Poll: How far will Argentina go at the 2018 FIFA World Cup?

By
Roy Nemer
-
120
Argentina
The Argentina National Team.

With the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicking off in less than 24 hours, how far do you think Argentina will go in Russia?

In 2014, the team reached the final for the first time since 1990 and the two previous editions before that, it was a quarter final exit. The shocker was that of 2002 where the team was humiliated and eliminated in the group stages.

However, the team has reached finals in the last three tournaments they have competed in and will try and do the same for the World Cup.

Finalists in 1930, 1978, 1986, 1990 and 2014, can Argentina repeat what they did four years earlier? Vote in our poll below!

[poll id=”14″]

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120 Comments

  1. Since 1998 the same people predict or guarantee us the title: World Cup winner.
    2002 according to them all we had to do was go and take the cup home.
    No “what ifs” and “buts”.
    My head said we will not win, my heart said we will win.
    2006 I was convinced we will win.
    No “what ifs” and “buts” for me.
    Dumb decisions cost us and I was heartbroken .
    I swore to myself to be cautious next time and to be never caught so I had not to relieve that heartbreak again. It was the most miserable feeling.
    2010 My head said no chance but again my damn heart made me believe that we could win.
    needles to say head was right and heart is heart.
    But this time I was prepared to lose so I had not to relieve that miserable pain again.
    2014 my head said no and my heart said yes.
    needless to say my head was right and my heart was wrong – damn you heart you are causing me pain.
    2018 my head would definitely say yes if we had taken some players like pezzella, paredes, icardi and Lanzini would be fit. my head says yes if we bank on tagliafico, ansaldi, lo celso, meza, Aguero, messi, salvio, acuna, dybala,pavon, otamendi, fazio, armani, even mascherano or banega but no if we bank on biglia, or biglia mascherano, or mascherano-banega, or banega-biglia together. My head says never trust on di maria and higuain.
    my heart says yes again, my heart always says yes.
    I remember after we lost the finals in 2014/15/16 only a few posters stayed and posted in here the casuals that are now predicting and guaranteeing us the titles, and have done this before will again disappear, quit and come back just before the next tournament and will lecture us positivity, patients and experience.
    after predicting 10-20 times wrong if we win they will say I was right.
    I hope we win, I believe we win, I die to win but only the future will tell.

  2. 14.6.1982
    14.6.2018

    Exactly 36 years passed from that black day for Argentinas s history.
    in honor to my 649 brothers that gives their lives for the country.

    R.I.P my brothers.
    WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU.

    En honor a los 649 heroes que dieron su vida.

    Por los que ya no estan.

    GRACIAS !!!

    LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS !!!

  3. ” WE ARE NOT CANDIDATES (TO WIN THE WORLD CUP)”
    Anyone wants to tell the person who said this he is not an albiceleste fan ??
    Dont be ridicilous guys every one has a right to their opnion without being labeled talked down to and abused ..
    Some of us are optimistic and think everything is roses amd the others are pessimistic or cautious .. lets support each other to have a good time during this month so everyone can air their opnion witbout being mobed a pessimist or optimist or even worse be abused .
    If this is going to be the tone for the games i assure some very good posters will stay away until afyer the wc .. coz it is a toxic enviornment ..
    A secret everyone voted wants us to win the cup .. lets be friends..

    • Enzo has been playing the no.5 role since his days at Valencia and he’s decent but it’s not his ideal position since he’s alot more like Celso (as you said box to box) than Masch (destroyer).
      Enzo’s form mirrored River’s in the sense that he was pretty bad when river were bad and he improved when river started improving, but even at his worst he’s still more athletic and physical than either of Biglia and Masch and more creative than both of them put together.

  6. In today’s training Argentina practicing set-piece defending.they are cautious regarding Iceland’s set piece threat like free kicks corner etc.so they intensely practicing to defend and emplying taller players like otamendi rojo biglia dimaria Meza etc in marking job.goalkeepers also training hard to counter the threat.

      • Sampaoli also concerned about their height like you.that’s why he is dedicated todays training only to practice for defending set pieces but they should have practice set pieces for at least 1 week.

  7. Ok I’m noticing this trend on this board where if someone is critical of the team they instantly get attacked and that ain’t right. As long as we criticize tastefully and with respect (i.e. not personal attacks on eachother or the players) then any poster has the right to be as critical as they want.
    I said before that I’m not going to pass judgement until I hear confirmation on Argentina’s starting lineup but IF -and I repeat- if Sampa is really going with the heart attack pairing of Masch-Biglia then you can kiss this team’s chances goodbye, GUARANTEED! And it would also mean that Sampa is as big of an idiot as those 86 gen clowns (Diego and Batista) and Bauza.
    Again it’s ok to criticize but it’s not ok to insult and no matter what I’ll support our boys the same way I did when I was just 7yrs old.

    • I believe we would struggle with biglia mascherano double pivot.I hope seeing that he would change the lineup and we will be ok

    • What if I say something like this:

      If what you said don’t happen and Argentina win with whatever players Sampaoli put in,

      It would mean that you are as big an idiot as any other who criticize making their own prejudice and assumptions without even waiting for the actual match and result.

      I hope you got the point. You can criticize, but it should be only after the match is over, not before.

      Until then, we need to keep our frustration inside. May be Sampaoli would prove all of us idiots by winning convincingly with double pivot.

      Even I don’t like the double pivot system, but I can understand why he wants it. To me, it looks like 3-5-2 rather than double pivot.

      Full backs would be playing further up, so one more DM or defender could be needed.

      As much as I hate seeing those two together, I will be to happy to see the team win convincingly and be proved I’m wrong.

      • [I hope you got the point. You can criticize, but it should be only after the match is over, not before.]

        No you’re the one who didn’t get the point, you can criticize before, during, after and LONG after the match has started as long as your criticism is constructive and respectful.

        [Until then, we need to keep our frustration inside. May be Sampaoli would prove all of us idiots by winning convincingly with double pivot.]

        YOU do whatever the heck you want but the rest of us aren’t obligated to follow suit and if you don’t like someone criticizing the team then simply ignore said person’s post and move on, it’s not hard and you know what I’d love for Sampa to prove me wrong but if you honestly believe that the double pivot can win Argentina the world cup then your optimism has crossed over into the realm of delusions.

    • Well said …. our interactions should be civil and not direct our frustrations on other posters ..
      Its not going to make any of our players or coach break into a sweat over the comments we post here, we are armchair/ key board supporters the ” real ” supporters are in russia rooting for the team they can distrupt the moral of the team by booing or name calling on the other hand support the team by chanting and giving positive vibes ..

      All we are doing here is ostrasizing anyone who does not fit into our way of thinking and fighting for our opnions instead of being gracious and accomodating .. if this site was for only the optimists maybe roy would have done some thing to keep the ” negative vibes” out ….
      Have fun people ..

  8. i only see 1525 real supporters are here…. whether you have doubt about argentina or not… u should always choose winners… i never thought single time argentina will loose/.///// i always beleive… this team can win a tournment… those fucking idoits get out of this site… and go and support your favourate team to win a tourment… hats of to them (1525) if you want to win any match you have to beleive… messi can believe and players can beleive…so fans must beleive…. i dont like higuain… but… now i hope he can score a goal in a final… or pavon score goal in a final… i want argentina to be champion….. thats it….

  10. Well this is the best possible xi for Iceland match. If you do not find this xi to be the best for the Iceland match , your knowledge of the finer points are very low.

    Aguro

    Pavon

    Mezza

    Mascherano

    Locelso

    Banega

    Tagliafico

    Fazio

    Otamendi

    Ansaldi

    Armani

    • Where are you from? Antarctica?

      I guess there someone named Messi, who knows 1-2 things, about scoring goals is unknown.
      Anyway nice to meet you.

  11. I go with world cup win.
    Nothing really decided before it is started. No nation are a guaranteed finalist or semifinalist. Everything could happen in a one month tournament.
    Vamos !

  12. its simple very simple…. im argentine and we are Argentina and I expect to win it, any thing less is a failure for us.
    Vamos Argentina!!!!

  13. Other than Lionel Messi, the standout name in the Argentina World Cup squad is Maximiliano Meza, but, unlike Messi, this is primarily due to the fact that most football fans don’t know him.

    Contrary to what many believe, Meza could prove to be a very useful asset for the Albiceleste at the World Cup.

    Meza was born in La Plata, on the 15th of January 1992. He joined the Gimnasia La Plata youth academy and progressed through

    He caught the eye of coaches across the youth system and he was touted as a possible star for the future.

    He made his first team debut in the 2012-13 season, where Gimnasia won promotion from the Nacional B. Over the next couple of seasons Meza established himself as a regular over the next few seasons and he eventually got his move to Avalleneda based side Independiente.

    While at Independiente, Meza really pushed on and made a name for himself as one of the best attacking players in the league. Capable of playing anywhere across the frontline, whether it’s right, left, or in behind the striker, his versatility is a brilliant asset which endears him to any manager he plays for.

    His consistency is also another big factor, even on an off day he is capable of producing a 7/10 performance, which is very unusual for an attacking player.

    Meza is extremely skilful, capable of nutmegging anyone in any area of the pitch. A trait which further increases the Independiente fans affection for him.

    He’s also very ambidextrous which adds to his unpredictability, and adds to his effectiveness in the final third. Capable of cutting inside and trying to slip a ball through as well as going on the outside and crossing.
    Maxi is an extremely quick player and his acceleration helps him power past players. With decent passing ability and vision and very good positional sense, Meza is a brilliant player to have on your team.

    His attitude is very humble and his behaviour is impeccable, which is part of the reason why Sampaoli preferred him to the mercurial Ricky Centurion.

    Meza can sometimes be frustrating due to his tendency to hold on to the ball for too long, and sometimes he dribbles for a prolonged period and loses the ball cheaply.

    Another weakness is his lack of power and physical strength, Meza is very lithe and that occasionally leads to him being overpowered by more burly players.

    For an attacking player, his numbers are somewhat disappointing, but he offers a lot more than just goals and assists. His contribution to the overall play cannot be shunned.

    I suspect he may have a prominent role at the World Cup, especially considering Argentina’s weakness in the wide areas.

    The only natural wide players the national team are Cristian Pavon and Angel di Maria, with Eduardo Salvio and Marcos Acuña set to be used as wing-backs.

    Meza could be a rotation option on either flank, he would also be a brilliant impact sub with his raw pace and incisive dribbling ability.

    There has also been talk of him filling in as pivot in the centre of midfield, although he may lack the tactical awareness and passing ability to perform that role at a high level in a tournament of the World Cup’s calibre.

    Meza is 26 years old, entering his prime, and in the best form of his career. His selection is completely justified and he will add a lot to the Argentinean squad.

    Who knows? It may well be a breakout tournament which thrusts him into the spotlight. Definitely a player to keep your eyes out for at Russia!

  16. Iceland aims to anger Messi…
    https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/gudmundsson-and-iceland-out-anger-messi-they-did-ronaldo

    We already expected a ‘park the bus’ strategy, but they will also put one or maybe even two defenders on Messi to mark him all 90 minutes. Kinda like Buchwald in the 1990 final against Diego. Hopefully we don’t make the mistake of passing every ball to Messi, but look for other options. If Messi draws two defenders someone else will be unmarked. Spaces will be small, Aguero therefore a must. We need to move the ball around at a high pace to open up the defence.

    • One?? Are you kidding me?? Messi will be marked by 3 players and maybe zonal marking.i don’t think they will employ man marking.aguero can also be tightly marked we need offensive threat from midfield also that’s where importance of dimaria or locelso lies.locelso will not play but dimaria may need to up his game and also dybala if gets minutes need to score.

      • In this situation di maria should play on right wing , from when he can score with strpong left foot rather than just hiving useless crosses from left wing.

    • I hope Sampaoli has shown the video of Barca – Genoa match to other forwards where Messi was man marked tightly through out the game. Messi did nothing but created space for others by drawing defenders to where he wanted. He will probably do the same here if the man marking is very tight, others must exploit the space they get.

    • Remember with manmarking comes the possibility of fouls. The closer messi receives the ball to the opposition net the better chance of one of ISL defenders concede a free kick in the MessiZone.

  18. From this group first round exit is so possible. Argentina is not better than this Croatia side. Romero has to leave Monaco due to Croatia goalkeeper Subasic, both teams defence is on per. Modric, Rakitic , Perisic and Kovacic will eat alive Argentina’ s midfield of Masche, Biglia, Mandzukic always does well in big stage unlike Argentina strikers. Iceland showed last Euro what they can do in big events. The way they easily qualified for world cup indicates they are still in form and Argentina got a footballing lesson from Nigeria last March. So its an open group with an unorganized Argentina has equal chance to go back home early .

    • DJ, you should ask the admin to remove the first round exit option from the poll if you think talking with reality is negativity.

    • Really then u should be coach.
      U r true.
      Modric>messi.
      Mandukic>aguero.
      Perisic>dybala.
      Rakitic>maschareno.
      Kovacic>banega.
      Lovren>otamendi. And so on
      So croatia is going to destroy argentina by atleast 5-0.But they lost to peru.

    • Don’t worry guys we best player of the history messi, best player of the serie A dybala, we have best striker of PL aguero.
      And other team will kill to have subs like dybala, higuian, banega, pavon,acuna, ansaldi. Our subs are amazing.

    • ” Modric, Rakitic , Perisic and Kovacic will eat alive Argentina’ s midfield ”

      Dont joke like this in this forum. You wait and see how we defeat Croatia. We will beat all the team in the group stage by a big margin. We can’t stop scoring.

    • Iceland didn’t qualify easily.
      basically it qualified from the group where all teams played
      like shit – Iceland, Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey.

      if Iceland and Croatia play like in qualifies, then
      there will be no single worry with getting 6 points in games with them.

  20. As others said, this WC came an year earlier for Sampa. Usually his defense is average for his teams. I am not sure about hw our defense cope with the highpress style. And if players stay fit and pipita forgets bottling we will have the Cup of Joy. Of course Messi will be Messi…

    Let’s enjoy the beautiful game…

    Vamos Argentínaa

  22. Even qualifying is not easy for us if Argentina didn’t fight (90X60) second and play relax after scoring a goal or two.
    We can’t afford any relaxing player on the pitch during 90 minute. History tells us Last 5 minute can be enough for any team to score 2 goals in a row. And whole scenario can be changed in within couple of minute if defenders are not focused and that could leads to exit from group stage.

  24. Spain is weakened, maybe they will be like France in 2010, and will be out of our way.

    Now I want Mexico to beat Germany… Brazil vs Germany in the second round and we won’t have to face any of them until the final.

    We need some luck!

    • No need to fear anybody. Have a champion mentality. Spain is disarrayed for sure. Absolute blunder from Spanish FA. Hierro gonna play Madrid eleven and will piss off Iniesta, Busi, Pique etc…

      • No he will not change anything.he will play what lopetegui would have played.he will play the same formation.he will be a puppet.this team will be managed by the players and assistant coaches of lopetegui.Spain will be ok.but morocco Iran is not bad tomorrow match against Portugal will be vital.this may decide the group and also will decide if Spain will face Argentina in quarters or not.

  25. All those who voted for failure must get the fuck off.

    There is a difference between “Can we win?” And “Will we win”.

    If your answer for that first question is tentative or even negative, that’s fine for me. But if your answer is negative or even tentative, I would tell you that you are not a fan any more.

    We are not Croatia or Iceland to not to have the least hope.

    Even Opta Predictor gave us the fourth most chance out of 32 and if us fans believe we wont win it, it’s just pathetic.

  26. Will have an idea after the first game ..because ..
    1. Sampa has his style of playing evident with sevilla/ chile but he had time to develop the system of play.
    2. He tried tweaking his style/ system in the friendlies but nothing is certian how he has organized the team during these 28 days wc camp, we can get a bit of a glimpse from the starting 11 but even that is up in the air
    3. In 2014 i was 100% we were going to win based on the wc qualifiers this time around we dont have that luxury of knowing .
    4. Sampa is a good coach and the players he has chosen will/ must fit his system /s that he chooses
    5. We have the GOAT
    6. We have young fairly un known blood in our ranks which to me is the X factor.

    Lets be clear here i would WANT us to win the bucket of gold ..
    Based on my above personal observations if we had point 1 and 2 in the affirmative i would again jump on the band wagon of we will win the cup .
    Have said that based on points 4/5/6 i have confidence we will reach the qusters
    From there on end its going to depend on how hard we choke ..
    So after the first game if we see point 1/2 taken care of we will win the damn thing

    • I used to speculate a lot but the 2014 world cup made me throw all reason out of the window. We had a great qualification campaign, then played 4 horrible games in the World Cup, then all of sudden became unbeatable in the final 3 games… We were the most unbalanced team going to the world cup (best attack in the world – fantastic 4 and stuff-, but an average defense), and yet we ended the tournament with a great defense and poor attack.
      I am just going to watch and hope for the best. We can win it!

  28. What a shame that Carlos Tevez is no longer available. I never understood why he was let of the national team. Was it because of that dumb red card (for the head butt) that picked up in the qualifiers prior to Brazil mundial?

  29. Win it all or GTFO.

    winning goal in the finals will be cabellero recovering the ball quickly after corner, releasing it fast to mascherano.

    Masche supplies a vintage lobbed pass to biglia who is 2 metres away from him. Biglia channels his inner zidane and supplies a vintage through ball to meza. The through ball will be between Di Maria and Messi.

    Meza dazzles down the right and supplies a cross, which is a bit too deep. Messi who has made a darting run into the box , wonderfully adjusts and gets behind the defense, and meets the cross with a lovely, cushioned header back into the 6 yard box. Gonzalo Higuain, clearly in an offside position but not spotted by the linesman ,is there. The ball hits higuain’s humongous bum, grazes his palm and lands into the net past the goalies outstretched hands. Higuain runs off to celebrate into sampaoli’s open arms while Pablo aimar, who was massaging sampa’s magnificent bald head, smiles all-knowingly.

    Redemption like a boss, bitches.

  31. There are optimists and pessimists in here. It’s only important each understand the other. Nobody is a hater or a fool. The way we extend support may differ from one person to another but everyone here is together for a dream

  33. If 74 percent of the people here really believe we are going to win instead of just hoping and rooting we win than there are a lot of people that are smoking dope on this site

      • This is crazy. I would love to win the wc and pray we do. But my God are people just completely blind to what they have seen on the pitch.
        By the way, ANOTHER thing this site got wrong is the starting lineup. No Lo Celso. biglia and masche start.
        Double 5 means no attack up the middle.
        So much for our “brilliant” coach. If you can’t find time for LoCelso against Iceland you sure as heck aren’t going to play him against Spain. Ridiculous

        • Lets see how Sampa coached the players.good coach can improve players.lets hope that is the case and biglia mascherano improved.

          • That is not the case my friend. Even against Haiti which is not good competition Lo Celso was one of their best players. Biglia is not upgrade. He is slow, not creative and should not start. This is bad coaching. Period. Why would I hope they play better when Sampa made a poor choice. ? This is bad coaching period.

        • …………………aguero………..
          Tagls..Dima….messi…..mesa..salvio
          ……………msch……biglia……………….
          …………rojo……………ota

          Dimaria, messi, mesa and aguero down the middle.

        • San Isidro Why would Sampaoli want to play Lo Celso against a team who’ll sit back? We have enough talent to break them. Biglia would be an extra defender to add that one extra protection at the back against Icelandic counter attacks and it would also allow our 2 defenders to run up…

          Like Caballero said, they’ve analysed each teams strengths and weaknesses. Lo Celso would be better for Croatia and Nigeria.

          That’s a manager who’s being tactical. You’re over thinking here and not looking at *why* he’d not play Lo Celso.

          • Good analysis CAI, I for one believe Argentina is going to be a difficult team to plan for and I wish the best for this Team.

    • YES, I BELIEVE. I TRUST MESSI. THIS IS GOING TO BE HIS WORLD CUP.

      No way, our squad is worse than 2014 where we reached the final.

      • Argentina current squad was weaker.garay basanta demichelis all far better cb than we have right now.Romero better.mascherano biglia enzo all in their prime now they are old.dimaria was coming from a ucl winning campaign.higuain was in his peak or at least 100 times better what he is now.zabaleta was our CB.we had gago as playmaker.lavezzi hard working.aguero was 4 years younger and Messi also 4 years younger though came exhausted.we had lots of luck and our road to final was not as hard as this year .we were playing in south American soil.so don’t be blind our squad is not better than 2014. And also more importantly sabella was in charge for 4 years we had better chemistry and we all knew the formation.now it all depends on sampaoli.if coaches the team well and don’t make mistakes in tactics then we can reach another final and from there champions will be that side which handle the pressure best

  34. I honestly refuse to vote, lets cut the chit-chat, WE ALL WANT THAT DAMN TROPHY……..I am tired of listing and seeing nonsense on T.V., online, face to face, this guy’s opinion and that…..ENOUGH TALK, lets play already.

  35. I have strong faith in our manager. He turned Chile to win their first major honour with a lot of Chilean based players. I believe he knows WHATS HE’S DOING.

    Sampaoli please I wished you was our manager before you went to Sevilla, you did it great at Chile and Sevilla. I respect your success at Chile even though beating my nation, you did it for your manager Status and CV, I get it. But you can also use it as a positive to success because that experience you used can be used towards getting our first WC in 32 years.

    I have my faith all in Sampaoli he looks at every game prepares for the game. Icardi didn’t get picked because he didn’t suit the team, he had to pick a team within a deadline. Professional manager, makes tough decisions! He don’t care what anyone says.

  36. Couldn’t vote. First time ever I have no idea where we are.
    1990 – I was 9 years old blinded by thinking we would win because of the maradona effect.
    1994 – robbed of Diego after the Nigeria game…world cup came tumbling down on us.
    1998 – Passerella at the helm I thought we had the complete team. Then Bergkamp pissed on my parade.
    2002 – cocky enough to purchase ‘campeones 02’ at the back of the home shirt. Premature ending resulted in going into solitary hiding for 4 years.
    2006 – thought we were strong enough to get to the semis at least.
    2010 – went with the maradona circus knowing it was going to crash big time like we did in Bolivia. It was obvious when I saw England get battered by the Germans in the 2nd round and the 1st half score line didn’t give it justice to the mauling the Germans were giving a what I believed was a solid back 4 for England. I knew then that our defense was in for bashing. Wasn’t surprised. But still depressed
    2014 – worst 4 months of my life. Build up to the world cup was stressful not to mention my wife was seriously ill. When it began it began solidly but petered out towards the end. Getting to the final was difficult to bear. Suffered mentally. It was torture. Yet I had predicted we were the favorites. But favorites to win it if we had went in with the form we had in 2013.
    2018 – no clue what so ever. This world cup has come a year early for Sampaoli. I really hope the 28 days they’ve had together has worked miracles.
    Another 2 months of heartache and agony along with left arm pains and mental torture.
    I just need to witness a world cup win so that I can close this chapter. It’s taken over and destroying my life.

    • Relax bro. Let’s all enjoy this world cup.

      If us fans and the players, especially Messi, are destined to get the trophy, we will get it.

      I don’t know why, but I have high hopes this time although I too believe this world cup has come a year early for Sampaoli and a group of talented youngsters. But then, Messi will be 1 year older next year. May be a year younger Messi can compensate the shortcomings. Football is a team game, but In Messi We Trust.

    • vik:”I just need to witness a world cup win so that I can close this chapter. It’s taken over and destroying my life.”
      amigo I fully understand what you are saying, its crazy a game we have no deciding of what happens on the fields yet it can and does ruin big parts of ones life.
      7 final losses since 1990 really hurts, really hurts and i don’t care how we do it as they say “by hook or by crook” as long as we win it this time-we really deserve some very overdrew luck.
      n.b for those wondering….”By hook or by crook” is an English phrase meaning “by any means necessary”, suggesting that any means possible should be taken to accomplish a goal”

  37. Turbulent qualifying,
    Tentative defending,
    Tons of horse-power
    Talented attacking,
    Tempered expectations

    What could be better? 😄. Seriously.. hope the low pressure environment in this WC is to our advantage. Let us play beautiful football Argentina, the cup will come if it is ours.

  38. Man I’m so excited for first game of Argentina .. ill have a game at 6 am, first beer at 7 am, big breakfast at 8 am, and ready to watch the big game at 9am.. vamos carajo..

    I’m even excited to see Russia vs Saudi arabia..

  39. Spain’s coach just got fired on the eve of the world cup.
    That leads us to the semis where we play Germany, Mexico, or Switzerland probably (those are my contenders for the spot).
    Then we defeat Brazil (we did in a friendly last year!)

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