Lionel Messi comments on 2-0 Argentina win, growth of the team

By
Roy Nemer
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Lionel Messi commented on the team’s 2-0 win against Peru and the growth of the team.

Messi had one of his better matches despite not scoring. He played the pass into Paredes who got the assist for Lautaro Martinez on the second goal of the match. He would also track back and defend and nearly scored himself. Speaking after the match, here’s what he had to say:

“I’m happy for the win, we needed it after the match we had the other day. From the start we were great, we got the goals and we created a lot of scoring chances.

“The second half of the other match was very good and I believe we continued down the same path, even going up a level. I believe this is the path we have to continue on. Little by little, we are becoming stronger as a group.”

The Argentine also spoke about his inclusion in the team:

“I always come here with the intention of giving my all and I feel I am capable of fighting for this shirt. I feel well in continuing working and playing matches.”

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120 Comments

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  2. Splendor, to be honest i almost never read any of your comments simply because i don’t remember you just once to say something positive about Argentina. However, i tried to read the article you attached but reaching at about the middle of it i stopped. Honestly man, i didn’t expect anything different from you, such a biased article!

    Do you want us to be objective and talk about questionable way of playing and winning?? Ok lets do this even though some specific people in here will get annoyed!

    Lets talk about Brazil. In almost every single game they played for these qualifiers, they had questionable goals or questionable calls from the referee in expense to their opponents. Two penalties with Peru where the one was questionable, an offside goal that should never had count, Uruguay’s disallowed goal, Cavani’s red card, even the goal against Venezuela, correct me if i am wrong with that, was questionable too. Every objective individual, regardless whether supporting Argentina or not, can see that VAR is clearly working on their favour and believe me, there are many individuals who are neutral on supporting a specific team who think that way, i have already spoken with quite many of them up to now.

    We were much better than Paraguay but unfortunately VAR worked exactly the opposite way it works for Brazil, the referee and VAR team were all Brazilians, coincidence, well certainly not! We were better than Bolivia and Peru as well, the game against Ecuador was an ugly game from both teams buy surely noone can say that we didn’t deserve to win it to!

    When Argentina plays bad, a certain amount of “journalists” are bashing Argentina, now that we are doing good, the same type of “journalists” are desperate to find something to underestimate Argentina’s accomplishments. Moreover, i never saw a journalist mentioning Brazil’s controversial and questionable ways of winning matches.

    But you know what? Its ok. Some people may not bother seeing their team wining with the help of VAR, the referees and in expense of the opposition, but there are also people, and i ensure you that they are many, who don’t like this way of playing and if the writer of this article thinks, for his own reasons, that we play ugly, i think that the way Brazil is playing and getting points is disgusting!

    At least, i can say that i am proud of my team, not only because we deserved every point we got but also we deserved 4 wins in a row but they robbed from us our win against Paraguay. We didn’t use VAR or referees to gain points, on the contrary, they used it against us to steal points from us! Honestly, can a Brazilian fan say the same?

    Well, leave the dogs barking, as well as they can’t hurt direct someone, they will always try to find another way to do so.

    Questionable way of playing, my ass!

    • Everyone is tilted thier opinion
      Simply i won’t agree with him
      Too many so called journalists always tried to write sh..t about Argentina nt weather they doing good or bad
      Keep searching mate.

    • It’s very difficulty to implement any style of play in the qualifier besides to get the result. They are so much irregularities in the referees. The physicality is up to the limit and referees don’t seem to care. I disagree with the article for many reasons. The team improves a lot. Most of goals that we scored in the previous qualifier came by set pieces or by silly mistakes of the opponents. Although we can be more creative but we improve in that category as well. For 4 games last qualifier we had 5 pts, we have 10 now. The team that we had was an old and tired team. I believe that Aguero didn’t score, Higuain score one or two goals, Mercado scored a couple as well, Pratto score 2 and the rest came from Messi. Now we have four goal scorers for 4 games is a huge improvement for our standard.

    • Ask this writer to compare France like this before the 2018 WC.
      So many writers with their own thinking. It never ends eventhough you win every match.

      I also want to say…Keep searching..!

    • Very interesting stats in this article. Would like a comparison with the WC 2002 qualification campaign. Our NT topped the group back then and played very exciting football with Aimar, Crespo, Kily etc.

    • The writer assumes that Argentina must play a certain style, that is to say attacking football with plenty of possession. I don’t care if you we play ugly or pretty, as long as we win. We have been waiting for a trophy for too long to really care about aesthetics of the game. We can play a la Menotti or a la Bilardo, the important thing is winning.

    • Well there are too many reporters in this world who look for attention time and again.. They are the people who wants some money by criticizing others.. It does not matter to them how much it can affect the team.. Those motherfuckers always want people like you to read their post so that they can become famous.. Clear your mind boy.. This team is much younger and performing beyond their expectations.. Let them grow together and hope that they can keep improving.. Come on scaloni.. Come on Argentina

  4. Just saw the dialogue between VAR and Referee. After that I am 1000% confirmed that we will not get any help from VAR. They were trying so much to convince Roldan to give that penalty but He wasn’t taking that shit. KUDOS to the Referee too. Atleast he ain’t corrupt. Now It make sense why is that none of our case VAR review again. So CONMBOEL gave straight instructions to VAR for screw us. Otherwise it can’t be so biased. If that was Varzilain referee he would give it penalty straight

    • Thank you very much ASB. Keep up the good work . Your youtube site is by far the best digital public library for Argentina matches – past & present. Kudos

      • Reddit.com/r/footballhighlights , if you wait about an hour after game starts you will see HD and Spam free links for full match streams and extended highlights for all major international games.

  6. So many people in this forum are just here to spread hatred and they only want Argentina to lose.. You motherfuckers will have tough time now because Argentina is going to be unstoppable with scaloni especially with his approach of having a stable team.. Come on Argentina

  7. Most like our midfielde & Attacks are sorted just defence still on process to build. Since Otamendi is unavailable I can see coaching staff calling Sensei or Romero. Aimar them lot now probably gonna look for back up in Attack and midfield. I am sure they will make a formidable group by the end of qualifying or even copa. Hats off to Scaloni for his sacrifice 👏. It’s so sad People here bashing him where he was working on team without seeing his family since September. He has to find a team to make them play in the most hardest qualifying campaign in planet. They done good so far. KUDOS to all.

  8. Yesterday the team was good enough for the period of time we are now.
    i am satisfy with what i saw and yesterday from the team and i am even more satisfy with the 10 points we have right now.

    this terrible year of 2020 end for our beloved team with the best way. we are in good possition and we have bright chances for good things in the next year.

    Of course some people get sad yesterday with our victory because it became more difficult to spred their hate and toxic towards the players of our team that they don t like but what we can do. this is life.
    they should wait some months now for that.
    IF for their good luck we lose then.

    VAMOS ARGENTINA !!!

    EnganChe freedom of speech is PERFECT thing. one of the most important things for civilize people. Just i will tell you clearly what i don t like. i don t like those that called themselves fans of Argentina and put their personal opinion first and up from the team. most important is to prove their opinion is correct due to lose of the team than to get happy with one win of the team.
    in Argentina i haven t see something like that. Not only for national team that it is something like holy to us but i haven t see any fan of River plate or any other team fan in Argentina to think like that. we love deep and pure our team. we get happy with our wins and we get so sad with our loses that for one weak we don t have mood to speak even to our wife or family etc
    That is why it is difficult for me to adopt myself inside Mundo. I don t succed always to hold myself and i am aggresive here sometimes with some people.

    • Cox, passion and loyalty to a team in Argentina is unique, like nowhere else in the world.

      My problem with some posters here is that they just say things sometimes that are just completely the opposite of what is true. Maybe because the don’t watch they whole game and just the highlights and get a wrong impression of players.

  9. Argentina center back should fast, in previous world cup rojo can’t keep up with pace of mbabbe, fazio was also slow, center back should not only express strength, they should also have pace, one must have ball play and distribution ability in Excel
    Argentina also need another pace player caliber to nico gonzalez in its rights back option tall player always get some pace, nico height is decent, montiel don’t look bad, it’s seem he needs more play, montiel could be develop with time in expectation level or agile and pace, chance is 50-50

    • Well so many great CB hadn’t has pace but their intelligence and positioning make them great CB. CB doesn’t have to be like Usain bolt. Samuel THE WALL wasn’t even that fast but you know him for sure

      • No, mascherano they are intelligence but they have also collaboration their skills or attribute in all departments pace,ball play, strength , and they are well aware about their limit, defence don’t only need to look ball play, strength, pace each separately, its needs come with unity,,, if there is usain bolt in defence of Argentina i think it Won’t be bad either

        • Mascherano had pace and he wasn’t CB for NT. puyol one of the best CB in his era. He wasn’t pacy either. Don’t make mistake wishing to have Usain Bolt in our back line buddy then people will say he can’t play ball or blah blah 🙄

  10. I would like to urge posters here to please fact-check your own statements/opinions about certain players. Too many times what is stated here has little to nothing to do with reality.

    E.g. Montiel is slow, Senesi is not a ball playing CB, Tagliafico is not attacking, De Paul sucks, Icardi is the best striker in world, Kannemann was at fault for us conceding goals etc.

    Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing and we’re obviously entitled to our opinions but let’s please think twice and be sure before saying something completely off base.

        • For me likes tagliafico de Paul parades
          Quarta are unsung heros they always
          Give thier 100 % montiel will gain more
          Experience sure he will get better
          Armani soon will make way for any golie i don’t know who maybe emi or musso. Otamendi will go eventually we need patient. The team will only get strong under this Management no need to be Unfairly critical certain players no matter how they perform.

          • LMQ is an average player for right now.Medina and Perez should have been given chance.LMQ is good passer but what about his defensive weaknesses against classy player he will be thrashed.
            Why to hate Otamendi when he has been phenomenal for Argentina, I would say best CB of Argentina after world cup.

        • bro I would like to see foyth in rb he is solid in defending and can also spread the ball with intelligent passing, and about montiel he was poor accept it it’s a different matter that we don’t have anyone else other than him with foyth being injured. He was not solid at defending and he was awful while moving forward he can’t even give a proper pass, if he starts against Brazil neymar will destroy him for sure

    • > Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing and we’re obviously entitled to our opinions but let’s please think twice and be sure before saying something completely off base.

      Freedom of Speech doesn’t mean freedom of consequences.

      People are free to say stupid shit if they want, but they also have to accept that their words will invite others to challenge what they say, or even call to ban them.

      Your advice is sound and i’m occasionally guilty too. THINK BEFORE YOU SAY STUPID SHIT 🙂

  11. Brazil U23 ( with Rodrygo, Mathues Cunha etc ) who are one of our key rivals for Olympics lost to Egypt U23 yesterday . Hope AFA puts more seriousness in Batista’s project as he has done some great work silently & has a core team that is capable of going deep in Olympics.

  12. # It will be very difficult to find replacement of Lo Celso. He is excellent in attacking as well as defending! Only thing he lacks is finishing. He is like a glue between attack and defence! Hope, he will be injury free during our important games!

    # Paradese has improved his tackling a lot.His passing is good. But lack of mobility is the main concern. His off the ball movement is poor.
    # De paul needs to do lots of covering for for Parades.
    # Tagliafico is so so. He is somewhat afraid to go forward! I dont know why!!

  13. One thing I noticed:
    When Kanneman Rojo or other CBs were playing Argentina were conceding goals from Left Side like in friendlies or other games Otamendi was in right side at that time but now Argentina conceding conceding goals from Right Side of the pitch while now Otamendi plays in Left Side of the pitch. So I think people are hating on Otamendi unnecessary but yeah his club form is problematic.

    • Kannemann played like 6 games for NT. There is just 2goals scored against us when he played & it had nothing to do with him or his left side🤦. Yes dosent mean he was a defensive beast bcos most games were like Iraq, Morocco, gautemala
      The 2 goals we conceded thru right in last 4 games were also a result of midfield , right back mistakes. Almiron was allowed to dribble into box. Bolivia game again one of the midfielders or Montiel shoudl hav pressed chumacero who came deep inside before lobbing the cross.
      I can immediately think of Brazil 1st goal in copa semi which came from otamendi manned left side. I am sure there will be lots more. So can’t generalize. Otamendi has 1 advantage of adaptivness on both sides. But his lack of pace will undo us against pacy attackers. Look at the 9th min of today game when armani was under var review for pk. Chueva beats ota easily on pace or acceleration bringing cheuva & armani to a 1:1 situation.

      • Varzil goal doesn’t even count in copa semi because most of the players thought it was foul and they stopped playing but referee allowed Varzil to attack so every each one of them were out of position

      • Otamendi had decent pace in that 1 vs 1.The best CBs are Van jijk, Sergio Romero,Thiago Silva,Laporte etc. They are not known for being fast or speedster. Defending is not only about pace. Otamendi’s stats are opposite of what people are saying.

  14. It was very important to win yesterday’s game. Especially after the point lost against Paraguay at home. And considering next 2 games are Uruguay and Brazil

    It is interesting to note that, we are 2-1 on goals at home, with 1 win and 1 draw. And we are 4-1 on goals away from home, with 2 wins out of 2. Is there a pattern there? we are also good at coming back from behind. More on this later.

    Now to yesterday’s game. My top 5 observations

    1. Armani is really poor and a ticking timebomb. Its true that the bomb has just not exploded so far. He is really poor at commanding the box. He seems to be no man’s land all the time. In general, he is not going to save anything good shot at goal. He should be replaced by Emi Martinez, before Emi loses his form and gets 35, like certain Willy Caballero. Here we have a solution, its whether we are going to adopt it or not.

    2. Defense continues to be a weak point. All 4 positions. More so the right side. We need replacement/back up for all 4 positions. None of them are as horrible as Armani, but nothing great either. Christian Romero should be brought in. Another hope is Pezella-LMQ pair blossoming at Fiorentina. Nico is fine. Right back is the biggest problem. With Messi not defending much, lot of pressure is on De Paul and Montiel and therefore on LMQ too.

    3. Midfield is looking good. I don’t know why people hate Paredes so much. He is not bad. We are not going to replace Mascherano. We are forming a midfield “team”, not individuals with specific duties. De Paul, Paredes, Lo Celso, Ocampos, Palacios, Guido etc. form a midfield team, taking care of overall duties of midfield, everyone doing little bit of everything.

    4. Nico Gonzalez is a revelation. He ran himself to the ground yesterday. Lot of skills and the balls to show those. Constant duties of attack and left midfield defense. Freeze your TV screen all day long. When we don’t have possession he is left mid in a solid 4-4-2, covering the left side. No wonder he had to be subbed. We have riches in this area now, so its OK to play him 70 mins and then someone else.

    5. Finally the oldies. Are we seeing the end of Messi beginning? May be it is. He surely has lost the pace. But is vision is still top of the world. The finishing is taking a toll because he is missing the fraction of second from his game. May be he should take a break. And Dimaria, if we want the outstanding version of this guy, keep him on the bench. He is running like he has to prove something. Whenever he has been pushed to the back, humiliated, he performs. If he feels he is untouchable, a superstar he loses his head. Keep him like this, he will produce some wonders.

    Must win game against Uruguay. We must build a fortress at home. Win more at home. Score more at home. Brazil game I think we will come back empty handed.

      • I think we can beat Uruguay. Their defense is old , Campana is an avg keeper , Cavani is out .Infact we will be favorites & bcos of point position Uruguay may try to attack us which will work in our favour.
        Brazil maybe favorites & also home match for them – but we have improved well & it can be an even match where a stroke of brilliance can make the difference. The ‘ mighty’ VARSIL still needed VAR to beat Peru few weeks back.

        • Brazil is a zero point game. We have not beaten them in a competitive game since qualifiers of 2006 at home (3-1, 2 crespo and riquelme). I believe we have not won on Brazilian soil over 70 years. Above all there is VAR. Its almost impossible to get a result against Brazil + VAR

          • Let’s see . I would not keep it as a foregone conclusion. We had a no win record in Bolivian soil since 2003 or so & something similar in Peru. Both fixed now. Without home crowd , some of these advantages gone. I wouldn’t be shocked if we bring Brazil to a draw or even more. Even if you look at last 2 matches – copa 19was pretty well fought & varzil had a controversy angle to win. In Nov 19 we outplayed them in saudi. Brazil is favourites … But don’t be surprised if we pull a point or more from them.

  15. argentina present best goalkeepers are
    1.Emi martinez
    2.Walter Benitez
    3.Juan musso
    4.Agustin andrada
    5.Agustin Merchasin
    6.Ledesma
    7.Geronimo Rulli
    8. P Gazzaniga
    9. Sergio romero
    10.Willy cabellaro
    11. Argentine wonderkid Franco armani 🙈😅😈

  16. Players Rating:

    Armani – 6.4
    Montiel- 6.5
    Martinez quarta – 7.2
    Otamendi – 6.6
    Tagliafico – 6.8
    De paul – 6.0
    Paredez – 8.5
    Nico gonzalez – 7.3
    Lo celso – 7.9
    Messi – 7.4
    Lautaro – 7.3
    Ocampos – 6.3
    Di maria – 6.1

    • People are sleeping on Depaul. He is one of the main reasons we are able to attack so well. He does SOO much dirty work for us, he runs and covers for both Paredes and Messis lack of mobility. He seldomly looses pocession and he is able to create spectacular long range passes. He makes others look good. He is highly underrated.

      • Leonardo, agree with you. De Paul never gets his fair share of praise from the fans.

        Speaking of Busquets, Spain’s former coach Vicent Del Bosque said “If you watch the whole game, you won’t see Busquets, but watch Busquets, and you will see the whole game.”

        De Paul is right there for us. I am not saying he is on par with Bosquets, but he is our own Bosquets.

  17. Happy for the good display and the win. Compared to where we were on the pile this time three years ago it’s very obvious that we’ve come a long way thanks to the hard work of Scaloni and Co. In order to make the team stronger the coaching staff should incorporate some in form young players in the form of C. Romero, Licha Martinez, Cristian Ferreira and Marcos Senesi in the team and they surely will be very important for the NT once the games come thick and fast in these WCQ games and beyond.

    Nico Gonzalez and Lo Celso stole the show last night and when you look at their chemistry you think they’ve been playing together for ages. Lo Celso was the corner stone of almost our every attack and his pinpoint passes stretched Peru’s defense a few times in both halves. But there is one thing that worries me a lot; the lack of another creative midfielder like Lo Celso who can replace him when he is injured, suspended, tired, or off form. Palacios is a good option, but he isn’t on G. LO’s level and on top of that we don’t know what effect those flying knees will have on his career (Wish him speedy recovery).

    Finally, Lautaro Martinez “the bull” is gaining form and finding the back of the net in the right time, and as much as he is a hard worker he needs to work on his first touch and passing. I think Aimar can help him improve in those areas of his game. Vamos! Vamos!

      • Unfortunately injuries ruined Manu’s career and it’s time to look somewhere else. Matias Palacios is too green for now, but definitely an amazing prospect.

        • i think Buendia can be a good back up for locelso. He is creative , can hold ball , tracks back very well & is not just a plain wide player. Can cut inside & has the ability to fit into a 3-3-4 formation as a right midfield

          • 2nd division football wont be the criteria for Scaloni to reject Buendia . Maybe there is something else. I remember someone here saying he had some attitude issue earlier when in youth system . So maybe there is some misunderstanding or real attitude issue.
            1) Nico G had been selected by Scaloni when he was in Bundesliga 2nd division last year.
            2) Buendia has already played & excelled in Premier League. His team sunk into 2nd division bcos of bad defence & they did not spend much once they had got promoted from 2nd division to PL in 2019. Last PL season , Buendia was recognized by all PL experts on his creative abilities & was rated among best in that category.
            3) If you look at this year PL season , some of the solid success stories is players straight from 2nd division – Patrick Bamford , Kevin Phillips & most of Leeds , Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa etc. So English 2nd division is pretty competitive for sure.
            4) I think it was a bad timing that prevented Buendia transfer to a PL team. Hopefuly Jan window he will rightfully come back to PL as many teams have an eye on him.

  18. Its a Good way to end the Decade with a Good Win, I see this team looks good, Scaloni knows his craft, We may not be playing pretty all the time, But with players like Lo Celso, Messi, combining we looks good in parts. Our Midfield for me looks good, Lo Celso-Paredes-De Paul all 3 r of different type players. They each bring different profiles to the Table. We are not dependent on Messi thats a great thing.

    Attack and Midfield looks like have sorted the issues with ample back up players. Defense and Goal Keeping positions i am sure will eventually be sorted out by Scaloni. I think he is a right man to be in charge for us, He is young so is flexible, players like Ocampos, Nico Gonzalez etc etc are revolutionary players for us. Let the Experience players guide the Youngsters, We need all of them and Move forward as a group.

    2021 is going to be a hell of a year for us, Tough Qualifiers and Copa awaits. Hope we can make a better impact in 2021.

  19. As always Arg is blessed with great talents in every season.Only problem comes from MGT and Coach.Yeh Arg also blessed with grt coaches but none can gave beyond 80%.now it is cured by Scaloni I think. Thr is hope..

  20. Congrats to the great Scaloni & boys. Grt work.
    One of the imp characteristic of scaloni is he always stood on basic of football.He looks like a very good professional coach. He seems Calm and enthusiastic always. ❤️

  21. Very happy for the win…

    Will Otamendi be available for the next game??? ( 2 yellow in last 3 matches for him)

    And, what would happen if Armani would get a RED for the VAR checked incidence in 8th minute or So?

  22. Happy with the win! Nico Gonzalez has shown his great potential, Lo Celso too and Lautaro’s numbers for the nt speak on their own. This team has depth, many talented players in every department, our defence is still the weakest link but fortunately we also have talent there and with the addition of the likes of Romero and Senesi and the development of our defence and our team as a whole step by step, i think we are on good track to form a well oiled machine!

    If it wasn’t for the robbery they did to us in the game against Paraguay we should have had four victories in a row by now! Anyway, as difficult it is to forget that, i am very proud of our beloved team, because we deserve the gredit, everything we gain is solely due to our own accomplishments and worth and not because of VAR or any other dirty politics!

    VAMOS ARGENTINA CARAJO!!

  23. what a shamefull referring in Uruguay vs brazil match…i.really Don’t know why south american referee always favour for brazil it just disgusting

          • What a low mentality. If we consider us wc contenders and getting happy seeing opponent player suspended?? If we want to be the best we need to beat the best

          • CONEMBOL is the toughest WC qualification process. I am only bothered about Argentina winning & qualifying with minimum scratches . If a key player in opposition is injured or suspended , i see it as an advantage . You can keep your high mentality with yourself & i am content the way i am .
            If you are considering Argentina currently as a WC contender , god bless you in your utopian world. We have a coach who is transitioning the team brick by brick & lets first win Copa 21

  24. Messi and locelso combines and making great passes for strikers ❤️ some of messi passes where unbelivable lo celso is our future creative in mid its a defrent team when a team have 2 playmakers. the finishing wasnt that good i wonder how a inform Alario and gomez sits on the bench while recently called up di maria been subed

  25. When the team is winning, nothing is wrong ! only when the team lose then everything seems wrong A good day for Alcibeleste, the players are overjoyed and will make a good team chemistry in the next 2 crucial games. 96% Sacloni plans works today. Playing with more confidence and special thanks to Nico and Lo Celso outstanding performance that lift the standard of playing today. Just awesome

    Still there is a lot to and must be improved; Defense and GK issue to be sort out. An open door to young generations to join the N/T has to be widely opened. Follow the example on how Spain trashed Germany with 20 yrs old striker

  26. Lionel Scaloni came out today with the opposite intent of what he showed versus Paraguay. Instead of looking to control the entire game he came in with desire to take what was offered. The beginning moments were a bit shaky. In the Paraguay game, where the lack of a intent to press in opening minutes allowed pacy opposition wingers to cause trouble to a midfield and back line sitting low; in todays game a desire to press early almost caused a scare when an aggressive back line was caught out in a ball over the top for a near penalty VAR call.

    However, as the half settled, two of the most important players in the November set of games – Gonzalez and Lo Celso showed their value taking over the game. Sitting in an unbalanced attack, Nico Gonzalez showed his versatility in sitting comfortably in the defensive 442 when required, and then joining up right behind Lautaro almost as a support striker through the left in 4312 in the transitions.
    Meanwhile the three man midfield finally started to look more complete with Lo Celso having a very fine game. Showing deep in the defensive areas, good decision making when to carry the ball, when to rotate or when to pass forward, and when to overlap, he allowed the game to flow on the left side and added the perfect balance on the much troubled left side of the team. The Tagliafico – Lo Celso – Gonzalez triangle was able to continuously overload that side and generate a near replica of the disallowed goal versus Paraguay that even VAR could not take back this time. Unfortunately with the extra man being devoted to the attack on the left, it meant DePaul and Montiel found themselves isolated to create anything on the opposite end.

    While poor messi had a tough time in forward areas throughout the game – unable to pull the trigger early in some cases and showing his evident lose of pace in others; his teammates were finally able to utilize the extra attention he receives from opponents in midfield areas and take advantage of space that opens. Parades stepping into vacated space when the #10 drew markers enabled an easy through ball for lautaro to finish.

    As Gareca responded by pushing his players higher to chase the game, Scaloni showed another improvement – recognizing the danger of soaking pressure through DePaul or his usual sub Dominguez, he instead made a more aggressive sub through Ocampos relatively early to add more penetration. This move was almost immediately rewarded, with Ocampos finding himself in a position to shoot at goal with pretty his first touch from an area that was missing an argentine body the whole game. Finally by not ignoring the option to counter even till the end through DiMaria allowed a comfortable win in the end.

    While 4/6 points is a good step to end 2020 qualifiers, a big problem of the Scaloni era – poor communication in zonal set piece marking continues to be evident; an issue in play since a 1-0 loss to Brazil in the deserts of Saudi Arabia in 2018. This followed with Otamendi and Martinez Quarta still not completely sure with each other in open play will possibly continue to give fans heart attacks in 2021.

    Vamos!

    • Thanks el mongel as always
      Scaloni is really brave coach
      Past Argentine managers won’t give-chance likes nico gonzalez won’t play parades sole anchorman,deep laying playmaker or dm. In fact I loved that midfielder parades and lo celso
      In middle and earlier sub Ocampos for de pual It’s also refreshing to see cb can come out with the ball making 50 to 60 long and through
      Passes from the back I mean lmq
      I don’t doubt lmq will improve more
      Under new fiorentina manager Cesare Prandelli

      • Thanks for reading Godin. You just reminded me of good point. I had it in my notes but decided not to add as was getting long.

        Martinez Quarta has indeed taken over an important role from Otamendi. Last year, when opposition defenses were sitting back, it was often Otamendi who was used to generate the long ball (many times in Copa). But now that role seems to have shifted to LMQ. Best example is the corner that gave Gonzalez the header against Paraguay. It was generated by a very deep diagonal ball from LMQ searching for Ocampos. There were a few such attempts today and that game too. I think it is interesting window to Scaloni’s view on LMQ and Otamendi.

          • Amit I guess you ask that question to el mongel.
            Right combination will be either lich martinez or lmq switch to left side in the defence and partner his club mate pezzella.But I doubt scaloni will choose lich. Real possibilities will be kannemann or even young medina.
            With shout marcos senesi as he is left foot Good with the ball strong in the air
            I perfer him over kannemann anyday.
            I heard scaloni closely Following him
            And af course it’s long way till March
            A lot can change balerdi was really improved his last two league Marseille games probably he will play more games as Marseille have so many games definitely He is the one to look eye on it as scaloni really rate him highly. Af course everyone wants C Romero but I’m talking about what coaching staff has been following or been calling up so far.

          • Always Happy to hear your views also Godin11 . As you rightly pointed lot of good candidates ,coach’s views & time till March makes this a good guessing game. Wanted to understand how comfortable LMQ is on left. Always seen him only on right. Being a key ball playing CB , i think natural position will be preferred for LMQ. Pezzella -LMQ sounds fine with a good balance of aerial strength, ball play though i would think pace is still missing. Medina / Balerdi can bring that angle. I guess seeing Scaloni’s loyalty to players – LMQ is sure starter unless something drastic happens for him in Fiorentina. But its a great forced opportunity for Scaloni to think beyond Otamendi. Maybe he will discover a NicoG like gem in Medina or Balerdi or Senesi assuming LMQ is locked at right CB.

      • I did not my friend. I watch spain destroy germany earlier and then save myself for our big one 🙂
        Maybe I will catch up on VARsil later. We have big test in March. It might be in Maracana. In front of crowds. Against a very strong Brazilian pressing game. I am excited. Of course we have some weaknesses, but we are strong in many areas too.

    • Good analysis El Mongol . The Ocampos & DiMaria substitutions really showed a new Scaloni. & all credit to Scaloni for discovering Nico G.
      My best moment of match – In the 57th min or so , Nico dispossessed the Peru right winger deep in Argentine territory & advanced more than half of pitch beating 3-4 Peru players before passing to an unmarked Lautaro . That led to an exquisite Messi pass & a follow up shot of Ocampos where Gallese made a brilliant stop.

      • Lmq is our future he should start every game now we need to find a proper patner for lmq for 2022 wc romero or lisandro Martinez or medina can be good choices

    • Have to say Messi was not poor. Participated in almost every attack and had a huge defensive contribution even having more ball recoveries than De Paul. Is it that if Messi doesn’t score and assist he had a bad game? Really seems he’s a victim of his own success lately 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

    • Great post @elmongol as always!!!

      I haven’t watched Nico G much before these 2 games. I am in love with this guy. High speed. Skills on the ball. Finishing. And above all reading of the game. You can freeze several moments on TV where he is the left midfielder in a 4-4-2 when Peru has the ball. Covered Tagliafico all day long. A main reason we keep seeing attacks from our right back.

      I must say Armani must go. He is awfully poor in commanding the box and crosses, set pieces etc. Next 2 games are tough.

    • Hello el mongol. I always wait to read your analytical writing. It is a great joy to read your cmment. Can you please tell me the future argentine players’ performance at this moment? Especially the performance of Nehuén Pérez, Ezequeil Barco.

  27. Germany thrashed 6-0 yeah 🙂

    Ferràn Torres with a hattrick 😮 , this dude has improved since joining City. Sad that Almada deal failed. Imagine almada at city ;o. Would have been a beast there

  28. ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA ARGENTINA …………………………………Keep up the good work …..10 points and I’m loving it.

    BTW, that was a damn PK that wasn’t called, that Colombian REF. is notorious for bullshit calls.
    The Krauts were trashed 6-ZERO, “SIX”!!!I bet that C.SUCKER Neuer didn’t have that stupid smile on his pompous mug.

    Chile lost to Venezuela…….I NEVER miss a chance to make fun of Shitty-Chile, F YOU, now and forever.

    Today was a good day.

  30. For those faggots who thinks that Lautaro is a big game blower, here is the salt on your wounds.

    Lautaro in Peru Vs Argentina:

    1 goal 1 shot.
    12/12 passes.
    100% shot accuracy.
    100% pass accuracy.
    33 touches.
    2/3 dribbles.
    8 duels won.
    4 fouls won.
    and now he is the best scoring forward in the national team with 11 goals in 21 matches since Scaloni’s takeover. Yes even better than Messi. That just proves what he will become when he finally finds his flow and rythmn both in NT and club.

    One thing is sure that El Toro is a master at making comebacks. No matter how bad he plays the first game he for sure comes back with a bang in the next game. And that’s what makes him special.

    Elite class.

  31. Montiel is definition of an average player. No wonder West Ham did not sign him. Montiel and Armani should be dropped and LMQ is good passer but he needs to solidify his defending.For right now Otamendi, Pezella, C. Romero and Medina or Perez should be our top 4 Center Backs.

  33. I believe This Team! I believe Messi will lead the team to Glory!
    Our Youngsters doing very well! Just Need To Replace The GK, Emi Martinez!
    Now I also have a hope for 2022 Qatar World Cup! Lionel Scaloni + Lionel Messi : will be great Combination!💓 #Vamos Argentina!🇦🇷

  35. Nico was great addition to the team. Its great to see youngster filling up the attacking position at last. Lautaro already had 10+ goals in NT now. Both has scored twice now.

  36. Before every haters slagging off Scolani… Statisically, we have best defence alongside Brazil so far . Both teams only conceided two, although they scored more goals, but we’ve been prevented by VAR few times.

    Another interesting fact… every teams in this qualifier has conceided 5-10+ goals so far. If Argentina is terrible, than other teams has been super terrible.

    I’m still not sold on that stats especially with Armani and Otamendi seems about to secure his place in next year tournament. The problem with Armani is that he always choses to stand on his line most of the time (remember Croatia first goal?) . Sergio Romero despite being deemed as bad goalie, made plenty of saves by coming off his line to clears aerial threat.

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