italy
caballero
—bustos——–otamendi————mori—————talifico/acuna
locelso———-parades/mache————–lanzini—-
————messi————-martinez————-perroti……
@admin: please consider to leave the comment box to the top. I think it’s much more convenient.
I second that too. We don’t need to go down through all older posts just to post.
I didn’t know Rojo was injured recently. No wonder he didn’t feature in MU last few weeks.
http://www.espnfc.com.au/manchester-united/story/3400922/marcos-rojo-back-at-man-united-training-nearing-injury-return-sources
He also signed a contract extension with MU till 2021 as well.
[Very Long post on Opponents and our players & formations]
Off-late I am reading plenty of discussions that France, Brazil, Germany, Spain etc etc are very good side and favorite to win the World Cup.
Guys, the best team cannot guarantee you success but a best strategy, team work and bit luck can. In 2002 Argentina and France had the best teams but both were eliminated in the first round whereas Brazil improved as the tournament progressed and eventually won the WC. In 2006 no one counted Italy but eventually won the World Cup. But in 2010 Spain and in 2014 Germany were one of the favourites but won because LUCK played huge part in their victories. It was no cakewalk for them.
Now, coming to the teams.
Spain – Great team but not unbeatable. Their midfield is world’s best but lacks quality in striking area. They can lose their shape under pressure, so can be beaten. Also their defense is not the finest. Ramos and Pique can be vulnerable and wing-backs are too attack minded, that can expose their defense.
Brazil – Another great team. Great attacking side with Neymar, Jesus, Willain, Coutinho but their midfield is no world class, only Casemiro. Centre backs are bit overrated and fullbacks (Dani and Mercello) are ageing. They are difficult side to beat as compared to Spain but not unbeatable.
France – Great great team. Probably the best on paper but I have the feelings that they will choke, memories of 2002 are still alive. Also too many good players in the team brings ego and pressure. Team of superstars can’t guarantee you success. But a real threat.
England/Belgium – Good team on paper but I am sure they will eventually lose.
Portugal – Although no one counting them but they are a tough side. Other than WC 2014 they almost always progressed in last 4 or 8 stage. Also with ‘God of Luck’ with them one cannot ignore them.
Germany – Germany is Germany and will again start as favourite IMO. Although Brazil won WC 5 times but for me Germany is the most successful team in World Cup and they are the team to beat.
But still at the moment all these teams are ahead of Argentina. This is plain truth.
Now about us (Argentina) – tbh I expected Sampoli to settle a team for World Cup way before (like Tite did for Brazil) but till now seems he is struggling. Then Omission of Dybala and Icardi are beyond my logic. Sampoli is still trying to find a right formation, 3-3-3-1 is simply not working as of now.
In Centre back only Otamendi is confirmed but who is the other one? Last time by now we have a settled Center back pair in Garay and Fedrico Fernandez and Demi as backup but this time only Otamendi. Fazio and Mascherano tried but not the answer. Funes Mori’s injury played spoilsports here. Rojo rarely playing.
In fullback, Marcedo is just an average Right back, Acuna is make-shift LB even though he did well. Waiting for Tagliafico and Bustos to get some playing time and hope they will settle immediately like Pavan.
In Midfield – Our midfield is still around Bigila, which really worries me. Lo Celso is still very raw and make mistakes. Salvio was nothing special. Perez, Pizarro are hard-working not provides nothing in attack. In terms of creativity, a lot will depend on how Banega will perform. He looks fitter and slimmer and playing well these days. Hope he will continue with his current form and fitness. Sampoli tried very less to tweak his midfield despite Bigila-Banega-Perez/Pizarro never worked. Pardes never tried despite being called every time. I won’t mind to see 4 different sets of midfield in 2 matches. Di Maria, Lanzini, Perotti all are good bit all are left-wide attacking midfielder, so will be fighting for same place. We must need to resolve midfield issue in these 2 friendly matches.
In striking position, we are no short of quality but still our guys are not scoring or missing chances. Entire attacking line up is depending on how Messi will perform. Our strikers will start scoring freely only when midfield issues are resolved else we have to depend on Messi’s individual brilliance. But can we afford to drop Dybala? I am not convincing.
Now, can we win still win the World Cup? Answer is YES.
To win World Cup you need 7 good matches. 6 victories and 1 draw in group stage is enough. We have enough quality just players need to play together and team need to grow as the tournament progresses.
Formations:
3-3-3-1 is good considering our lack of quality fullbacks and midfield but unfortunately we are struggling to score goals in this formation and we are far from convincing. If we go for 4-3-3 formation then Sampoli (like all other coaches) will try to play 2 defensive midfielders and Banega. Di Maria will play as striker which is really worrying. Also in 4-3-3 there are no place for quality players like Dybala and Pavan.
Why not we can go back to traditional 4-4-2 formation? We can include Dybala as right-wing.
—————————–Romero————————-
-Marcado—–Otamendi—-Rojo/Mori —Tagliafico/Acuna
– Dybala/Pavan/Salvio/Di Maria—Lo Celso/Banega——Bigila/Mascherano—-Di Maria/Perotti/Lanzini
————-Messi——————–Higuain/Kun————–—
Somehow I feel that this is very balance lineup, that covers our weak areas like midfield and wings.
We can switch in 4-2-3-1 formation just by tweaking couple of players..
—————————–Romero————————-
-Marcado—–Otamendi—-Rojo/Mori—–Tagliafico/Acuna
——Lo Celso/Banega——–Bigila/Mascherano———–
—Dybala/Pavan———-Messi————-Di Maria/Perotti————
——————————Higuain/Kun/Icardi——————–
Let’s wait and see what’s going on in Sampoli’s mind.
Key Players:
Romero – Our fortune will depend a lot on this man. Despite being a bench warmer forever you can only expect that he will repeat his 2014 WC performance.
Otamend and his CB pair- He is probably the best Center back in the world but underrated because it’s a myth that Argentina produces strikers not defenders. Trust me if he was Brazilian his value would have been around 100 million. But now issue is who will be his partner crime?
Banega – Only this man can take create pressure from Messi and he can create something out of nothing. If we expect midfield adding something in attack, then it has to be this man.
Di Maria – If we go back to past, Di maria had a history of getting injured before important matches and even if he plays he behaves like team is around him and always try too much to kill the attacking move. Despite all the limitations he is a massive player and a big match winner. He can link well with Messi and change the game in a moment. But he needs to focus on football rather than nonsense. He can play his game, that would be huge advantages for us.
Kun/Higuain/Icardi – Our number 9. Why? Because they are our most likely scorer. If they start scoring, then pressure on Messi is lesser. They must need to add goals tally unlike what they did during WCQs.
Messi – Only way Argentina can win the World Cup if ‘this is Messi’s World Cup’. We need a 100% physically fit Messi in the world cup. If he remains fit then we have chance (just others need to provide required help).
Finally, Sampoli – I had lots of hope on him but I am not fully convinced as of now. He has plenty to do it terms of formation and finding right players for right positions. Hope everything will fall in place before the World Cup.
agree with you on most of the points except banega and why sampaoli till now got the right mix.
well sampaoli doesn’t believe banega thats why brought perez and meza .He openly confessed about Gago (the best ).
we were in turmoil at that time if you count he hardly has got time to work with the team but i am hopeful on the fact that with such less time he has done quite well,if you look beyond the nigeria match we can see the things and banega was the main culprit in that match,he lost the ball on dangerous positions tgat cost as the match.
my gut felling is we’re going to see paredes-perez-meza midfield if this jelled we surely see some fireworks.
in world cup with this midfild i think messi and dybala can play together.
great write up. i agree with many points.
Kun Aguero will missed training with the N/T team today, he’s working on his own. A regular injured player are supposed to be left out.
he already said he is injured i dont know why they included in training icardi or dybala can be selected in place of him
Looks like SALVIO is injured again, I think its not safe to take him to the WC, his and Acunas position is the key because they both have to run a lot from one end to the other in 3-4-3, Instead of Salvio who can be added?? PAVON is fire he is great at attacking but defending is not his trait, A.Correa also is similar, We need some one like Lavezzi. He would have been perfect for 3-4-3. I think Bustos will be better he is basically a RB who likes attacking too. Bustos and Acuna in both sides in 3-4-3 would add pace and defensive strength too. Not sure about how he will adapt to the NT by the way. Most of these players havent played a single match for us till now. Playing with Messi would take time to adapt.
no not new injurry .he is recovering from the injury we know.but because of safety the medical team of argentina ruled him out to get recover quickly.
Higuain: I hope I can convince Sampaoli to take me to World Cup
Icardi: I could have played for Spain or Italy, but I always wanted Argentina.
Really tough for Sampaoli now
Pressure is rising
Hope icardi dybala will be in Russia
4-3-3
Romero
Bustos – Otamendi – Rojo – Acuna
Pavon – Paredes – Di María
Dybala – Messi – Agüero
4-4-2
Romero
Bustos – Otamendi – Rojo – Acuna
Dybala – Paredes – Mascherano – Di María
Messi – Agüero
Bustos will not start and should not start he is quite shaky in defence and tagliafico should be there.pavon can’t play as a mid and aguero should play as a 9 not as a winger
4-2-3-1
Romero
Tagliafico – Otamendi – Rojo – Acuña
Paredes – mascherano
Dybala – Messi – Di Maria
Aguero
With current squad and salvio out bustos might get a start.
According to me sampaoli will go
Romero
Bustos Otamendi funesmori tagliafico
Macherano
Banega. Lo celso
Messi dimaria
Higuain
Is this a lineup for a beach soccer game?
Eduardo Salvio returned to benfica for injury treatment…he wont be part of friendlies now
Could this be Rodrigo Battaglia’s chance since he is a multi-position player? Lately he played as a RB and I think he can also play as right wing-back.
I don’t think so but will be great if he gets selected bt I really doubt it
Lautaro Martinez scored another goal earlier today. He potrayed a lot of pace and physicality whilst executing it. Many pundits are now comparing him with neymar as well due to his fanciness although most see similarity between him and Aguero. Touted as a top class striker even before his impending move to Europe.
Comparisons to Neymar shows rather lack of watching Martinez
Gonzalo, I thought u said ur English is not good? 🤔
Indeed, my English is invariably poor 😉
Nah your english is just fine, getting better infact.
As for Martinez, well he’s definitely not Neymar or Aguero, he reminds me of Suarez abit because he’s a livewire who has the skill the score different types of goals from different positions.
Ur English Is good and ur game knowledge is good and u keep us very updated about the local league and the other games that some of us might miss, I think this goes back to ur argument with Arjunmessi, but any how it will be an honour to have a beer or drinks with u, I live in Vancouver, Canada now, if ur ever in town the beers are on me or if u ever decide to immigrate to Canada contact me as I do this for a living Gonzalo. 🍷
Thanks brothers. Thanks a lot JSaroya. At the moment I’m not going to emigrate to Canada but anyway 1 beer or two would be pretty good perspective…So far we may post together more abour local league and it also is great perspective:)
I still trust Sampaoli, for sure every coach will select the best players for his team. Based on their talent, technical skill , cohesiveness and role as a team player which is very crucial consideration.Arg have been blessed with abundant talents and whats is needed is more on instinct and deep details from the coach to pick the best one.
glad to knew that Lamela.Icardi, Dybala, and few others are working hard to prove themselves that they deserve the place to join WC
Absolutely cleanball!!
It makes sense now that our Forward roster should include:
Messi- Dybala- Icardi- Higuaín (Sub)- Correa (Sub)- and Perotti (Sub)
Aguero should be snubbed due to:
1) His chronic knee syndrome
2) Made of glass. falls on ground a lot
3) No heart to battle for the NT like Messi or Mascherano
4) Glass is the substance he’s made of
5) Social media distractor.
Don’t forgot glass
Aguero is vital for possession based game aguero and dybala is needed icardi may not work he is more suited to be Madrid type of playing style he is a target man higuain also not suited for our style of play.aguero will perform this time around I hope and he has superb understanding with messi and Maria who are sure to start their chemistry like telepathic
Yeah so you have all three starters in their 30’s leaving the young fast and furious attackers on bench or out of the roster completely….very logical.
age doesnt matter as such messi aguero mayb in 30s but they r still good and will anyday can outperform younger ones i put lautaro and dybala also they r young and icardi also has some outside chance .i dont like dimaria but everybody knows he is awful in crosses decision making and final passes but still argentina coaches pick him over anybody so i said messi aguero dimaria most probably be our starting front 3.i like to see dybala or lautaro in the team not sure about icardi scoring 4 against sampodria tells nothing again i believe he is not the type of player sampaoli wants .he is more like a poacher just like cr7 a target man lets see how sampaoli thinks about icardi.
“dont like dimaria but everybody knows he is awful in crosses decision making and final passes” What? He is the best assister in the world since 2009/10. He needs less than 190 minutes, and not even close, nobody can reach the 200 minutes limit, Messi 240.
@Csabalala u don’t seem to watch him in nt jersey there is a reason he is called headless chicken.stats sometimes misleading.he is a fantastic player with lots of talent but his decision making and precision of passes and crosses naturally very disappointing but he has other qualities like he is hard working,good in tracking back and help the defence and apart from aguero his linkup with messi is best in the team
Spot-on lazy aguero.
Icardi is on fire🔥🔥
Icardi performs such a great time! Sampaoli now have a new problem to find out the choosen one for no 9. If Aguero becomes glass in WC, then seeing Higuain would be a heart attack for many fans! Don’t know what to say….but really happy to see our attackers are all giving high performance!!
Vamos Albiceleste!!!
http://www.goal.com/en/news/mauro-icardi-jorge-sampaoli-argentina-snub-inter/10vb5u8y61n4w1e0x0xhr93ro5
88 days to go and then the biggest tournament in the world of sport starts.
I personally think sampa… must call “Roberto pereyra” up,he has a lot of experience ,he is fit and he gets regular game time and he’s far beter than “lo celso”, “paredes” ,he would do good for them in those central mid positions.he is a good versatile player in attack and defence.
No, even though he’s a talented,versatile, physically imposing player, he has one major issue and that is he’s made of glass and the team already has the likes of kun and maria who are very injury prone.
No he’s not a injury prone. Yes he was injured lately, but you are exaggerating buddy. He is one of the best option sampa… have for those CM positions, won’t be surprised if sampa… calls him up instead these young inexperienced players like “paredes”,lo celso,correa and battaglia who many of you here think are good enough to win a world for Argentina, maybe in the future but not now those kids needs time.
No way. Pererya was sidelined with injury for more than 6months in 2017. Positionally also more of right winger/fwd & not CM. We already have pavon, acorrea & salvio there.
No im not exaggerating at all, Juve let go of him because of his lengthy injuries and he’s missed a good chunk of the season with Warford, sorry afa supporter but that’s the truth, Pereyra is a no go.
LAMELA LAMELA LAMELA!!!!!Is he back?
Following players are definitely going to WC I think unless there is last min injury–
1. Romero
2. Otamendi
3. Fazio
4. Mercado
5. Mascherano
6. Banega
7. Acuna
8. Bigilia
9. Di Maria
10. Messi
11. Aguero
12. Bustos
13. Rojo
14. Paredes
15. Salvio
So many good forwards at Sampaoli s disposal..difficult to choose one against the other. Icardi. Higuain Aguero Dybala Lautaro
Now it is though for Sampaoli .. Icardi back with a bang 3 goals … Dybala is best among all other after messi …. Lamela is doing good as playmaker … Lanzini is in good form best for his team now …. J Correa is also doing good … A Correa already selected … P. Gomez is coming back … Ocampos is going well with scoring near every match … pavon proved his effectiveness ….Perotti is releable . L Martinez is hot cake for world as forward … I am not sure the current form of Acuna and salvio .. lo Celso not in good form.. So Sampaoli has options but it very tough job for him to chose player from this .. Out of that 14 players selection priority should be like as per my opinion … ….. 1.Dybala 2.Icardi 3.Lanzini 4.Perotti 5.Pavon 6.A.Correa 7. Martinez 8. Acuna 9.Gomez 10.J.Correa 11. Lamela 12.Salvio 13. Ocampos 14.Lo Celso … it would be good if he give chance all of them again for next friendly selection .. and it would be our bench .. 7 or 8 players might be selected out of that 14 with our core team to build 23 man squad for WC 18
I think it will boil down to the month of may who are in the best of conditions to play the high intensity games in one month
Icardi with a 14mins hattrick !
Make the players compete with each other for places and then select the most in-form ones. This is how football works and Sampa already applied this philosophy to the team!
BYW, right now the game is @ the 53rd minute and he has scored one more goal. A super hat-trick!!!
Di Maria scored a brilliant individual goal too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcqh2_oCvuM
Acuna vs perotti.
Lautaro vs icardi
Rojo vs funes muri
Fazio vs pezella
Cabellero vs armani
Salvio vs pavon
I think only 1 of each will reach final23. Who do u guys think will make it.
For me it’s acuna, lautaro ,rojo,pezella armani & pavon.
Acuna imo 100%, i would choose Perotti too because of the penalty-shootouts
very very hard, maybe Messi Dybala Aguero Icardi and one from the Higuain-Lautaro duo (if Higuain will show some more character in UCL,like he did so far than him
Fazio
Caballero
Salvio 100%, but Pavon a real contender too
and Rojo, he can play as LB too, like Mercado so 6 defenders is enough 2 LB Tagliafico, Rojo, 4 CB Otamendi, Rojo, Mercado, Fazio, 2 RB Mercado, Bustos plus Mascherano CB and DM
i would also add Tagliafico.
Rojo and Mori is bad option as both are not played match … not even in bench for their respective team … I am not sure why Sampaoli called them before Pazella and mamama … mamama got injured now after team announced I guess mori also injured
Mori is full fit .pezella and mascherano proved they can be very bad against Nigeria so I doubt pezella will b there in Russia.mori or rojo is quite important as we don’t have a reliable cb besides otamendi.rojo will not be considered as a fullback and Fazio should not be there as he is very slow but rojo and Mori don’t have positional sense needed for a cb to be a successful one.defence remains our biggest concern and the weakest link
Croatia & Iceland are both playing friendlies with Mexico & Peru in coming week. Trying to decide Latin style
Although teams from the same continent/region have similar style of playing but at the end of the day every team has something unique in their playing style.
Croatia and Iceland are good teams BUT Argentina is way better. Some of Mundo members are very worried about these two teams but Argentina can defeat them with ease IF Sampa puts a balanced team on the field.
Argentina playing style and Peru and Mexico playing style completely different it will not help them atall
Im actually quite disheartened by the fact that Ascacibar has been completely overlooked in Sampaoli’s player selection. This despite of his consistently good performances in a tough league which reminds you so much of a young Mascherano. Even Real Madrid and Atletico have recently shown interest in purchasing him.
http://www.soccernews.com/real-madrid-keen-on-santiago-ascacibar/248604/
The reason the same as in Battaglia case – they are not type of passers. Sampaoli is too much one-dimensional on this
Also Franco Cervi is in great form. And very consistent game by game.
Yup aware of Franco cervi’ s recent development and brilliant form too. I’m sure he’s in sampaoli’s watchful list by now.
I like Ascacibar a lot and he is one of the best promising young Argentine players. Right now, I think he is out of Sampa’s radar due to the other experienced players that are out there.
I have seen many times Ascacibar making some reckless tackles which can cost the team a lot but since he is very young he has the time to improve that area.
He is most similar to Gattuso. ATM I preferr Battaglia though
It’s an experience thing because Ascacibar has been developing brilliantly in Stuttgard. Initially he was getting carded every game but now he hardly gets carded at all. He’s also playing in a CM position in a 4-4-2 and his passing is improving but Mascherano and Biglia are ahead of him because of experience even though i think Santiago is better than both.
How many days this international break?? 1 week or 2 week
Romero looked really sharp for United between the the sticks. Roberto pereyra also had a decent game though he’s team lost against Liverpool. Liverpool scoring 5 goals against he’s team. I think sampa… can use pereyra who plays for Watford, he also played for juventus, so he has lots of experience, still young compare to Enzo perez.
Romero with a rare start but played well today. Can only be a good thing for us.
Romero is an antithesis in modern football of the fact that player will be rusty without regular first division football. Since 2013, he has hardly played 20 first division club matches against an average regular of 125+. Always been back up goalie ( Monaco, sampodria , man u). Still comes out & plays well in those one off chances. A real enigma
buffon is apparently back in goal against argentina! glad in a way ..as i’m going to the match and will see him finally!
good to hear
Borussia offer for Martinez
Milan for Pavon.
Some recent notable performances from the Argentines in Europe:
1) Messi against Chelsea(especially his assist to Dembele)
2) A. Correa with assists and goal against Lokomotiv Moscow
3) Diego Perotti had a good game against Shakthar. Apart from his relentless attack through the left wing, he also made a very good tackle.
4) Lamela great game against Swansea! Goal and a wonderful pass to Son which should have been a goal!
5) Dybala started three games after return from injury. Match winning goal against Lazio (91st minute), important goal againt Tottenham, and brace against Udinese. 3 matches and 3 match winning performances!
6) Banega (and F Vazquez also) in UCL (whether Banega can be trusted or not is another issue).
Lamela almost back to his best, ignored by our coach. Funes Mori is not fit, hasn’t played in months, Rojo, almost the same situation, yet both are called up. What gives?
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/5736781/ramiro-funes-mori-argentina-world-cup-tim-vickery/
Tim Vickery is harsh on Funes Mori by calling him flop (or at least how the title is written) but he tells why Sampa has chosen him over other defenders.
Honestly I would have less of a problem with Funes Mori’s selection had he been fit but he is not. He does have strengths as Tim Vickery mentions but the lack of of playing time and especially for such a long time is a concern.
I think Funes Mori is fit but here is why he isn’t selected by Big Sam in the first team.
“The Toffees lured Michael Keane to Goodison Park in the summer, pushing Funes Mori down the pecking order while the breakthrough form of Mason Holgate could also see the former River Plate defender struggle to regain his place.
But the nail in the coffin could have come in January, as Everton landed the loan signing of Eliaquim Mangala from Manchester City until the end of the season.
With the trio fighting for a place at centre-back alongside Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka, Funes Mori could be considered sixth-choice at Goodison Park and his chances for first-team football almost completely scuppered.”
Source: hitc.com
How could a potential starting centre-beck for Argentina National Team be sixth-choice for his club? Mangala is not better than Funes Mori, neither is Ashely Williams. In any case, even if he is fit, still match fitness and lack of practise cannot help but negatively affect the way he plays.
I also believe he is way, way better than Mangala and Ashley Williams but since he was out for injury for a long time he has to fight back and win his place at the team.
Sampaoli didn’t select him fr WC he selected him because he wanted to know how Mori condition really is same goes for rojo after seeing them in friendlies and training he will make a decision whether to select them or find someone else
That is the issue. There are no matches left to test others. Going to a WC with keepers and defenders who lack fitness and sharpness is asking for a disaster. Sampa will have to turn to a defensive line that played many games together and know each other very well. My guess: the complete defense from Independiente as Bustos and Tagliafico are already in. Sampa will look for a way to fit Otamendi in.
@richard its just wait and watch situation actually i believe the main test of sampa to make argentina defensively strong if he manages to do it we will the wc otherwise we mayb out in quarters or mayb even before that we all know that we r shaky in defence and slow but we cant do anything even i believe bustos is quite shaky in defence so he also should not be a starter its all upto sampaoli can he build a chemistry with 1-2 friendlies and 1 month training thats a big question but i believe he is a good coach and if his ego doesnt get in the way he will select the right people and make a solid team but if u want to win anything he has to make a side which is defensively solid. without a proper defence u cant win, thats plain and simple.what about musacchio?? i think he is quite decent and why fazio? he is so slow.
It seems Lautaro Martinez’s value is increasing by the day. Borussia Dortmund are ready to pay $40m as per Tyc.
http://www.tycsports.com/nota/lautaro-martinez/2018/03/17/borussia-dortmund-pone-40-millones-de-dolares-por-lautaro-martinez.html
Still no Funes Mori in the Everton line up and no place on the bench. We can forget about him being match fit. With Rojo not playing either in past weeks, Sampa needs to look at other defenders. Omitting Pezzela aas a mistake.
I agree. Pezzella may not have been at his best vs Nigeria but overall he is a sold defender in my opinion. Perhaps he is not as good with the ball at his feet as Funes Mori and Rojo but I think he still needs to be part of the team.
Recently Battagolia played Right back for his club and he was superb..So sampaoli can try for World Cup——
—————————-willy——————-
—Battagolia———-Otamendi——Muri—
———————Mascherano——————
Correa—-Peredes——Maria—-Acuna
—————-MESSI——Heguin
Then We also Very good in set pitch…
Rodrigo battaglia is a favourite for many people here(including me)…Here what Portuguese newspaper say about him, that he is already noted by the technical team of Sampaoli and was until the last hour, among the candidates for this friendlies but they then opted for paredes and biglia. Also he is closely followed by italian federation.
So I guess there is still slight hope for him for worldcup.
I am too
None of Paredes or Biglia is is destroyer type as Battaglia. I thought it’s rather between Masche/Battaglia
biglia wow what a choice?? they r so dumb
What do you think about our penalty takers if a shootout will happen?
1.Messi is Messi, despite his miss against Chile, and some errors in Barca when the stakes are higher he performs good (scored against Uruguay, Holland, Chile, Columbia in a shooutout, or vs Real Madrid in the season)
2. Dybala, if Paulo will be only a late sub, his penalty kicking ability is crucial for us
3. Perotti, the main reason Sampa should choose him in the squad, maybe our best penalty-taker, cold-blooded (as a late sub in the place of di Maria or Acuna)
4. Icardi or Aguero, the centre forward who is on the field is OK, decent PK-takers. (No Higuain for God’s sake)
5. Banega or his sub Paredes. Dont’t know what to think about them, Paredes doesn’t seem like a choker guy, and if Banega is on his day, he will convert the penalty too.
This is an area where Sampa and the coaching staff must work on seriously in training sessions.
The team doesn’t only need good penalty takers but good GK as well. We already know our choices in GK position but I hope if a game ends up in a penalty shoot-out Caballero (because of his experience in prnalty saving) be the one between the sticks, instead of Romero, like Van Gaal did against Costa Rica at the 2014 WC.
Some centre-backs are pretty good penalty takers. Usually a no-nonsense approach, nothing fancy, just power and precision. Garay was certainly like that, one of our best penalty takers, yet another reason we miss his presence. Not sure if Otamendi, Mercado or Fazio are good at that. Wouldn’t trust Rojo though…
Messi, Dybala, Aguero all of them likes to shoot to the left of the gk. when they don’t, their accuracy drops.
Another player who has recently lived up to his hype is Lucas Ocampos. Ive always been an advocate of his quick and direct gameplay. Resembles a lot of CR7’s gameplay especially when he is on form.
I think what is pending for sampaoli is
1) a combative midfielder who can run a lot & win possession
2) a pacy & able partner for otamendi.
Rest of the team is fine imo. I think tagflico & bustos will do well.
Another great player who deserves to get a call-up is Eric Lamela. It’s half-f time Swansea vs Spurs and it’s already 2-0 for Tottenham. Lamela scored a goal and set up another. Amazing player!
Goal was indeed a good individual one too. I think he’s getting back his old form.
Right, it’s a good goal. Lamela’s left foot reminds me of that great left foot of Redondo’s. I hope Sampa is considering to give him a call up soon.
Redondo was a very bad shooter
Scored with his right foot from outside the box even though his dominant foot is left. Now that is really impressive. We need long range shooters when defences are tight. Biglia, mascherano, lo celso and even banega cant be relied to do that.
Just look at the brazilian team, Neymar, coutinho, willian and even fernandinho can release a thunderbolt from a distance. Scary to say the least.
@vimaldass, I know he scored with his right foot but I am talking in general about the resemblance between Lamela’s left foot and Redondo’s.
@Casbalala, shooting is one aspect of the game and there are many other things two players can have in common. Quick and short passes and way of dribbling are some the common things they, Lamela and Redondo, have in common.
Yes @dadir i get it now. Never really noticed the similarities between their left foot. Shall look back at videos
I hope he gets called too.. been playing with great vision in the final third and 110% hustle
Great choice by sampaoli. I think A.Correa who’s currently in form in most of atletico madrid’s home games would easily give pavon and salvio a run for their money.
I mentioned ‘home’ because he strangely and consistently plays poorly for atletico in their away games(league and european games). Nevertheless he is really an explosive player with pace and unpredictability who could easily disbalance even the most solid defence. Hope he finally proves his worth !
Yesterday man of the match against Lokomotiv, imo he’s much more useful for us than Joaquin, more goals much more assists, better defensive work. These two are very individual players with a lot of selfish plays, overdribblings, but the main difference between the two is the final product, what is missing at Joaquin. (goals, assists)
Yup he played exceptionally well against lokomotiv moscow the other day despite of the most non favourable weather conditions. I agree with most of what you have mentioned. In my opinion Joaquin is more of a finesse player who is composed but has less physical attributes as compared to Angel who is more explosive and direct but is more erratic and error prone.
Everything boils down to Sampaoli’s formation and tactics which will determine his player of choice. If you ask me, Angel would be a great inclusion as a late substitute when defences wear out.
everyone seems to forget what sabella did in the first match of the worldcup,he employed a defensive strategy.but that was a surprise for all. like that sampaoli defenately gonna surprise us with both dybala and messi with higuen and lautaro upfront .maxi meza and pablo perez will defenately make the squad becoz sampaoli doesn’t believe in formation.sampaolis most preferred formation us known as anarchy ,if one see the chile and sevilla matches you clearly see a anarchic beauty of the teams sampaoli managed previously.
i am hopefull to see this process of calling all inform players will take us a long way to success.
I see a lot of people questioning the exclusion of Dybala and Icardi over Angel Correa?
Well let me just say, this is how it should have been since 2014. Tata the Imbecile created the ‘club of friend’ within the NT. He never gave the in-form players a chance to compete for possibilities in friendlies. It never kept the players on their toes for competition places. The early WCQs exposed Tata for riding on Sabella’s construction. Sampaoli looks like he wants to work with in-form players not just names.
Now back to Dybala and Icardi, they need to get back to their best. Especially, Dybala needs to finish the season strongly he is a top class talent playing for an European club. Scoring in 3 games consecutively is not enough by his own standards.
In Icardi’s case, he now has serious competition for no 9 with Aguero, Higuain and Lautaro. The first 2 veteran strikers seem to set to go to the WC. I think Icardi’ s chances deepen on what Sampaoli sees in Lautaro in the camp.
To be honest, “the club of friends” is not the creation of “Tata the imbecile”. If it is a reality (I believe that it is so), it existed even before Tata took charge. Our team selection has been poor whether it is due to “the club of friends” or not; that is why we lost three finals.
Exactly, Tata is the main reason for our abysmal state with youngsters, He wasted so many friendlies and 2 Copas too, players like Dybala, Icardi, Paredes, Lanzini, J.Correa, Perotti, A.Gomez, Rulli etc should have already been tested way Back, If we look at most of the names they have only played 2 or 3 matches maximum for us that means they haven’t even started in friendlies too. By the time Bauza and Sampa came the situation became critical. Now Sampa has to do all the rebuilding.
By the way some were given chances too by Tata, Mori is his finding, A Correa got some chances under him, Lamela also got playing time, Pastore got chance, Augusto was having some good times for us. But still i think Tata wasted so much friendlies.If we cant test the Youngsters in Friendlies then how can we know weather they r good or bad for NT. Now its too late. WC is in our Door step.
And Club of Friends well i don’t think there is something like that. But its natural that when so many players r playing together they will form an understanding.
A deserved call! Now Dybala should also be called up and we’ll be set.
Correa is a livewire who can come off the bench against tired defenses and wrecks havoc in addition to the fact that he’s very capable of playing on the right and left side of the midfield due to his defensive discipline.
If Sampa goes for a 4 man midfield I would like to the see this:
—-A.Correa———paredes——-Enzo—————Acuna————
Sure Enzo hasn’t been in the best of form but that’s more due to River being in shambles than him personally.
I would also love to see Battaglia get a chance at the holding midfield position but I really doubt Sampa will call him up barring a real miracle.
As for Battaglia.
He is good material for fullback but I still insist Argentina needs such player as No.5 That’s big mistake from Sampaoli not to call him up. Argentina is not going to win the World Cup without destroyer in Mascherano genre on No.5, depending only on mild passers without combativness which is Sampaoli’s only preference (Sabella had both passers as physical warriors). As someone has questioned here: even if everyone of Banega/Paredes/Lo Celso would be our Pirlo (?) then who is our Gattuso???
I think Mascherano is the best option as our No.5 He can do it even if he is older. He is a true Leader who can marshall the defence, A True destroyer, After him i see Ascacibar as his Heir. Biglia is not that much intimidating. Either 1 of Mascherano / Biglia will be gud for us in the WC. For gods sake don’t play them together. I hope. And Battaglia?? Frankly speaking i dont think Sampa will now choose him. Its already too late.He wasnt even called up till now, But never know may be he can impress Sampa.
Personally for me our gattuso is ascacibar. But unfortunately not in sampaoli radar for wc18
As his is not type of passer too (Ascacibar). Sampaoli is too much one-sided.
Independiente won vs Millonarios in Copa Libertadores. Meza was great. Bustos as well (he had assist again)
youtube.com/watch?v=MhCTzVcr7Jk
Sorry, but the second Correa better.
Angel Correa is a good inclusion. How about Paulo Dybala?
Dybala! Dybala! Dybala!
Angel is the key because he can play on the right midfield position in a 3-4-3 or 4-4-2… he tracks back for simeone at atletico and is from corner flag to corner flag with pace.. I see him starting over Pavon on the right…
Aguero
Messi Dybala
Dimaria loCelso Mascherano Correa
Rojo otamendi Mercado
… this is the line up I want to see!
no 3 in defense. Its a failed experiment. 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.
Angel correa really worked his way back & deserves the selection. IMO Sampaoli will finally select Dybala in 23 & he will be an impact substitute.
This is a good inclusion as he is a good player and in form as well .. the big question here is Dybala .. he must be in the squad for WC18 that for sure and sampaoli knew it .. I doubt on his place in starting 11 .. but he should be in 23 of WC!! For remaining Icardi, Papu Gomez,J Correa,Rogoni,Pastore and E. Perez … I guess all are not in such good form .. except J.Correa and P. Gomez are doing well .. so this two are might be as backup plan for sampaoli and I am not sure about Perez .. why he is not selected ?… I am surprise to see Pazzela is not selected .. he is decent as CB
I think he is the replacement for aguero but why not dybala in place of Correa?? Is he that good?? I don’t think so actually Correa is an ordinary player not like he will play in midfield.forward position is stacked if only he is a replacement for dimaria then its ok
I just watched the Argentia vs Venezuela game which is the last game played by Dybala. I personally find him very good. The theory that says he can’t play with Messi is wrong. I believe in the theory of Messi friends… The same way players like Biglia went public to ask the return of Higuain in the NT, they should have done the same thing for players like Dybala. He is the second best player that we have. I think that Argentina is the only team that has Dybala and doesn’t play him. Sampaoli is not different than other coaches that we had in the past who just don’t call players because the personally don’t like them.
Let’s go🤗👍🏾😤
Good decision by baldie.
Finally!
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