Argentina press conference as Lionel MESSI, ROJO, SAMPAOLI all talk

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In what was a memorable match, the two Argentina goalscorers on the day Lionel MESSI and Marcos ROJO as well as coach Jorge SAMPAOLI gave their thoughts on the match and the World Cup.

The hero of the hour Marcos ROJO was up first. Here’s what he had to say:

“After the match against Croatia, we were more united than ever. This goal is for my family and for this group that deserves it. Vamos Argentina!”

Lionel MESSI stated that he was confident they would win and went on to thank the fans.

“We were confident that we would win this match. It’s marvelous to win this way. It’s deserved joy. I knew that God was with us and he wouldn’t leave us out.

“I thank everyone who is out here for all of the sacrifices they’ve made, and also those back in Argentina who have always supported us. This shirt comes before everything else.

“It was a very even match, where we controlled the ball in the first half. After the penalty, we played faster, more nervous, looking for the goal that would take us to the second round. Luckily, we found it.

“It was a very big mess for us all because we had just gone through some complicated days because of the previous matches. Thankfully we’re still on target.”

Coach Jorge SAMPAOLI spoke about how the match against France will be difficult and just like MESSI, thanked the fans who made the trip.

“These players played with heart and with a lot of rebellion. This will strengthen us for the future. With MESSI, we share a dream of doing something important in Russia.

“I thank everyone because they have made us feel like we were in Argentina. It made us very happy, on the pitch and like yesterday at the hotel. The regularity and consistency that the team had will allow us to play our next final. We’re going to play against a team that are candidates (to win the World Cup), it will be a very demanding match.

“We will play against a team that has a lot of great players individually. We will work on the collective part so that MESSI can have a great match like he did today.”

198 Comments

  1. Di Maria and Higuain shouldn’t be near the national team. I hear Higuian’s hard work on here, what hard work, are you kidding me? he’s a striker so he needs to score, if he wants to be a midfielder then he needs to tackle, and he’s not even good at that.

    Mascherano loses the ball and gifts passes in dangerous area carelessly, and he’s also a big liability going forward. The penalty though wasn’t his fault, there was no penalty at all, but the referee was fond of using VAR like a child having a new toy.

    Meza is not good, so they really need to stop send him as a sub. We need to see more of Pavon and Dybala and also Ansaldi.

    They really misuse the VAR and it doesn’t look something they need to continue, if someone moves his arm accidently, they give penalty, if someone locks his arms on another player, it’s penalty. If you just be behind a player inside the box, it’s a penalty. This becomes ridiculous.

  2. So much hate towards Argentina by International media. Sites like Dailymail are running anti Argentina or Messi articles for two weeks. I really hope God is with us when everyone is against us. Please take us to world cup glory.

  3. I’m a little confused, if the inmates are running the asylum so why did Meza come in, why did it take forever for Kun to come in?? I just saw a clip where Sam was saying something to Messi, he stops and looks at him and then he says something again and Messi looks at him briefly and then walks away with a “shut the hell up look on his face”

    • Messi went to greet Sampaoli at the end and Sampaoli said he is proud of that gesture from Messi.

      Sampaoli also asked for Messi’s approval before bringing on Aguero.

  4. You know what’s the most amazing part about the goals yesterday? Both were brilliant goals scored by left footers with their right foot ! Just wow

  5. Mascherano was fighting to dead in the last 30 minutes. Such inspiration. We always need that spirit to win.
    Not a great game from Mascherano, but he’s still one of our rare consistent performers. Only Messi, Mascherano and Otamendi are undisputed starters thus far.

    There’s very little movement from our attackers in the last 30 mins. We should learn from Germany and Brazil, they kept moving, maybe they’re too strong physically though. Luckily we scored that damn goal. Still can’t believe Rojo can score a goal like that, I thought it was Kun.

  6. Someone tell me please how is this possible….PEREZ was not on the original 23 players. Then LANZINI gets hurt and PEREZ from watching the world cup from his TV starts 2 games! Sensible thinking is that he should be the back up for promoted back up of LANZINI in the starting 11( LO CELSO).
    Furthermore, enough of this MEZA guy. It is funny when you need a goal to get him in and not DYBALA or AGUERO.
    ARMANI looks safe with the ball in his feet.
    Argentina should go with ARMANI- MERCADO/OTAMENDI/FAZIO/ROJO – MASCHERRANO/BANEGA/DI MARIA – MESSI/ACUNA/AGUERO….
    No more MEZA/PEREZ/BIGILA ever again.

    • Its not possible. But we dont have trainer. The players run the show know. Unbelievable but i think was the only solution. The first two games where terrible by samp. First of all i am not Argentinean but this team is my only team and my love. We have to improve to pass france but its possible. We have the players to win any team but we need to play like Argentina. I have seen most of Argentina games from 1982 until today. We have the players and alot are home because for strange reason they where not included in this team. We are the talk the show of this wc positive or negative we has the best fans in Russia.lets play like we can play. Morale is up

    • Enzo perez was the most important player yesterday the proof is that once he was substituted argentina midfield has dead
      He was completing masche tasks

      • I agree.. enzo made it possible for Banega to play free.. and made it possible for Mascherano to be aggressive in his tackles. Enzos greates quality is his positional awareness and well rounded skills. He man marks, he defends, he gives passing options, he gives calm accurate passes, he can shield thr ball amd dribble out of trouble if he has to, he is good in the air.. solid box to box. In a team full of specialists, we need complete midfielders, id put locelso in there too (less physical though, but quicker). Enzos only flaw is his fitness goes down around the 70th.. especially when its just him and masch holding the fort.

      • true but PEREZ is more of a CM also.Against Croatia he played in the midfield not on the right side. And lets face it, his competitive career at a high level is over for some years now. SALVIO would be a better fit on the RM position, i also agree.

        • yes the croatia game was a disaster and the system is chnaged again
          i like lo celso
          but only time for him to come on is either for banega maybe

          he can not play DM by himself like biglia or masherano

    • acuna???? he should not get in the third side 😀
      i guess enzo provides something to the team according to sampa we donot see but its a loss tht lo celso didnot get a single outing 🙁

      sampaoli changes completely destroyed the team shape!!! if pavon was to come in it had to be for di maria .. and meza before aguero when looking for a goal.. is just crazy

      • i would have preferred a winger like LAMELA or A.CORREA, but they are not on the team. ACUNA can offer a lot on the pressing, we cant afford to have like 3 players up front just walking around 🙂

  7. Istique

    Not only did I watch all the France games (I root for them in Europe) Also the Netherlands and a little bit for Germany (a country who saved my life and gave me everything I have – I dont like their football though)
    I root for Argentina just because I love the football Argentina plays. The style of Tango. The enganche. Tiki tiki. I dont have any ties to the country it is strictly football.
    I am crazy! I watched every game at the World cup. And plan to watch all the remaining games.
    El loco like bielsa. 😀
    I hope Uruguay and Colombia go far.

    I think we looked determined and nervous until we scored. After that we played very good in the first half. I have been critical of the non existent midfield and called for a playmaker because we didnt play one. 2 players can play that role and they are banega and lo celso, neither one played in the previous matches. Perez was not shiny but he did his job. I still would like to play lo celso instead of him. I fully believe he will sometime during the tournament. 4-4-2. Di maria and pavon should be subs of each other and not play together. Aguero and higuain need to fuse. I think dybala will play a big role. We have organisational issues on the pitch and there is no plan just improvising. 3 players went to head the ball and it ended up being a corner which ended up being an unnecessary penalty. I think cakir was terrible. After that we played like a almost knocked out boxer and we threw everything up front and we scored. It worked for us this time. I think we can play better and must built on the first half perfermonce and less on the 2nd half perfermonce. France also have problems and maybe I am wrong but we can and will beat them. They lack creativity in midfield and they dont have a 9. Giroud is horrible if he scores against us then we deserve to go home. They play 4 centre backs. Hernandez and pavard are center backs just kike we use to. I hope sampaoli or whoever is in charge doesnt decide to bench tagliafico and put rojo as lb. mbape is a great player, and griezmann also. It will be midfield battle. To our adventage the pace will be slow.

  8. Congratulations for each Argentina fan for the win against Nigeria. Now the tough and rough time is coming because Argentina is going to face France. Now within these days the practice session is very important. Argentina needs more practice for defences. Practice set pieces for corners and free kicks. It is very strange things that the last 3 matches they were not good for corner set pieces, no planning, no good ball delivery etc… But we know Rojo and Otamendi is good in aerial ball. So more practice for corners. Preparation of Armani for penalty kicks. France has strong line up so make defence organised and strong and prepare counter attack with extreme pace.

  9. for the france match i think fazio needs to come in for tagliafico and patner otamendi in the center, giroud is very good at hold up play and you need to play smart against him and greizman. rojo should play on the left, i think one on one mbappe will destroy tagliafico and not that rojo has good pace and strength plus adds familiarity in that backline. in mid i think perez plays in place for masche, put salvio on the flank to cover mercado plus hell add plenty of pace on the brak, i actually think despite how awefull di maria is he needs to play on the left, im not convinced either pavon or locelso or meza can offer support to the fullback maybe acuna but yet again if acuna comes in it takes away that familiarity in midfield. keep banega in the middle with messi infront of him higuain i still think should start up front his work ethic is important against a team like france and hell hold the ball well,.. on the subs it will depend on circumstance but sampaoli surely must be wondering why he left his 23 man squad short with quality at the back and in the middle of the pack. Armani did well but will be really tested vs france though he seems confident and i personally never even noticed it was his first cap

  10. Beating African team with speedy players isn’t easy, we saw Germany last time, Argentina worked hard to stop musa pace and they succeed reason Argentina qualified. Playing 2nd half against African team always difficult, Noone match their stamina, messi played most pressure game in his career and delivered man of the match performance, haters just go to hell

      • I agree Dybala needs to play but as subs especially when it is still a tie game. Why? Dybala is our best PK taker.

        And I agree Higuain needs to start not only because he links up better with Messi but he is also our worst PK taker. Aguero needs to replace him when it is a tie game:

        They need to practice PK for shootout. I hope Messi takes a simple panenka PK. Zidane did it against Italy and it worked. I only remember Messi taking panenka PK once or twice in his career.

  11. Let’s hope the guys not only analyze France but also have a look at yesterday’s match. There is a lot to improve. Take for example the sloppy passes in the first 15 minutes. Mascherano made a very bad pass that was intercepted. He tracked back and corrected it himself. Bravo. Against France such mistakes result in goals. Griezmann and Mbappe will surely convert such gifts.

    We did not create enough chances. Many times Banega had the ball he could not pass forward because everybody was standing still. Various TV channels showed in their analysis that Argentina plays walking football at a slow pace. The pass from Banega to Messi that resulted in a goal was brilliant. We need more of those, but for that we need players to move. That is why Perez needs to go. We need someone on the flank that gives passing opportunities. Pavon is great for that.

    We have to look at subs. Meza for Di Maria when we are desperately looking for a goal? Dybala and Aguero on the bench and Sampa brings Meza. That is just weird.

    They also have to look at their fouls. Why did Mascherano pull the Nigerian player down? The ball was not even near them.

    Most goals at this WC come from standard situations (corners, free kicks, penalties). Based on what we have seen so far our corners and free kicks can be improved.

    • Pavon is good, but we really need tyo practise corners, we wasted many corners with no threat at all hitting the first defender in front!

    • did decent but could have crossed way better, better corner, and not waste a few passes. I think he should start but he needs to polish up..

  12. This match again showed how useless Messi is under pressure. Was amazing before the break but after the equalizer he was the most panicked player of the field, hopefully he will stay calm in these situations, he can learn something from masche to in this regard . Di Maria did what he does best, loosing possession, why got selected again after being left in second match is beyond me. Enzo is good when you need to defence ,thats why starting with him may not be the wisest decision, the way Argentina played at first half with more creativity in midfield there would be more scoring chances, we have Lo Celso who is an ideal midfielder for this team but don’t see he is getting any minutes in this world cup for unknown reason. It is clear from this match that we need more and more midfielder like Banega , lo celso, Lanzini, pastore. Messi is enough if our midfielders are creative. Remember Spain won a world cup mostly without a proper forward because they had a team full of creative midfielders.

    • Yes, although people will hate me for this. But I was thinking on similar lines. Argentina has to score first and lead matches to win and make Messi play better. He went almost missing again in second half. But again, he needs some luck. Had that free kick gone in, it would have done a lot good for him and entire team. Anyways, I am sure he will up it for the game against France. As now the team goes with a more positive vibe all around.

    • Dude… get a life! Showing bravado is not the same as playing well. Messi pressed hard, did whatever he can while the midfield lost its cool. And who was tasked with marshelling the midfield? Yes, Mascherano. Just because the man had blood on his face does not absolve from the fact that he had a horrible match. And who came after Di Maria? Meza, and what he did? Have some logic before ranting such nonsense. Lo Celso is unproven. Face it. We saw it against Spain. Argentina completely lost its midfield in both games after Perez got substituted. Utter chaos.

    • There should be a dislike button just to deal with this sort of attention seekers without using any word. Messi gets only one chance to score in a life or death match, he dispatches it ruthlessly and that’s what he has been doing all his life btw and then a sore loser in life comes out with his phone to teach Messi how to deal with pressure!! Unbelievable!

      • Guys calm down. We are all on the same team, you know.

        Messi had a good match. Let’s not forget that the Nigerians were fighting very hard on their one half in the 2nd part of the game, with the confidence given by the goal-penalty. It is difficult for anyone to perform well with half the oppponents round him.

        And one last thing on Messi, because we are all (icluding myself complaining all the time). If we want him to play like in Barca, the rest of the team need to play like his teamates in Barca and this cannot really happen for many reasons. Still, the one time he was fed properly he scored a great goal.

        In any case, let;s be strict but fair.

    • France are strong but not unbeatable. Remember Portogal win without Ronaldo. But we need our 1 half performance and di maria to be on top form plus macherano stop do stupid mistakes. Plus i have a strong feeling fifa want germany vs brazil fror obvious reasons. But the biggest game with the biggest tv spectators think good about this will be Portugal vs Argentina ( the biggest clash of the two biggest footballers of our time

      • Di Maria will never be on top form, the guy is washed out, he can’t make couple passed correct in a match.

    • One thing I have learnt about Messi after watching him for so long is he almost never wastes ball possession and is one of the best players in the world to keep the ball. Are we watching the same game? Messi may not be able to find a way through sometimes due to players not running into space or being too static or not having chemistry (do not know how one another will run), but he alsways do what is best at that point in time. Even the positions that we see him lurking around walking is calculated as he is ready to sprint and launch a attack if the correct pass comes.

    • hahahahahahah!! i hope you never touch a keyboard again after posting a comment like this.

      Lo Celso, Pastore?? Lo celso plays in a farmers league and had a very good friendly match with HAITI. So does it mean he should be an automatic starter? And Pastore is a bench warmer with PSG lol. Either you are a troll or you dont even know what you are typing.

      “Messi is useless under pressure” – this cracked me up! They should have called you in the place of Messi probably. Seriously dude, stop commenting! As delicious as the pass was to him, he still had 20 yards ahead of him with the target on his weaker foot. Just so you know, coming into this match was a pressure in itself.

      I hope you have got the attention you need! Now stop watching football and go visit a doctor 🙂 Health is wealth

  13. Yes, I am elated and still hung over. But, Samp, Messi and Masche again screwed up with the subs. Higuain proved how bad he is. Although he was good in spreading the ball in first half. In second half, it had to be Dybala over Meza any day, any team, any coach (coaches in our case). Dybala has to play to create chances. Also, Aguero has to have a larger role to play. Team spirit looks good and thats great. What a goal by Messi. Surely reduces some weight off his shoulders. Time for the kill. If we trump France, suddenly we will be a very strong unit. But honestly, beating France looks very very very…difficult. Also, we need some luck.

  14. If Rojo did not score, everyone here would have been bashing Higuain for his 2 misses and Mascherano for the penalty and some of his dangerous passings. I will add Dimaria for his dull performance.

  15. That penalty given to Nigeria almost killed our dream I can’t believe a responsible ref would give such a farcical penalty given that the ball was miles away from the Nigerian player

  16. Yeaaaarrrrrghhhhhhhhhhh !!!
    Okay i wont say too much about the game because that will be repeating the same shit everyone is saying.
    Except yesterday i saw the thing that i needed to see PASSION.
    MARADONA personified all our emotions.
    Heck even Brazil fans i know at office and other places were calling up and congratulating with very similar emotions.
    When your sworn enemies do that you know you have earned RESPECT !
    Youngsters will learn this from warhorses like Mascherano !
    Onwards we march. Another day to live. Another day to die.

  17. You have to feel for this group of players guys, They were crying after the match, that much pressure they were all having, More than any of the fans all around the world. they want to win, they gives everything they have on the pitch, Di Maria, Higuain, Banega, Enzo, Rojo, Mascherano (Man he was bleeding but still didn’t take treatment in the dying minutes – How on earth are we going to replace a guy like him) Messi even wasted time and got yellow and he too was hustling and tackling. Everybody was doing everything they could, Unforced Errors will happen guys because they are all humans, They were giving their heart out. Have to respect this group, the core group they r comfortable playing together. We can have our opinions but the fact is they want to win the World Cup more than any of the fans around the world.

    By the Way i like Armani a lot a no nonsense GK, he knows he is not that great with ball on his feet so he simply comes out and clears the ball even if its a corner also he is confident to face it. he even don’t do the short passing’s to the defenders which is dangerous. He was asking them to go up.

    Another guy i have huge admiration is Tagliafico at last we have a solid left back who can play for us for long time, a born leader, he can be our captain. now we need a solid Right back too (Bustos may be, he is young so he will learn more)

    Mascherano would be a great Coach for the upcoming generation, He can Marshall a group. May be he should coach us now hehe. Sampaoli was having so much joy after that final goal, Have to feel for him, for all he is going through. RESPECT TO ALL (Apart from Caballero i wont forgive him by the way, He was trying to be cool with his legs, Crappppppppp)

    • Armani is really cool and steady. He showed calmness throughout the match. Even after conceding the penalty kick goal, he showed composure to just pick the ball up and get on with the game without any unnecessary outward emotion.

  18. Amigos!! 2 points
    1) Yellow Cards – i think the rule is that yellow cards will accumulate till semi final entry. So which means for next 2 games ( Prequater & quarter ) following players need to be extra cautious – Mercado , Mascherano, Otamendi ( foolish card collected ) , Acuna , Messi ( unnecessary card – as%h%le referee could have kept quiet) & Banega . Seeing the nature of play – Masche, Banega , Otamendi, Mercado really need to watch out .
    Assuming Portugal comes in QF ( God Willing we beat France ) – Bruno Fern, Adrian Silva, Cedric , Gurreiro,Quaresma & Ronaldo are already carrying 1 card each & Uruguay’s tough physical play can add to this list . Surprisingly Pepe still clean.
    2) Folks – how is Armani for Penalty shoot outs ? Moses easily foxed him . But wanted to know generally how is Armani at PK . we will definitely run into 1 PK shoot out very soon. All said & done Cabellero is good at PK ( though we wont have a sub available by 120th min to do the swap Cabellero for penalties ) .

  19. First objective achieved, which is to be in the round of 16. Absolutely great relief and joy after the abysmal start. Few points that stood out
    1. VAR is an absolute farce. The foul given on Mascherano happens day in day out in every game in any of the European leagues. So the idea of FIFA is defend corners without having body contact. Time for players to realize this and change themselves. Every team is going to leverage this non sense to claim penalty. Unfortunately the refs have been inconsistent in using VAR. Why was penalty not called on Pavon against iceland. Absolute grey area with zero consistency among refs
    2. To leverage VAR we need to stop taking short corners and put in bodies into the penalty box. This is a must
    3. No substitute for experience and tactical formation
    4. This world cup is not the time to experiment with youngsters. Sampaoli should have done that in the 13 games he was in charge. Anyone can call it Messi and friends or whatever they want. Reality is Meza, PAvon, Taglifico are clueless many times on whom to pass and what position to place themselves in. Pavon would have been a great asset had he played atleast 4-5 games with the starters. He still can come max as an impact player
    5. The overall effort was fantastic and with high energy.
    6. Armani seems to be confident and his style and collection gave me confidence which was not there in Cabellero. Cabellero in 2014 was one of the very best in the world. Guess lack of playing time and the Argentine stress bug has bitten him

    Going forward I hope we continue with a 4-4-2 system

    Armani
    Mercado Otamendi Fazio Rojo
    LoCelso Mascharano Banega DiMaria
    Messi Higuain

    Substitutes : Aguero, Pavon and Dybala.

    With the VAR it is a must to have tall folks while defending and executing corners. Fazio is a must against the tall and strong European teams. Unfortunately our midfield have very limited options. Would love to play a 4-3-3 with Dybala upfront with Messi and Higuain. Or Aguero with Messi and Higuain. But with the current defense it might be a big risk

    4 more finals to conquer

    Cheers!!

      • Higuain brings in mobility and creates space for Messi. He also tracks back and helps defense. That is the reason why most of the top clubs are still behind him. His finishing has been a question mark for sure.
        The issue with all the youngsters now is they are shocked when they play against park the bus teams. When club teams are still figuring a solution you cannot expect Pavon, Meza and for that matter even Dybala to deliver. They need some time to settle. Whether folks like it or not Sampaoli has not enabled that. I still feel the fab 4 is the best choice going forward. However with an unsettled defense, u need 4 in the mid field.
        Dybala had a very strange season with Juventus. He started on an absolute high and fell so badly from the high due to personal issues for he needed to be counseled by Nedved and then he picked his game. His end of season was no where close to where he started. He needs to develop consistency. For this world cup it is too late for him to be integrated with the team. For me he is the best talent we have if you ask me to bet for the future. But then so was Pastore.

  20. Everyone should unitedly train properly according to France weaknesses.
    But Higuain and di Maria need to practice from outside box shots accurately within less space.
    Rojo and Otamendi and Mascheranho need speed training and accurate tackling. And practice more on

  21. Great interview by Sampaoli.

    “A coach who has to train Leo knows that everybody surrounding him needs to make him feel secure, sure, and if we’re able to create passes to Leo we can create opportunities,” he said. “Because otherwise we suffer. We have the best player in the world, and the rest of the players need to benefit from that. That’s why I said that the match against Croatia was our problem and not [Messi’s] problem.”

    Complete interview:

    http://www.espn.com/soccer/argentina/story/3546394/jorge-sampaoli-hailed-his-true-rebel-argentina-team-after-beating-nigeria

  22. Honestly now I want Brazil to finish second of their group and Germany to top the group hehe.

    That way they would be on the other side of the bracket. It is very realistic though.
    Brazil needs a draw or a small victory margin against Serbia (and hope Switzerland would win big).

    Germany needs to win big against South Korea which will be very likely.

  23. Hope BANEGA keeps rolling, If he had his way we will beat France. More than Messi he is the one whom we will be relying on, It was great to see him marshaling the team from the center, Start with the same team against France too. Enzo is vital in our midfield, He may not look flashy but he will be needed against tougher midfield players of France, He and Masche frees Banega of the defensive duties. Lo Celso wont be able to handle the pressure i think.

    • i have always been a fan of Banega. The only 1 point with him is he cant a long game. He is exhausted by 60-70 mins. So Lo Celso becomes required as a sub. Or start Lo Celso & sub as Banega . Banega excels deeper while Lo Celso can play bit more attacking .
      Just for the momentum we should not make any changes. But subs should be Pavon for Dimaria, Locelso for Banega , Salvio for Enzo , Aguero for Higuaín . maybe Dybala for a defender if we are trailing & less time ( obviously max of 3 from this list ) .

  24. Man, what I do for this site is simple:
    1. Reporting the latest news
    2. Supporting the team NO MATTER WHAT or WHO IS PLAYING!
    3. Cheering for the team and believing in them.

    As for number 2, you might suspect that I am a fan of the veteran players instead of Argentina.

    Read my posts again before the game against Iceland and Croatia. NEVER I DOUBT my team! No at all!

    Before Iceland:
    I basically was excited and confident before Iceland game. When he used 2 double pivot number 5? I was the one reporting why Sampaoli used double pivot, and every opinion I wrote is NOT EVEN my opinion (Read this). It is what I DID READ from either ole or tyc and I reported it here! Back then he used double 5 because he wanted Tagliafico and Salvio to be in total attack mode against super defensive Iceland. That’s why he wanted Masche and Biglia to start. Whether it worked or not, I had no idea because that was not my opinion. That’s what I read.

    My job is TO SUPPORT AND CHERISH FOR MY TEAM!

    Before Croatia:
    When Sampaoli used a very questionable 3-4-3 with a lot of newbies? I was the one trying to sound positive. I said the line up is very similar to our BEST GAME against Ecuador.

    Before Nigera:

    Sampaoli decided to rely on the senior players and I just supported his decision.

    Had he said: “I would dump all of the senior players except Messi for the Nigeria match”. Guess what? I would still sound positive and support the team!

    Go read again my comments, and I am sure some of you remember what I posted during the World Cup, not one time I sound negative to my team. NOT ONCE!

    I do this because I am a true fan. I just supported whatever decision that was made out there in real futbol. I do not like to sound negative. I do not like to discuss fantasy futbol. Sometimes when we are positive, that gives power to our team, that’s why the supporters are often called the “12th man”.

    It is painful to wait for another 4 years and I have been their supporter for a looooong time. I missed the 1986 feeling when we won the trophy. Diego’s trophy with my favorite back then, Napoli in 1987 and 1989 or something got me extremely happy, but they are still not Argentina. When we won the 1991 and 1993 Copa America, I took it for granted. I thought it was easy to win Copa America because back then we were the most successful South American team in Copa America.

    Do you remember that the last 2 games of Argentina WC qualifying games at home where just had a 0-0 draw or something? You know why? Because the supporters there coming to the stadium to criticize the team. They were awfully quiet. Almost no one singing. Almost no one cheering. They were just a bunch of River or Boca or whatever team fans who did not like what they saw because their local heroes were not there. That’s one of the main reasons. Messi and co did not feel like playing at home. That’s why we couldn’t even beat the likes of Venezuela at home.

    Even when Brazil played us at Argentina in a 0-0 game, one of their players (I think Marcelo) said that the home crowd was so quiet. He (Marcelo) did not feel like playing Argentina in Argentina!

    I mean what do you get from being negative? Di Maria went to psychologist because he was kept being attacked by fans and media (yes by you folks).

    Mascherano trying like crazy to help the team but he was being attacked to control the team just because he discussed strategy with Sampaoli.

    Messi… Well Messi, 200 other countries would love to have a player like him in their team (including Spain, Germany, France, or Brazil), but we are not thankful. We know that he wants to win. I am sure this guy would trade all of his Barca trophys and Ballon D’or trophy for one World Cup trophy! Why question him?

    We just need to support them. They are the golden generation of our futbol who is playing for their last World Cup. Between them there are so many WC U20 trophy in Messi’s era and Aguero’s era. If they can prove that they were the best when below 20, that means they can prove it here. And they are far from a finished product. With the exception of Masche and Enzo Perez, none of Messi, Aguero, Higuain, or Di Maria or Banega are declining. Higuain has a slump yes, but not declining.

    To make it simple: They do not deserved to be hated.

  25. Petro if you haven’t notice paper teams are not cutting it at this year world cup…You’re not making any sense, you talk about Banega not being consistent yet Pogba haven’t been consistent for France and Manchester United..Tell me how is this France team consistent? Banega is off to Arsenal after the world cup.

  26. Did you guys notice how Armani was anticipating Nigeria’s every attack and he was always ready?Oh man he played really good today.I pray he will have a solid game against France. Please just don’t concede any Penaltys guys!!!!

    • I am very impressed with the calmness and composure shown by Armani too! Immediately, he made his defenders calmer and even me in front of the TV!

  27. CongratulationCongratulations!!!
    It is my first post here… I am so happy to see the players spirits at this match even though there were many lost passes in the midfield which I can understand due to the heavy pressure on the players… but the spirits made us through…. they were fighting for every ball and that was the key.
    It is not impossible to win the cup when we work on the following I BELIEVE:
    1_ We shall keep on the same spirits as Rojo said the match against crotia made us together more than ever… please keep on that and work as a motivated team.
    2_ we need to get more confidence in our abilities as this victory i hope will be a great reason to get that so the players can make good and quick passes with some creativity to make more chances.
    3_ every time we concede a goal, we lose our style and plans as it was obvious in the last three matches. We are Argentina, we need to keep calm and stick on the plan with confident that we can score any time and win. (Sampa job)
    4_ substitutions have to be right better than the last three matches.
    5_ no more late Subs in the matches as the last three matches. Subs should be earlier specially that we need a goal in all the three matches. Sampa must plan for all the details to make sure that the game is on the right track as planned. Like when we need more creativity, we should have dybala and lo celo as subs… when we are behind, we need to have Haguain and Aguero both and keep on the same Sub by taking out a defender and adding an attacker but it should be earlier than this match. When we are winning add bilgia and secure the results
    6_ we need to use the corners well and the side kicks… a lot of fighting in the box and who knows that we might score or get a penalty.
    7_ keep on the same formation. We do not need any experiments.
    8_ Messi and Maschrano please gather the team as one hand one goal and lead us to the cup.

    Thank you for the well done game and lets work on out mistakes and weakness.

  28. God bless Arg ! Another second chance to write history and legacy in WC. The team got the spirit back and the dreams are alive. Forget the turmoil, now the team should be united and Sampaoli should realized his error experimental player selection and game plan. Good thing ! Seems el captain Messi dare to step up and lead the team on and off the pitch. Yes, Dybala or Lo Celso must be in the starting XI against France. Banega is at his best against Nigeria. Do hope he will keep his performance. Keep growing and shine all the way to final

    Congrats for the win. Vamos Arg !

  29. Great win
    All played well
    Except maschreno
    He dint had any outlet
    Couldn’t head was clearly struggling
    Though was giving his best
    He is a weak link in the team
    He can’t give crucial passes from the half line just can’t
    We need to change him
    Though I know he wouldn’t be dropped

    • Don’t be delusional.

      Mashe made so many tackles. He was great as a destroyer. His passing was erratic at the beginning. Reg the penalty, can’t blame him much, almost all defenders do that while defending set pieces.

  30. I don’t think you will see any changes in goalie or defense. With Messi Mascherano Banega Higuain and DiMaria that is 10 players. I hope he starts LoCelso instead of Enzo. But I have a bad feeling it will be Biglia. I’d rather have Enzo again instead of Biglia.
    What worries me most is 2 games now we lose concentration coming out of the half. We can’t do that

  31. I don’t know if this was discussed earlier since I dared not enter the melee after the game ended, Masche’s face all bloodied and was allowed to continue the game.

    I doubt the REF. didn’t see his face but he probably didn’t have the guts to ask him to get it taken of especially after the BULLSHIT call. I still cant believe he called that a PK and was almost sure he was going to that so-called handball on Rojo.

    • Referee was in Nigerian side……
      How was that a penalty..?? Does he never see football in corner situation??

      Such thing happens daily

  32. I hope Sampaoli and Friends club will go over the performance of 2nd half in the last 25 mins where we played ugly street football. Zero discipline ZERO!!Nobody was even bothering to think before passing.Pavon was just running wildly on right , left side Meza just about to piss his pants, Higuain skying our best chance,Macherano pushing and pulling Nigerians, Messi trying to run pass 4 defenders.Did aguero even touch the ball? Thank god Rojo and Mercado had some sense left at the end.We can’t play steet football everything we go a goal down. Good team like France will bury us.We have to play like the first half today the whole game against France, calm ,composed and not letting the opponent keep the possession of the ball for too long. We have to be ultra defensive and counter attacking. Sit back and attack. Dybala is must here . I hope mad Scientist and Friends club realise that. He should be the one replacing tired Dimaria. He doesn’t have play in the left flank, he can play as a CAM. The only change i would make in starting lineup is loceslo for Enzo as we looked very dull at times due to lack of creative players. Enzo did nothing going forward. We need to play some long aerial balls like the Germans, especially when we will be the one parking bus and attacking on counters now. Dybala, Dimaria Messi and Locelso are the only players that can play long fast aerial balls, trying to create from ground play is not helping!!

    • No Argentina will not park the bus.they should be defensive and mascherano was awful today he needs to improve .defense was ok .lets see.I still want aguero over higuain.locelso not getting minutes is still a mystery

      • Not exactly park the bus but sit back and attack in counters is going to be our obvious strategy for sure. We need some fast and good aerial ball players for this game unfortunately Enzo can’t do that.

    • Mascherano had many bad moments in this match. He almost fuc@d with his passes sometimes. Somehow we escaped. The penalty was soft but he should have been more careful there. Nobody can deny he fought till the end. Fighting spirit is there. Many vital tackles he had made. But still, he’s in the same form he had in qualifiers. The only difference is the spirit is back.

    • I agree for many periods of the game we were always trying to penetrate from the middle which has never worked in all 3 games we have a serious issue in creating chances in these team

  33. I think we are underestimating France..The likes of Kante, Mbappe, Griezmann, Lemar, Fakir, Pogba, Lloris..the list goes on..

    Except Messi – No one is world class..we couldn’t beat Iceland..Croatia’s reserve team beat Iceland..

    And also..we are never good on penalties if a situation arises..

    We have a aged team and not so 100% fit team..

    • Nobody is underestimating France! France is the media favorites, they have all the pressure on them..Argentina is the team that is dislike the most by the media for some reason..No one is doubting France talent but they haven’t look good against Denmark, Peru, Australia and not too long ago USMNT kids. Pogba while talented haven’t done anything special at this world cup. Fakir? So now Lique one players are good now? lol People trash talk Di Maria for playing in the French league yet all the French league base players are being over-hyped! Argentina and France met 11 times: 6 wins for Argentina, 3 Drawn and 2 wins for France..France last win against Argentina was during a pre 1986 friendly game..Argentina two most recent victories came in 2007 and 2009, Messi scoring in the last meetings between the two teams. France is heading into this game with way more pressure, and I can already see all the so call football pundits experts picking France to win..Banega already outclassed Pogba at Old Traford during the UCL recently, not only once but in both games home and away. You’re right on pks though, the team need to practice, hopefully they were practicing since the start of the world cup.

    • France has a superior squad.no one underestimating rather everybody underestimating Argentina.everybody thinking Argentina will be out but I believe this is the hardest match.if we manage to win it we will be champions.France is not unbeatable they looked average until now but they will up their game all the big teams do.our wc campaign is quite similar to real Madrid this champions league.real Madrid also came 2nd in the group and faced one of the favorites psg which is also happened to be a French side.i hope we now improve.this is the toughest 2nd round you can hope for

      • Hi Anuparno/Kidulthood,

        Lets be honest…do we really have a chance against France?..you see Mascherano has 1 good game and he has a terrible one the next…Banega has never been consistent..

        Argentina defense – ?? All over the place..Higuain – not sure..he needs 100 attempts..

        Aguero – He thinks he was god at Manchester City – until Pep got him to ground and same goes for National Team..

        People call for Lo Celso..I am not sure, how good he is in training..he might be too raw..

        Sampaoli’s Substitution puzzles me..

        • You forgot one big, very big element, the psychological nature of sports, of life really. I don’t know if you watch American Sports, but usually big teams that sneaks in as wild card end up winning. Why?? Because they feel, play, comfortable under duress. Argentina has endured, going all the way from the qualifying, has been tested. Frenchs have a formidable team, with unlimited promises…on paper. In real life they’ve looked rather ordinary, not dominant. Everybody can admit, and I do, that France will be the favorite. That said, I think they can be beaten. Argentina is playing again and no serious observer can overlook that reality.

    • Croatias b team played against a very limited team offensively who *had* to win. Iceland parked a massive iceberg against us.. you cant compare both games. Had iceland played crostia the same, even their A team would find it very very hard to score.

    • France will be an easier game than Nigeria. You just over hype their stars. No world class except Messi? I think you are joking.
      Every game is different. When Iceland tried to win against Nigeria, they opened up. When they tried same against Croatia they opened up. Iceland ‘park the train’ against us. Don’t compare this match with other.

    • You say to much. We have world class players too maybe more than them just we dont have team. If we play like the 1 half and macherano di maria play as they should or play lo celso and dybala we are better. Messi aguero banega dimaria dybala lo celso rojo otanendi mercado taliafico armani are not world class player you are joking

    • France is way better than Argentina but we have messi…and a team that is United now more than ever…….
      Lets break the France Team

    • Even Diego Simeone himself said that we should have used a less formidable Argentine team against Iceland. i.e. the team that played Croatia.

      I for one believe that if we play the way we played, fighting for each and every ball, sticking to plan and executing it accurately and above all with GOD’S help. We shall beat France.

      Remember, we’ve already been victimized, spat upon and left for the dead and this creates a re-birth and a no nonsense attitude. I pray and believe that GOD is with us.

  34. I watched the game from aerial view, only sound was from the stadium (Mexican and American commentators are the worst!). Its actually nice seeing formations first hands. Great learning experience. But my only concern is Masche assuming CB role when the team pushes up. Counter attack against him could result in a goal. God I swear ….Armani looked like a natural in one game I haven’t felt this confident about a Argentine shot stopper in so 10 yrs lol. I almost feel like the players and fans put so much heart in to today…..never felt this grand not even in the finals we succumbed in. I’m a Virginia Native ….Washington DC teams are are the closes thing we have to a home team. And the capitals won the stanley cup this year (hockey) it’s been great finally seeing a team become champion after so long. But my point is. The CAPS HAVE OVECHKIN , arguably the best hockey player of this generation and after so many years of trying to finally won and they did it with a team that wasnt nearly as good as it had been ..so…I’m sure you get where I’m going with this. They have to play with heart. Keep composure, until the end. HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE!

    • Casual NHL fan. I root for Rangers. Although I never would root for a Russian for political reasons, I wanted Ovechkin to win the Stanley cup so bad. I wanted to bring this up. Thank you did. Greats should never be accused of never having won a certain title. Messi should have won 2 already by now. Sadly some people didnt want him to.

  35. Maradona losing his mind, drunk and probably high dancing with the Nigerian woman before the game, overacting , giving the finger or should I say fingerS to some people in the stands below him and for the grand finale……..paramedics were called because he probably fainted.

    Whats up with the two watches????? its like a woman that wears all her jewelry whenever she leaves the house.

    • He did the same as coach in s.africa.. the two watches is some supersticious bs he is into. As a person, he is a clown.. but as a player, he is the greatest god amongst men, grande Diego! If you die screaming a goal for the NT its rhe way an angel dies.. vamos vamos Argentina!

  36. I have no words.

    Thank you Jesus.

    On the day we were humiliated by Croatia, I said three Hail Marys and a prayer. Nigeria beat Iceland.

    Today, I said three Hail Marys and a prayer. We won!

    Messi said that God was (is) with us.

    Thank you Lord!

  37. Higuain does everything for us apart from scoring goals and aguero does nothing except scoring goals..thats the difference between them, I want to see how these two players plays together. We will win against france if we play like we played in the first half today, banega was brilliant, mashcerano did some mistakes but he is a warrior! he gives everything for his country. perez was good, pavon’s pace is deadly. I still want to see dybala, dybala should have came on instead of meza. I mean how can you bench a player like dybala? every other 31 teams in world cup will be grateful to have a player like dybala. He is our second superstar after messi. The espn guys were also talking about how dybala can create something out of nothing.

  38. Firstly Congratulations everyone 🙂

    Secondly, I would like to apologize to Rojo and Banega for spitting venom against them. If we play against France the way we played in first half today we will definitely win. The stupid penalty given by the referee almost knocked us out but we also got extremely lucky at the end when he decided not to give penalty for Rojo’s hand ball. If it was any other refree he could have easily given the penalty.

    Sampaoli aka the mad scientist’s 23 man selection blunder is haunting us now. We are unable to play long air balls and ground balls are not creating enough chances. Perroti and Lamela could have been so so much useful. I know its no point talking about the 23 player selection but fuck you Sampaoli. He seems to not learn any lesson whatsoever. Today when we desperately needed a goal, he decides to send Meza. MEZA!!! Fuck you man. Aren’t you done with your experiments?? You have Dybala sitting on the bench. Pavon is a good player but from now on Dybala has to be selected over him. Pavon is still green and Meza is too weak mentally , he shouldn’t play again for us this world cup. It has to be DYBALA ahead of Pavon and Meza. There is a reason he plays for Juventus and Pavon & Meza doesn’t. Enzo was good defensively but couldn’t Locelso do better overall? We need one more creative CM beside Banega.

    2014 Wc and 2016 Man-Utd ROJO is back guys. He was already playing rock solid game today and after that goal his confidence should sky rocket. I love you Rojo !!! Banega !!! wow man. This is his best performance in albiceleste shirt for me. Best player today!!!! Why didn’t Armani start from 1st game Sampa?!!!! Now all of a sudden we look very good in the back with confident goal keeper and 4 good defenders.Sorry Caballero it wasn’t your fault it was Mad Scientist fault who picked you.Higuain missed another crucial chance which could have send us home but it didn’t so he should still start ahead of Aguero, his off the ball movement and build up suits Messi, especially if Messi is playing upfront . But Whats up with our corners man? They were clearly scared of conceding in counter attacks hence not taking a proper concer kick and when we did take a corner kick we wasted it.We have good headers in Otamendi and Rojo we should go for proper corners kicks.

    Now against France we should be the one to sit back and counter attack ,sametime we can’t let them lurk in our box, and not waste our opportunities in counter attacks also. Messi, Higuain and Dimaria must be on their toes Or else they will punish us. We have to go in Sabella mode and play ultra defensive against France and score against them in counter attacks.We had a plan for Musa today which worked perfectly. His speed was useless. After today game I am confident Friends club and Mad Scientist team will work some kind of strategy against dicey French team. Today’s first half was like a dream for me and if we play the same against France , We can beat them. We can win guys!!! Once again Congratulations everyone. We all deserved this win. Vamos Argentina!!!!

  39. Good win, the team fought hard and it would have been an injustice had they ended up in a tie or worse because that was no penalty (you see the exact same play in almost every game on almost every corner kick.

    I thank Croatia for being professional and not throwing in their garbage team , especially the goalkeeper, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I also thank The Nigerians for playing their hearts out in the last game and iceland CAN FUCKOFF, make sure you do that stupid clap on the plane all the way to shitville.

    MESSI, thank you, Masche Thank you, Rojo THANK YOU, Higuian, how many times man, how many times are you gonna drill a hole in our boat???

    Good defensive game, keep it up because we gonna need a whole lot more where that game from.

    I had a calm come over me after Nigeria scored which is extremely unusual for me because usually I would be ready to toss the T.V. out the window. It is like I knew something positive was going to happen because that PK was a great injustice.

  40. El principe
    Great men keep calm in victory and lose.
    Sore winners and sore losers are the worst.
    When Argentina lost to Croatia what did some people do?
    They claimed to be right. Gloat.
    When Argentina wins against Nigeria what do some people do?
    They claimed to be right. Gloat.
    You are a loser!
    you will be a loser all your life.
    Why do I say this?
    you are not able to enjoy our win!
    You are probably there sitting and saying “i told you so” “I told you so” “wow I was once in my life right”.
    you and kid are like Paul Newman in “Nobody’s fool” playing the same lottery ticket for 22 years just to win once.
    Just shut up, enjoy the win.
    You are a Messi fan.
    And I more than ever think there is a “friends club”
    It’s a fact.
    They cant stop me supporting the team I love so much.
    I am going to make you a preposition.
    I said this to a poster: I put my account on the line if Armani doesn’t start sometime during the World cup. this was way before he was selected.
    I offered this to everybody and nobody was brave to take my offer.
    Now my preposition to you is this:
    I bet my account that if we reach the final. Lo Celso will start that game and Dybala will score.
    this offer is aimed at everybody who is brave enough to bet their account.
    Are you?
    I will marry next months so you would do me a favor before my wife orders me not to post here 😛

    • Oh wow. Congratulations man and no need to leave mundo. You already did once and we missed you dearly back then. Players come and go but we fans always stay tight.

    • Come on man, Chill. It’s the best time of your life , about to get married and start a new life. God bless you and your wife. Argentina just won, what else can you ask for? Avoid unnecessary stress, betting something and rooting hard for that to happen in that specific way. The passion is back with the players, now any which way they do it will be just fine, doesn’t matter who plays or doesn’t, for the most part, if Argentina plays as hard as they did today, and luck is our friend, Messi will lift that trophy. Argentina has by far the biggest momentum of any team that will move in the second round. It’s like those wild cards team that picks up pace just at the right moment. Usually you play with the highest amount of confidence, you feel that you cannot die, cannot lose. And when you have Messi on your side it’s almost become destiny. It’s a long long long way, after seeing the gap between what we thought would happen and what actually happened, the best thing is to relax and watch. For me personally I never watched an Argentina game this way, amazing, I was like a Zen Master. Zero expressed emotion on all three goals, I totally controlled myself. Then I said a silent prayer. I guess i’ve been numbed by the unbelievable reality, Argentina should have already had at least two additionals World Cup titles. 90 and 94 were stolen and 2014 fumbled. At least one of those would have been fair. So right now it’s fingers crossed. ✌🏿

      • I want to win the title and get banned hahaha😀this is my plan😀so I use my time for my family instead. This is the only forum Or blog I post. I celebrate fully only when we win the title. Not stressed at all. Summer vacation till September. 😀

    • I think we can be deadly with counter attacks. Look at the pass from Banega to Di Maria and Messi today. Our midfield may be struggling with possession but they will do better with counter attack. Umtiti and Varane are very vulnerable to fouls. Messi/Di Maria/Pavon’s runs will earn us free kicks or penalty kicks. We should also practice corner set pieces. Rojo, Otamendi, Mercado are all very strong in the air and we should utilize that.

    • Frankly speaking Croatia has a better midfield than France and Croatia never dominated us only after caballero mistake we fell into pieces

  41. Can I criticize players without being called a troll?

    * Masche had one of his worst game in a blue and white shirt today. Literally everything he did or tried to do today went wrong. Hopefully he will play better next match.

    Higuain played like prime Luis Suarez today. He gave his marker hell, and pressed like a madman. Kuddos fatboy, goals will come. Di Maria played good as well.

    Finally, I need a paragraph to praise Banega. He was the best player on the pitch today. He pressed, passed and control play like an orchestrator. Like I said a million times, when he shows up, he’s one of the best midfielder currently playing. Hopefully he will show up again next match.

    Also, I like this 4-4-2/lopsided 4-3-3 way better than the shit we played vs Croatia. Anything with a back three is a disaster waiting to be happened. 3 at the back should never be played again.

    Next up is France, who like us has a weak weak midfield. If Messi stays up and plays forward like he did today and Banega shows up again, France is very very beatable. They have a stupid coach.

    • Yes you can, Sir.
      You are one of the greatest posters!
      The only thing I regret was I cursed at you years ago when I was having an argument with Mafioso also a great poster.
      I’m sorry 😀

      • Yeah I remember that as well lol. Nobody is right all the time!

        So how do you think we played today? And what do you make of those crazy substitutions at the end?

        Honestly I don’t think Sampaoli still knows how to get the best out of the team. I can see he likes midfielders who can pass and move, but at the same time I scratch my head when he produces a Masche Biglia lineup!

        Also, what happened to Lo Celso? He was looking like a lock in midfield, but now he looks like the 6th in the pecking order, which is mind boggling.

        Did you watch any France game this tournament? Their midfield is exactly what we have when we play Mascherano Biglia together. I mean…Kante and Matuidi are like two Mascherano at the same time no??? So if Banega shows up, Masche and Enzo (or hopefully Lo Celso) will be more than enough to deal with the both of them. And I dont expect Masche to have another stinker again next match.

    • There were 2 different El Jefecito today. Some moments he was really bad (missing passes, the pk foul). Some others, he was great with his tackles. Overall, he demonstrated the heart of a wounded lion. That fighting spirit was as much important as the goals Messi and Rojo score. Hat off to the old guardian. Hope he will just be better with his passing

  42. French analyst are talking about making a block around messi playing matuidi kanté umtiti eventually pogba will chase him too.
    And they don’t stop saying our weaknesses is the defense and midfielder they are focusing about the bad transmission between those two lines we should work on that.
    Today once more enzo subtitution revealed that enzo was well doing defensively even if he lost some controls in the second. Pavon and meza now are clearly not good option for us lo celso and dybala must have their chance
    Seriously france is n t at all good we could beat them very easily, we just have to be more efficient up front. Higuain should be starter even if we shouldn’t expect him to score but he was doing a well job with his constant pressing on the defenders
    Banega was our best player on the field hope we will the same one saturday
    VAMMOOOOOOS argentina

  43. First of all a big Congrats to everyone. WHAT a performance in under pressure 🙂
    I loved the way Rojo played today not because he scored. He was calm and compose in defence. He was solid too. Banega was class. He listen what i wished for 😉 i am hoping he can do even better one in next game. We still needs to improve a lot. Like we had less movement in front in second half. I want our forward or wingers or even other midfielders makes run or little movement in space. We lack of movement. Anyway i hope our players and coaching stuff doesn’t gets overwhelmed with this victory. They should already started planning for the next match.

  44. I like Lo Celso but I never get this hyped around him..Lo Celso had a decent game against Haiti and people are mistaken his performance against Haiti as to why he should be in the starting XI. Lo Celso was horrible against Nigeria last time that’s why he didn’t play. And if you go back to Lique One, Lo Celso struggled in games against teams like Marseille, Lyon etc all of whom have fast physical black players. I’m no fan of Meza, but compare to Lo Celso he gives the team more energy hence the reason he was preferred against Nigeria. The first goal Spain scored against Argentina during the friendly was because of a LO Celso mistake! Apart from the nice one two link up play Lo Celso had with Banega against Italy, he looked average in the other friendlies against Russia, Spain and Nigeria. Lo Celso will get his chance, no need to hype this guy up..Against Nigeria, you needed warriors not ballerinas, and Lo Celso is a Ballerina, if the game is flowing nicely he will do good, if the game gets physical and dirty, Lo Celso is not a good option for the occasion.

    Listen to all the Banega Bandwagonist, it’s funny though, the guy has been the best midfielder in this last season UCL yet some people constantly dismissed him as a good player..Too many gullible supporters!

    With Messi you don’t need to start with Aguero because Messi can do everything on the pitch Aguero can do and even better..Higuain works hard for the team, it allows Messi to do less defensive work. With Aguero, he just wonders around the opponent 18 yard box until something break his way.. Higuain can hold up play (which allows the wing backs to overlap), presses the opponent back line constantly, pop up in tight areas in and around the opponent penalty box, create key chances, drop in midfield when necessary, and most importantly work is socks off for the team like what Suarez does for Barcelona even when he doesn’t score. Aguero should be a sub and nothing more..I’m a fan of Aguero but he is too lazy on the pitch and selfish.

    Hopefully Meza gain confidence after being apart of the win against Nigeria..Put your head down kid and do your thing..I’m a Argentina fan so I want to see Meza doing well and living up to his true potential.

    Rojo two world cups = 2 goals and 1 assist.
    Aguero three World cups = 1 goal.

    • I would have Aguero in my line-up over Higuain every single day.
      Aguero is much more agile and faster than Higuain. In the first half of today’s match, Messi delivered a perfect through ball but Higuain was far too slow. Aguero would have surely made it 2-0. Not to mention the sitter that Higuain missed around the 80th minute today. He tends to miss simple goals in the pressure moments just like the world cup final and copa centanario final.

      • Aranamor: There was no simple goal or chance today, cut out the rubbish..The team won, and that’s all that matters to me..Aguero is still wondering around the pitch and being man handle by the Croatian players..Aguero is nothing more than a box poacher whose game is useless when he doesn’t score..Aguero will never be better than Higuain during international tournaments; look at Higuain goal stats, assist stats and key passes compare to Aguero in the last several tournaments then come back and have a valid discussion..Keep on being an EPL fanboy..

    • If you think Lo Celso was average in those friendlies then too he deserved to get chance because those argentina midfielders who are preferred are not even average. And the way Meza played last night you still believe Meza was a better option, last balls in key position in several times . Lo celso was on every recent friendlies and an automatic choice to the world cup squad, if he is not even good for being substitues when others playing crap then what is the point of taking him to the team.

  45. I hope we keep our head calm because we haven’t won anything yet. Our aim should not be to focus on what Germany, Brazil, Portugal, England, Spain or France do.
    Others don’t interest us.
    Next up is France.
    France has some great players but a bad coach.
    They haven’t played great and we can beat them and have a chance.

  46. Can we sack Sampoali and go ultra defensive against teams? I feel if we defend and use messi magic or Augero magic, we can give them trouble. But with Sampoali, he will make stupid decision.

  47. I am calm know. I can talk about the game. 1 half good performance from all. Banega super. Macherano alot of bad passes. The defence is good they didnt do even one chance. Di maria is far from himself but try to run and mark. Messi is good passionate but he is not still the real messi he has foul stress i hope the super goal today and the will to win that he showed will make him more good. Meza can play for Argentina yet. They shouldn’t have taken him or even put him play. Lo celco dydala are needed to play like equals with france we need quality. I think armani the same defence lo celso marcherano (we need his passion but he slow us down) banega messi dybala the other i dont know. With France is going to be very different game. We will wait them. They are a team with good individuals players and a trainer that we dont have. But the moral has changed. And we have better players if we play them.

    • El gesto premonitorio de Messi

      A diferencia de lo que pasó en la previa del partido ante Croacia, donde la Pulga se tomó la cabeza como en un gesto de preocupación, esta vez se lo vio casi sonriente durante el himno cuando la cámara pasó por delante de él.

      He was smiling today before the game unlike against Croatia.

    • He likes to play with better players – simple! Benega is better than acuna, Mesa, salvio, biglia & anyone else who Sampaoli has tried. Finally Argentina played 433 with a quality midfielder – benega who is capable of a forward pass & finally Messi gets the ball closer to the opposition penalty area than dropping deeper to collect the ball.

    • Football is a simple game made complicated by trendy coaches like Sampaoli. Finally he was removed from power & the team selected by Messi & mascherano prevails. Mickey mouse no longer in goal, Rojo , banega , Di Maria & higuain selected over the journeymen – acuna, salvio, Mesa , and playing 433 as they do with their clubs, & with a midfielder that a make forward passes – benega – simples.
      I will say that pavon possibly deserves to start ahead of Di Maria & how Mesa gets on infront of dybala or lo celso is baffling .
      As for France, they look good on paper yet have been unconvincing against mediocre opposition so there’s a chance. No team – Brazil, Spain & Germany have been great so it’s anyone’s cup at the moment.

    • Messi definitely like this team better and seems more comfortable. But if based on friendship, Aguero should be before Higuain. I think the cup is more important than friends for Messi too!!

  48. Mascherano needs to improve his passing. I believe he is good destroyer but no busquets but sampoali try to make him look like busquets.

  49. Damn good game!
    Banega, Messi – 🔥

    When Rojo put in that goal to send Argentina through, and the final whistle blew… felt a tear come out of my eye for a second there! 😢
    Everyone doubted us, I even doubted after Nigeria equalized, but we made it!
    I hadn’t felt that during a game since the PSG comeback when everyone thought Barca were out, and they score six to advance!

    Vamos Argentina!!!!
    The best is yet to come!!!!
    And PLAY DYBALA and Fazio for crying out loud!!!!!
    🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷

  50. Just one last question. Did ANYBODY see another Argentine player hug Caballero when the game was over? I didn’t see anybody hug him. I think he may be the most hated man in the locker room after Sampaoli as this piece of shit cost us 2 games.

  51. mamoun elpipita
    Don’t mind what trolls say.
    You are a great fan of this team.
    Did you see the fans in the stadium?
    They deserve credit.
    What a great atmosphere they created.
    That was great. They deserve the most to win titles.
    We should have won 90. 94. 98. 02. 06. 10. 14. at least 2 titles and many Copas.

  52. Great game today. We just stop playing when we take the lead which I don’t understand. I hope we go far but this team is OLD and SLOW and has NO LEGS. Did anyone see the exhaustion at the 60 minute mark?

    That referee is a moron. What a bullshit penalty. Mascherano was a lion today. Enzo was a lamb. And DiMaria and Banega are good for 60 minutes. The young guys need to help out. The game changed completely when Pavon came in.

    And the referee missed a second penalty in the first half when DiMaria had a straight uncontested path to the goal and that asshole referee didn’t call a penalty. Ridiculous.

      • Are you fucking kidding me? What game did you watch dude. Mascherano is the undisputed leader of this team. Messi played his ass off, but don’t mistake that with leadership. Mascherano, bloody and all, is the UNDISPUTED leader of this team.

          • They have cameras in the locker room or in the hallway? Yes all the coaching happens in the hallway. Dude, you are funny. You read lips too? Clown

          • everyone saw messi was talking with the players after half time, and both mascherano and leo are leaders of this team, just go read leo said after the match,,, leadership isnt always done with talks or cheerleading in the sidelines, there are various ways of leadership..

          • Yes you are right. Not to take anything from Masche. But messi shower lot of leadership he was talking to his team’s constantly. U can just look when the cameras are in him. And speafilly in halftime before waking on to the pitch

    • Grettings my friend from south croatia. I am so happy right now that i will explode. Even though i know this performance is not good enough for france and others team waithing, this night i want to celebrate. Tomorrow i ll be imagining formation for france but tonight no. So happy for messi and co. They deserve win. Vamos argentina

  53. This will boost spirits. But we have to improve. There were many sloppy passes today. Perez should be replaced as should Di Maria. Keep the other nine to build a bit continuity. Banega motm. Armani was cool and in control.

    Diego was funny at first but embarassing in the end.

  54. When Sampaoli subbed off a midfielder from our 3 man midfield (Masche-Enzo-Meza vs Croatia, Enzo-Banega-Masche vs Nigeria) and Pavon came in, our midfield simply lost, transformed into a classic 4-4-2 today, and something weird formation against Croatia after that, neirly every counter attack became dangerous, the team torn apart, cannot controll the game anymore. Too risky, simply suicide, much better change would be a Lo Celso sub into the midfield, a more creative attacking midfielder instead of Enzo Perez, but 2 midfielders is simply too little, Real or Spain always play with 4. If Arg conceedes the first goal vs France, and Samp does this shit sub again, they will score 3-4 more.

  55. What a game! Whatta game!! What a game!!! Haven’t felt this good in four years! Thank you players, thank you fans! Vamos Argentina !!! 💙

    • Look at Kids Internet balls.

      RELAX dude, MOST EVERYBODY HERE LOVES the team. Otherwise they wouldn’t be here. Don’t confuse fan’s frustrations with HATE.

    • No European team won the worldcup in South America, Iceland just shit and Croatia playing open football we’ll rape them..Oh yeah Kid,you’re right..spot on

      Brasil, Spain,France and Germany are all overrated…

      De Gea is overrated after a single mistake ( I don’t what a keeper could do against those Morocco shots last night)..
      Waiting for France team bollocks and tomorrow’s Brasil match post reactions @Kid…

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