Argentina absolutely thrashed Nicaragua 5-1 with Lionel MESSI and Lautaro MARTINEZ each scoring twice and Roberto PEREYRA adding the other.
The first half saw Giovani LO CELSO playing in a lovely chip ball over everyone to MESSI but the latter’s first time effort missed the goal. Lionel MESSI didn’t have to wait too long after to score his first of the match. A vintage MESSI goal where he runs across the Nicaraguan backline opened the scoring.
MESSI’s second goal was much easier as LO CELSO once more played a short pass into AGUERO who took a shot which was parried away by the goalkeeper but the ball landed in front of the Argentina captain who scored to double the lead.
At half time, Lionel MESSI was substituted off as Paulo DYBALA was brought in. AGUERO was taken off as well with Lautaro MARTINEZ coming into the game.
Lautaro made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute as the ball fell to him inside the penalty area following a corner kick and his shot passed through everyone and into the net. Less than 10 minutes after that, the ball once more fell to Lautaro inside the area and his shot made it 4-0 for Argentina.
Roberto PEREYRA makes it 5-0 as Rodrigo DE PAUL gets the ball out wide and he crosses it and it lands to PEREYRA who scores.
Nicaragua were awarded a penalty kick in injury time and an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the net was the consolation goal for them.
The other substituons were Nicolas TAGLIAFICO for Guido RODRIGUEZ, Roberto PEREYRA for Matias SUAREZ, Rodrigo DE PAUL for Marcos ACUNA and Ramiro FUNES MORI for Juan FOYTH.
Now Scaloni planning to leave Paredes out of the starting x1, and include Dimaria and Pereyra..in a 442 formation…!
Armani
Saravia-Pazella-Otamendi-Tagliafico
Rodriguez
Pereyra-LoCelso-DiMaria
Messi-Aguero
I think..this looks good too..!
Actually, i suppose Pizarro than Rodri. But whoever Scaloni starts i’ll support his decision.
This crazy man will change the whole formation and starting lineups every match, his idol is Sampaoli, another disaster is coming.
I think De Paul would be better at Di Maria’s position..his cross dribbling are better than Di maria
Yes..this is what Scaloni thinks if he use 442.
As per news another option he plans is 433 with Saurez instead of Depaul or Dimaria..!
suarez is scaloni roommate not forget it
agree, looks very good! hope he sticks to it without constant change in formation and selection
Argentina will lose 2 to 1 to Colombia.
https://the4thofficial.net
Great result, Argentina…. Moral booster for the team… Yeah… Argentina is ready for Copa America 2019….
Vamos Argentina! Go Tango! Be the winner! Be the champion! God bless everyone….
Nope, they will lose 2 to 1 to Colombia and won’t make it out of their group.
We cant conclude anything by the match against Nicaragua ,we will get to know how far will we go in the tournament in the first match against columbia that is a good this in the first match we have a decent opponent. But i think we weakest link at the most important position GK as Franco Armani. Armani had very liitle show himself in the the match against Nicaragua but whenever he got chance he was terrible.
@Mrinal1235 hmm, lets see,We don’t have anyone left in the team except Armani.Lets stop complaining with about the players we don’t have.Armani has been successful out of all other goal keepers in the world as he won the Copa Libertadores. But he has let in 9 goals in his 4 appearances in NT.I still don’t trust him but he is the best we can have know.
Copa Libertadores look at the level of competition , Even present Villareal team would have won copa libertadores with any hurdle. Armani has never impressed in NT whenever he got chance he was terrible why our management is too soft for him his situation is similar to that of Meza atlest Meza impressed us in the match against Spain but Armani never. As Copa america is 90 mns not 120 mns game so we cant avoid a penalty shootout in KO and i dont think Armani is going to save a single penalty.
I have watched Uruguay vs Panama match they are our toughest opponent not Brazil.
Copa liberators isn’t big like UCL still Armani performed at his best to win it, I’m saying Armani has big match experience although not performed at his club label in NT
For the first half Nicargua were very disciplined team but when they conceded goals thay opened up that is why Aguero could not score the goals but in the second half they were open.They played really well in first half defensively.There should not be question about weak or strong team.Turkey has beaten France 2:0 a world champion im EC qualification
Most of the Copa America Teams have two friendlies; While the all set ARG had only one friendly with Nicaragua;
Corea and Ecuador U-20 – the only teams that beat us during Suadamericano and WC both makes the semifinal of championship.
I would have loved if Mali also progressed. But that read card at the starting killed the game.If Mali won, it would have been one team from different continent..!
Central Cordoba from Santiago del Estero is new Superliga club. They back on the highest level after 48 years.
Really just want to know, why Claudio Yacob never get an opportunities on a big event before? Really idk guys.
Can’t answer as to why he didn’t get a call up but he was a very solid DM and deserved more recognition, the same goes for Licha Lopez who was a superb striker who was called once by maradona (against russia) and did very well (scored a goal) and then never got called again.
To be honest I have no intention of killing brain cells by trying to figure out why Argentine coaches make any of the baffling decisions that they have.
some people here praising italy u20 team should know that they were exteremly lucky against mali u20.malis’team one player scored an own goal,another one got red carded and and italy u20 team even got a penalty one things clear that argentina u20 team needs to improve a lot to win its 7th world title in 2021 hopefully they use a good gk like joaquin blazquen(valencia),adrian rodriguez(real madrid) or rocco nios (arg u17 team currently) for fifa u 20 wc 2021 and mostly european based players should be taken to u20 wc next time and local players only who have good height and pace should be taken but local players should be less compared to europe base players this time there were some standouts for arg u20 team like adolfo gaich,nehuen perez,barco,anibal moreno,sosa,but this u20 wc was also winable if players like benjamin garre,colodio,benjamin garay(real madrid ) etc were included and almendra like players were tried in wc and next time take a gk who is good at penalties unlike roffo(who is a decent gk but not good at penalties as seen in u20 wc and u20 south american tournament)
Not as extreme as you thought about their luck. If you say Mali is a better team than Italy and deserve more to win, maybe u just watch u20 WC round of 16 only
Best line up for Argentina 4-2-3-1
Armani
Sarvia Pezela Otamendi Tagliafico
G.Rodriguez Paredes
Lo Celso Messi De Paul
Aguero
Subs
L.Martinez for Aguero
Di maria for De paul
Pizzaro for Paredes
Acuna ,Casco for Tagliafico
People could say Nicaragua is weak opponent, but the team right now is 5 x better than the aging Masche-Biglia combo in midfield. During 2017-2018, we looked terrible and clueless in midfield even when playing very weak opponents.
True. I still don’t know how on earth that combo stuck in our Midfield for such a long period. It has killed our midfield for Years.
Players like Palacios, Pereyra, Lo Celso, Battaglia, Guido Rodriguez, Paredes, Ascacibar etc can rejuvenate our Midfield. Add in Lamela and Lanzini it looks Gud.
Now based on our recent briefs, I think we must atleast won the midfield battle. They have Lerma and Barrios, whose good at aerial duels and in this case for our midfield I suppose both Guido’s and Pereyra. Since Quintero got hospitalized, they most likeably depends on James. Dont let Colombia stack up their players on one side, otherwise it will makes their wingers free on the opposite side to bend crosses. Colombia are good on the set-pieces and aerial duels. Better to get 1 player to mark James, and then use build-up play in frontline to beatdown their defenders. Yerry Mina is little bit slow, but Davinson Sanchez is almost perfect on all defense aspects. Use our advantages at size of our height that are good with pacey strikes. This will not gonna be easy, but atleast I’m sure we can win this game. Vamos!
Last night I watched replays of Colombia’s defeat in WC 2018, vs Japan and England. I just watched around 60 minutes or less per game. My conclusion after watching that is, Colombia was depends on their players individual abilities, in this case their playmakers, Juan Quintero and James Rodriguez. Against Japan, their falls begin with penalty and red card that they given. After that, Japan, which combined team collectivity and technical abilities, bombarding Colombia’s 10-man when the opposite are waiting for counter-attacks. Playing deep, using the advantages of Jefferson Lerma and Wilmar Barrios to wins the aerial duels and give it to frontline, and Boom! Quintero scored. But Japan, that has more stamina and number break them down. Colombia unique is makes opponent get focused to marks their playmakers, so it can freed their wingers to smack crosses from wide to their forwards. Against England, Three Lions filled with many star players, but Southgate successfully blend them to relies on teamworks and collectivity. Colombia was conquered the possession on that match, and trying to beatdown England with pace. What makes England capable to get through in PK is their capability to prevent Colombia’s link from Middle third into Final Third. Using 3-5-2 forms they was able to hold Colombians wings, so they could focused to shut opponent link from midfield
Bro thanks for you scouting Colombia
But those games were under former
Argentina manager Jose Pekerman
Now they have a Portuguese manager
Carlos Queiroz who is very defensive
Coach.
Yes. Suppose they wont have big differences on their gameplay. Thanks for correcting mate !
I like reading all these comments but to be honest it’s pretty hard to make a good assessment on the team from ONE match. And that one match was against poor Nicaragua that doesn’t have much a football history in the first place with all due respect to them of course.
We have many “experts” here, but we need more practice matches with this team.
I have a lineup I want to write and share also, but these are just some playstion FIFA dreams.
I don’t know how we can judge Suarez from one half, maybe he didn’t sleep well. I didn’t get to see dimaria and Messi together. None of is, coach scaloni included was able to see different combinations of players together because this was only one match.
I hope the best for us next week
Yesterday Argentina Played well against poor team Nicaragua. Scaloni played with 6 substitutes, and he will not get that opportunity in real match. He has to be very careful with first 11 selection and make sure they play as team .It was clear that Messi’s team will win but disappointed about the first half team performance. Suarez looks so tired and was not in the game 100%. We all saw Messi’s reaction . Lo Celso was the best on the field beside Messi. It is good to have someone who can play well with Messi and create opportunities. What I liked about the team was they were very active with defence and did not give too many open space to opponents. Scaloni should play with 4-2-3-1 format. It is my choice for the first 11.
Armani
Saravia , Otamendi, Pezzella, Tagliafico
Pizarro, Rodrizes
Messi, Lo Celso, Di maria/ De Paul
Aguero
Tata Martino is 100 percent correct. Everybody waiting on Messi. We even saw that last night in the first half. When Messi sits everybody starts running and playing hard. Can’t anybody say this to our players? To work hard when Messi is there and not wait on him?
Martino said the Mexico job has “a lot” of commonalities with Paraguay because of the “possibilities of working in a group.”
“In the Argentine national team, the fact it has big names, including the best footballer in the world, sometimes means the team doesn’t show up as much and at other times we always hope that the individuality is greater than the team’s performance,” Martino said.
Tata martino is absolutely right
It burns me that he is telling the truth
Team work above individual stars.
That is the reason he chose Mexico
Over Argentina I think
Wise words from Martino
France just served by Turkey.
I wish we had one more practice game before the tournament .. to work out “passing out the back”… “midfield combination play”… and “plays on set pieces “
That would have been nice.
that makes too much sense for the AFA..
Saravia oficially Porto player.
I don’t care what others think after yesterday’s match, but this kid will be a good RB for us in COPA, hope he will be injury free. defensively he is strong, He just needs to enhance his offensive techniques if needed to play Wing back
He’s too old to be called “kid” 😉
But it’s a great signing!
Hope more of our players upgrade during this summer.
to my age, he is a kid 🙂
Official – saravia sined for FC porto
Heh, you were first
I wonder why some fans were saying Paredes was crap on the left side. Those guys have no clue. They thought Paredes was an LM and he was supposed to replicate what LoCelso was doing at RM. It was Suarez who was LM and played crap (again you can’t complain much as it was Suarez’ first game – but then he got selected at the wrong time. This is not the time to experiment). The left side connection was supposed to be Acuna – Suarez – Aguero but unfortunately it didn’t click mainly due to Suarez being static.
Hopefully, in our opening match against Columbia we can see some nice combination play and team work on both side.
Right: Saravia – LoCelso – Messi
Left: Tagliafico – DePaul – Aguero
Paredes is supposed to give some nice forward passes – short and long. He is also supposed to make long range shots (which he did). Paredes role is of a deep lying play maker like Pirlo or Xabi Alonso. He needs to improve his tackles. He is talented but has to go a long way to reach the other two’s level. Hopefully, he can put up even better performance in the next season at PSG. He had a mixed debut season at PSG.
Paredes is a great passer. Has very good ball control and great long range shots. Can score freekick goals. Can tackle but this is one area where he needs to improve a lot. He is also still young so there is scope for improvement and he will.
Watch the below video to get some idea about how Paredes play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSkTFYlodTc
Paredes could also probably be our preferred choice for freekicks on the left side of the pitch.
I’m talking to those who knows
Football and give honesty opinion
When a player is central midfield
What he supposed to do
Should he run like wing bk
Or he keeps simply and move
The ball around. In my knowledge
In football central midfield players
Are different from other players
Plus every game is different
My point is you can’t judge players
How well they do for one ‘two
Or even three games weather
They play good or bad.
Examples now everyone here
Praising lo celso right so but
What will they say if he plays
Below average next Saturday
Against Colombia I’m sure some
Blogs will trash him cose they
Don’t know nothing about football .
Come to the game for last night
Nothing special because the opposite
Team was very weak so the jury still
Out but it’s only proved me one thing
Which I knew before you can’t simply
play funes mori.
Great questions Godin11. In my opinion, the answers are not straightforward. It depends on philosophy. What is the philosophy of this team? Based on recent interviews of messi, aguero, scaloni we know this team recognizes the difficulty of creating space and importance of taking away space in knockout tournaments. So how has this team planned on removing space. It seems they will do this by playing a double hold in front of the back line as an extra shield. There is a lot of criticism about ‘running’. But this midfield structure is not about running. The key goal of this double mid pair is to be in constant contact with each other. You will observe this by noticing that Guido and Paredes never have more than 10 meter separation between them in all situations. This is by design. Even though Guido has ability to drive into space he does not as his primary role is to be together with Paredes. This is so the midfield has the option of the easy outlet ball so that the team cannot be beaten through the middle.
The weakness of this structure is if the other attacking mid get isolated then instead of a fluid 4-2-3-1 there is risk of breaking into a 4-2-4 kind of structure. When a player in the front has a free role like messi the remaining attacking mids role is to fill gaps. Like LoCelso covering areas on the wing AND also putting in the defensive duty behind messi. This is to be expected. However a clever opponent can recognize this and will plan on breaking the team into a 424, isolating the front. This is why this structure emphasizes Paredes. So that if the midfield gets split he can find the medium and long range outlet. This is why I do not see this structure playing both guido in 4231 or roberto pereyra deeper because it fails two objectives – maintaining contact like a short piece of string and having medium to long range passing outlet as plan B.
The reason we saw more dynamic in the pitch on the second half is because scaloni cut this string and shifted into a more attacking structure later. A kind of a 442 where only parades relative position was fixed and the other mids given freedom to interchange – dybala with pereyra, DePaul with el toro etc.
Good answer mate :
I like Roberto pereyra too
I will start pereyra but again
It depends on the opponent team.
I think its boiling down to how well or bad parades & Armani play. most of the rest will be good in their roles & these 2 role performance will make the difference between a flop vs successful Copa.
Lovely question. Thanks for that. Really set me thinking. IMO he needs to be an all rounder with both defensive and attacking strengths. His play is determined by the quality of the opposition, the flow of the game and the context of the match, whether you are ahead or behind, whether it is a KO or a league stage etc. In my view Lothar Mathaeus Was The best central midfielder I have seen. Such players are the coach’s biggest asset in reading the game and adjusting the team accordingly. They often don’t get credit for their achievements. I also admire Cambiasso and Zanetti in this role.
After Pekerman we have largely preferred pure AMs or DMs. I think the CM is a very important role. Both Lo Celso and Pereyra have the capabilities to play that role although I would like Lo Celso to be more attack minded. I am happy to see the younger generation really showing glimpses of developing into good CMs – Palacios, Zaracho, Christian Ferreira and Almendra all have those qualities. It now depends on them and their coaches how they are developed and shaped.
Armani
Saravia-Pazella-Otamendi-Tagliafico
Rodriguez-Paredes
LoCelso-Messi-DePaul
Aguero
Lineup for Copa almost confirmed…! 4231 or 442 or 433 you call it anyway..!!
Impact sub: Lautaro, Dimaria, Pereyra and Dybala.
Exactly my team and anyone else’ who watched the match. Hope Scaloni wont do anything crazy like his master.
Scaloni still consider Saurez…! Hes yet to confirm that left spot.
As per news, other positions for the first match is already been finalized by him.
He has to use his brain here. When you have a quality young player like DePaul in squad…use him.
Why do you have to use a makeshift winger when you have a proper winger?
On the left, it should either be DePaul or DiMaria. I would prefer the former coz Dimaria has never lasted a whole tournament as a starter, is also a bit selfish and mostly terrible in decision making in the final third.
Scaloni, please use your brain, not ass!
a 4 2 3 1 can easily switch to either 4 4 2 or 4 3 3 during the match.
Best line up I would put El Fideo ahead of DePaul or even go for L.Martinez and Aguero at the same time where we can have 2 target men when in attack, That will just need extra work from the LWB and the RWB
3 AM behind Aguero who can easily interchange positions. Locelso, Messi and ADM are known for playing anywhere behind the striker. they can just roam around and create havoc on any defense.
> El Fideo ahead of DePaul or even go for L.Martinez and Aguero
thats the strongest lineup although De Paul could give ADM a run for his money.
Martinez + Aguero could be insane and should be tried but as you say, fullbacks need to go in overdrive. i’m sure Tagliafico and Saravia are up to it.
Messi behind Lautaro-Aguero will be huge. I think that will happen only if we are behind and desperately need goal\goals.
” I think that will happen only if we are behind and desperately need goal\goals.”
Yes, and expect that situation to come upon us in this COPA where we would be down a goal or so.
This is the best line up.
Man we are gonna miss Battaglia for sure and hope our Goalies don’t choke at defining moments
FFS, PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT PLAYERS WHO ARE NOT PRESENT IN OUR SQUAD.
Guys, stop complaining about player selection. And realize some of our players are injured so they can’t play. It’s all part of the game. Our squad is not perfect, but its good enough to win the Copa.
Hope Scaloni wont make the same mistake of Sampaoli and he wouldnt make mad decisions in playing 11. That’s the key. Sampaoli’s team selection for Iceland game probably cost us the Final birth in WC 2018 and even the cup. If we had a winning start, the result against Croatia could have been different and we would have gone from strength to strength.
Some commentators are proving how dumb they are including players not present in the Copa squad in “their playing 11”. Lol.. No more posts about missing players please. STOP talking about players that are not in the 23 men squad FFS. TALK only about those present.
Hmm,Stay Optimistic.We have good advantages
Uruguay have been carried by ageing ones but,still favourites to win
Chile have lost their magic, Alexis, Bravo are not good enough like before
Brazil have no Neymar, no one else who can be their superstar,Coutinho so much out of form.And Tite also left out stars like Fabinho and Lucas Moura
Colombia??They do have a young squad🤐,In the World Cup against England they were the better team even without James Rodriguez they were great.Lets not forget their incredible World Cup Journey in 2014 in Brazil.
Argentina has the best chance in recent years to win Copa America. With this set of Players we are surely favorites to get the hands on Copa America
Finally we will win something.Don’t disappoint us Argentina
Give your best
i don t agree with you only in one thing from those you said.
in 2018 it was not the game with Iceland that cost us the world cup failure but the game against Croatia.
just to be fair even in that game which Sampaoli make all the possible things wrong
the turning point was the mistake that did the IDIOT without hair that pretend to be our goalkeeper.
after that goal everybody collapse mentally and physically.
i find the power and i saw all our games of last world cup more than 10 times from last July.
i wanted to see everything again and again with cold eye to understand all things i missed and the reasons we arrive where we arrive.
I was talking about the root cause. Yes, we fared even poorer against Croatia, but that was mainly coz we were under pressure. A fractured team will tremble under pressure. That team more than any other Argentina teams in the world cup badly needed a win in their first match. They were that low on confidence especially since the 6-1 loss against Spain. Had we played a proper team and won the first game, the outcome of Croatia match could have been very different. Sampaoli just had to make two changes – Banega for Biglia & LoCelso for Meza.
Aguero
Dimaria | Messi | LoCelso
Banega | Mascherano
wow, what a difference that would have made. I still can’t forgive Sampaoli.
had we won that match, we could have started the same 11 against Croatia. With much more confidence & team cohesion, the performance against Croatia would have been very different.
i see your point and while i find very logic what you said especially about pressure part which is the truth i have to remind you that we go to halftime against Croatia 0-0 by having control till one point the game.
in second half just only half minute before our IDIOT goalkeeper give Croatia the goal Aguero had lost one very good chance and our team those minutes was starting slowly to push forward to score.
HALF MINUTE AFTER AGUERO s chance THE IDIOT that even his name i don t want to mention give the goal to our opponents.
this was OUR END.
To me Argentina didn’t look like they can win the Croatia match from the first minute. Their confidence level was low and was under a lot of pressure. Also Croatia looked threatening whenever they got the ball.
Caballero was the culprit in that game, there is no doubt about it, but I think even with another keeper we would have lost, may be by one or two goals and not three.
There is only 1 player who guarantees consistent performance for us. That’s Messi. Even in his bad days too he is constantly dragging players towards him that opens tones of spaces for others. That’s his contribution on his bad day. Becoz he is Messi.
Point is, every other player will have an off day which will look bad. Be it Lo Celso, Be it Paredes or Be it Aguero. They won’t be able to deliver in all match like Messi. That doesn’t mean drop that player for next game itself. Paredes is class apart from our other midfielders he is our only deep lying playmaker. If we look at our 23 man. I think he is a must along with Lo Celso in our midfield. But don’t expect him to be a No 5 which he is not.
“Even in his bad days too he is constantly dragging players towards him that opens tones of spaces for others”
If that is used wisely, he can open plenty of space for others. and that could be key to success, WE are still looking for that link between the midfield and the forwards. I think LoCelso is the man
Till now none of the other So called World Class players haven’t been utilizing it in our NT. That spaces, that’s been the problem.
yes . but we should have other players moving fast into position & not static . imagine if messi’s first goal yesterday shot was blocked – aguero & suarez were so static & would not have been able to pounce on the rebound
Any update on kranevitter ?He doesn’t even start for zenit ,I really feel bad for him and mamanna ,these two destroyed their career
No need for panic yet. Look at Papu Gomez and his wasted years in Ukraine. Then he become one of best Serie A Players
Wasted years? he was star player there, only contributed very little, Kranevitter and Mammana the last bench warmers, no need to panic they will play somewhere sometimes but their NT chances and career are gone, like Papu Gomez NT career
info if somebody interested.
the women football world cup begins in France.
Argentina national women team playing in this tournament.
we have one very interesting group together with England, Scotland and Japan.
first game is on Monday against Japan at 13.00 Argentina time.
if somebody interested.
VAMOS ARGENTINA.
Replying to my earlier comment.
Well I agree Biglia and Mascherano combo had to be brought to an end right after the 2014 world cup. Tata did replace Biglia with Augusto Fernandez but the latter got injured. I don’t think 2* Guido combo will be as bad as Macsh-Biglia combo. Both are much better than Biglia in every aspect of game. Biglia was at his peak during the WC qualifying campaign and the 2014 WC but after that Biglia other than passing sideways did nothing at all. However if Pereyra or Depaul can partner with one of the Guido and provide the security and cover to our defense and forwards, while not losing the flow and creativity then we should go with only one DM. Battaglia and Palacio’s injury seems to be the biggest loss for us. Paredes is a good CM to have on the bench,he can create some defense penetrating passes out of nowhere and also score goals. Hopefully Scaloni , Aimar, Samuel and Ayala have calculated and analysed Paredes’s weakness and strength will use him accordingly!!
Armani is the best Argentina GK who won Copa Libaratories which is considered big tournament like UCL
@Romance KING 💘 Maybe Armani is,but he isn’t performing upto expectations!!.He has played 4 games 1 clean sheet(the only good match he has played) and he let in 9 goals.He has to show if he is worth his reputation or else we will ask about Benitez,Romero,Musso for sure!!Hope he rises up as you said
And to that he excels in Scaloni’s bed. Perfect goalie
Gonzalo,
is that why Romanceking switched support from Rulli to Armani ? 🙂
Out of three GK Armani is best that’s why, Rulli is best Argentina GK talent wise but Armani performed at top label in big competition for club
Looks like that
Vamos Ecuador!
why you care about Ecuador if win or lose?
Because they beat us two times during Sudamericano and are the last team from South America. To that they’ve played damn good football today. Think about little Acuador and big US.
i see. you are romantic about football.
i respect it my friend.
just i am completely different 🙂 🙂 🙂
after we lost from Mali i stop watch that tournament and i don t give attention anymore.
“romantic” it’s good word. Especially when it comes David against Goliath rivalries 😉
To that the turnament is in my country, also broadcasted by national television so wanting or not I’m in it 🙂
Gonzalo
“romantic” it’s good word !
I thought the only romantic here is RomanceKing 🙂
He is incomparable though 🙂
I was surprised you though USA could beat the South American champions … I have Italy and Ecuador in final
Are you happy with our match against Mali? Italy showed how to handle a determined but weak team. Playing 129 th ranked team doesn’t boost confidence, it bloats the ego. We should have played with some team ranked around 50. I so much pray that I am proven wrong in the match against Colombia and we drown them.
Hope Ecuador will keep the leading against USA till the last minute. They play as befits South America Champion.
I believe that if Scaloni will keep Lo Celso and Rodriguez in the midfield but replace Paredes with Acuna as a half 8-half winger like Matuidi and Pereyra on the right, the midfield will be more balanced, more mobile. Acuna doesn’t have the creativity to be a great winger and he isn’t a great fullback but definitely a decent b2b. My point is if Paredes plays at this level against a team at this level, how can you expect anything from him against the other nations of this copa? Forget about talent and creativity, we don’t need that more as we have already Lo Celso, Messi and Aguero, we need players that can press and win back the ball. Acuna and Pereyra seem to have edge over other players.
Once again Lo Celso showed what a foul Sampaoli was. He should have started at every match in the WC instead of Biglia. The outcome could have been very different.
Biglia started only against Iceland. you are not able to know the outcome.
you can t know with one game like yesterday to say that.
maybe could be like Meza. nobody can know that.
anyhow i agree with you in the part that Lo celso can show that he can be the player we needed in his position.
i hope this picture of him will be same in the Copa games which will be needed more.
i hope he will shine in Brasil.
3 mistakes that Sampaoli made and I hope Scaloni won’t repeat:
1) over optimistic, using too few defensive players which killed the balance
2) keep on changing system, radical change against Croatia, the toughest game
3) too static, players staying always in their position, not enough running
Definitely.
Genius Sampaoli turned himself into Moron Sampaoli to drop LoCelso, who had played all preceding 10 matches, and field Meza instead who had played just one game with Argentina NT before.
Then he made another blunder to play double pivot against Iceland who play park the bus football.
If we had played
Higuain/Aguero
DiMaria | Messi | LoCelso
Macherano | Banega
in the first match against Iceland, our destiny would have changed for good in the WC.
That line up would have killed it!
+ Fazio over Rojo to combat the Icelandic giants, Armani over Caballero and Ansaldi over Salvio.
Aguero
Di Maria | Messi | Lo Celso
Masche | Banega
Tagliafico | Fazio | Otamendi | Ansaldi
Armani
my thoughts on Lo Celso omission from WC18
youtube.com/watch?v=7GqE08ya7yI
🙂 🙂 that was my thoughts then.
When I saw the list of 23, I knew 3 players will be seriously missed: Walter Benitez, Zaracho and Lanzini. I will not hesitate 1 second to replace Paredes and Suarez with Zaracho and Lanzini, especially after this game.
Lanzini is still recuperating from his injury. But Banega’s innovative play could have been leveraged. Banega was good this season.
Can someone explain why Argentina played a country ranked 129? Why they are playing only one prep game? All other countries are playing high ranked teams. Even against the 129th ranked team we struggled to score for 37 mins. And Messi’s brilliance came to our rescue. We seem to be in a pathetic state of national football. We can’t beat Mali, we struggle against a team ranked 129.
because no European team is available this period of time.
as about your complaining about that we score in 37 minute and not earlier it is completely beyond logic for take you serious.
as about the fact that you said that we struggle in one game that we win 5-1 and about Mali
those things show that your knowledge about football is very very small.
Are you happy with our match against Mali? Italy showed how to handle a determined but weak team. Playing 129 th ranked team doesn’t boost confidence, it bloats the ego. I so much pray that I am proven wrong in the match against Colombia and we drown them.
except the fact that we not qualify yes i am satisfy with the kids performance.
they play good and we suppose win if in the last moment they did not make a school mistake that cost us the game.
but we are speaking about kids and not the men team.
so my critics is not same.
kids are kids and allowed to do mistakes.
that way they grow up.
our young players are very very talented will bright future in front.
one last. Mali play with 10 men against Italy.
this is huge difference.
Playing a weaker team before a tournament is correct decision – it can boost our confidence.
Also, it can show us which players even can’t play well in such a weak match – M.Suarez and Paredez. These two players are fucking shit, they should be banned from national team permanently.
“These two players are fucking shit, they should be banned from national team permanently”.
People who are throwing such shit at players so rashly just after one game should be banned from this site.
I agree. We should show respect for the national players even if they cannot come up with their best. The team as a whole looked hungrier than our team in 2018 but still that cohesiveness is missing. This is quite natural for countries like ours and Brazilians. Most of our players play in a variety of teams and that too outside the country. Suddenly getting them together and building a unified attack needs a supreme coach like Pekerman or Sabilla. Germans, Spanish and Italians have an advantage in respect to that. However recent German performances have surprised me. Italy seems to be getting their youth level play back to groove.
Gonzalo, they only show their ignorance. This is the age of mediocrity. People who have no understanding of football comment as if they are wise men. It is OK not to know as long as you wish to learn. But I see a few members who say things for the heck of it just because they have the freedom to do so.
“It is OK not to know as long as you wish to learn”
True, ignorance and arrogance go hand in hand.
It’s easy to be such extremely bipolar on opinions, always love or hate. It’s hard to think twice before you gets angry. I don’t trust people sith such opinions.
I havent gave up on either but parcedes looks lazy and indecisive and Suarez has potential but for his age not sure if we have the time to develop him… rather have dimaria, lautaro or DePaul in that position
Before the announcement of that list, I am convinced that Paredes shouldn’t be here because I watched quite a lot PSG games. He is here I guess more for his previous experience with the national team(even though not a lot actually). But yes, someone got to tell me why Suarez? I don’t follow much the local league so didn’t know him well but his performance really didn’t impress me. He isn’t young and it’s his 1st cap. It’s definitely a wasted spot. I prefer even to take another defensive player to him.
“M.Suarez and Paredez. These two players are fucking shit, they should be banned from national team permanently.”
bad call for one game performance !
who else is available now, they are called for the NT already and should be supported, in good and in bad.
We already have the list of 23 and we can do nothing but support.
As I said before Argentina are not depending on Messi we saw that Lo Celso was really good and worth watchin, I will have my say on it later.
The team Performance –
Armani-Not tested really,guessed the right way but I am never impressed with him.He has got 4 caps and conceeded 9 only 1 clean sheet.
Saravia-Pretty good on the right hand side,he is really underrated.With his speed and stamina a great player for Argentina this summer
Foyth- Ppl wanted to see him as a DM but he lacks experience there and even playing out of position, Pocchetinho is great developing youbg players of course he is a future starter.He was not tested although,I prefer Pezzella his aggression and leadership.
Otamendi-Cleared the balls as always.Best possible centre back we can have right now, with his aerial threat he will start for sure hope he finds his best form
Acuna- I underestimated him,my apology, I hadn’t studied him.But he was great as 38% attacks were from left hand side which was 35% on right side.He was good on the ball.Hope he can keep up his defensive workrate.
Guido Rodriguez -He was neat on the ball didn’t give away the ball but yes the midfield was slow
Paredes-He has got a great passing range mostly long passbut this team prefers mire short and safe passing but Long Passes are more decisive if he can put them,but why doesn’t he run much??
Lo Celso-He was incredible!!Combined so nicely with Messi. He was good on the ball and made key passes and amazing assist to Messi. He has a bright future don’t be surprised to see him score he has got 16 goals in 45 appearances for Betis they put an 100M£ release clause as far as I know.
Messi- Messi at his best the defenders tried to stop obviously piece of cake for him the first goal was an old glimpse of him. but he could have had a Hat trick missed the hit from Lo Celso’s lob to him.He is a human not a GOD but obviously he will show the haters this summer he is a human and a God Gifted one.
Aguero-Did great job on and off the ball creating spaces by dropping down on left hand sides on occasions.He will bang in Goals this tournament for sure.
M.Suarez-Not the eye catching performances ever but.his crosses were not good but he is good in decision making and getting right passes. OK performance. maybe Roberto Pererya will start. What happend with Di Maria.
The subs
Lautaro-2 Goals and he should get theb chances as he has shown us.A super sub for Aguero in 50-60 mins like we have seen Aguero getting subbed off by Guardiola. He will be interesting.
Dybala- Made good passes and key passes.Will have his chances I guess.
R.Pererya-Got the one goal which Lautaro missed on his hat trick.He can be used a Box to box midfielder with his high energy and work rate.
Funes Mori-Nothing much came on but not tested like all other defenders.
De Paul- Last but not the least.He was great with his key dribble and nice anticipation after coming on from the bench got one assist.A must favourite to start from the Left flank
My thoughts- It Doesn’t matter what I have to say.But Nicaragua were not THE toughest of opponentOur defense was not tested as we had most possession.Which might not be the same in Copa America.But getting a comfortable win gives you confidence.Scaloni should make right decision and go with favorables game plan so our players can deliver.Still worried with GK factor. Benitez/Romero would have been so great and reliable.
Vamos Argentina
Lets bring it Home.
Nice 😉
It was nice to see our beloved team scoring 5 past the opponent but we must not forget they are ranked 129th in fifa rankings.
Matias Suarez and Guido Rodriguez were picked after playing one game for us. Like one game is not enough to select players for a big tournament, 2 games are also not the right metric to write these two off. Matias Suarez will certainly be more useful when defending a lead. But I think we will be far better off with Depaul and Dimaria in that left flank. Especially Dimaria’s goal scoring skills will be more handy. We all know how wasteful and frustrating Dimaria can get when he constantly loses the ball, especially when crossing. His crossing has been going downhill for quite sometime but his shooting and scoring goals has gotten much much better. That is why both Tagliafico and Guido will have to be on their toes to cover for him. Guido Rodriguez will play his natural game better against proper opponents.
In the first half our fullbacks both Saravia and Aćuna were comfortably able to disposses the Nicaraguans. But both failed to provide anything when attacking. Saravia in particular needs to bring more attacking element in his game. Tagliafico no doubt , is balanced and reliable of the two. More importantly, Messi and Aguero needs good support from the fullbacks in order for them to excel. Our defense and Goalkeeper both had nothing much to do. The penalty was a result of complacency and as Roy has mentioned unstoppable one!! Pezzella will give much more stability and sense of security. Scaloni had to try both Foyth and Funes mori because its highly unlike both Otamendi and Pezzella will play all the matches without getting suspended, especially Otamendi.
When attacking it was nice to see Locelso feeding both Messi and Aguero but I think he should also take the chances to score himself. Against every opposition , both Messi and Aguero will be heavily marked , Locelso and Dimaria will have to make the best use of the little space they will get due to multiple players marking them. Especially from outside the box, as both could be deadly.
Paredes didn’t do much, he is a good passer of the ball and can also score. But I would like to have both Guido play together in Copa, that will give much freedom to Messi, Aguero, Dimaria and Loceslo to attack. Paredes I don’t think has the pace to track back quickly or the tackling skills to breakup a quick counter attack. I would play him only as a substitute if we are trailing in a game for one of the Guidos to bring in some creativity. Depaul and Pereyra needs to be used as much as possible. I have high hopes from Depaul and Lautaro in this Copa. They will play important role if we are to win it. Cheers!!!!
I agree every single word you said, except playing 2 x Guido.That would be the Mashce-Biglia 2.0.No Creativity all eyes upon Messi.Lo Celso can’t handle the midfield alone we need a great passer like Pardes or De Paul.
Please Scaloni dont start 2xGuido
As I mentioned few times here Guido is not type of agressive destroyer like Ascacibar, on the other hand he is not not creative like Gimenez from Velez. For the reason, if neither of Battaglia/Ascacibar nor Nicolas DOminguez from Velez I was rather for Marcone of Boca. Guido is for me type of Santiago Caseres from Villarreal. Solid in defence, a bit better passer than Ascacibar but not much impressive on both the things. I’m not fan of Caseres nor Guido. The hierarchy was to me: 1.Battaglia,2. Ascacibar, 3. Lucas Menossi (Tigre) 4.Nicolas Dominguez, 5.Ivan Marcone, 6. Gaston Gimenez, 7. Guido, 8.Pizarro
I still suppose absence of Battaglia/Ascacibar may cost us
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