Javier Mascherano, Alejandro Garnacho comment on Argentina’s 1-0 win vs. Saudi Arabia

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Javier Mascherano and Alejandro Garnacho both commented on Argentina’s 1-0 win vs. Saudi Arabia at the Toulon tournament.

Mascherano has his Argentina U20 team as top of their group at the Toulon tournament. Their opening match was against Saudi Arabia and it was a goal by substitute Santiago Castro which gave Argentina the 1-0 win. Here is what Mascherano had to say about the tournament:

“I enjoyed this tournament a lot as a player and now I am starting my career as a coach here. Coaching these kids, this national team, is a source of pride.

He was part of the Argentina team who played in this tournament back in 2003 where he was named as the MVP of the tournament. He is now on one win out of one as Argentina have all three points.

Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United started the match and spoke to the media about it. Here is what he had to say:

“Our idea was always to keep possession of the ball. We were protagonists and finally we were able to convert because maybe at the start we lacked forcefulness.”

They are in a group with hosts France and Panama. The next match is on June 1 against Panama. Here was the goal scored by Santiago Castro which gave Argentina the 1-0 win.

36 Comments

  1. I only see dybala as a backup to messi though his serie a stats + champions league stats(5 matches 4 goals) are decent. if messi was not 34 year old i would not have picked dybala. also dybala we can afford if the squad size is 26 not if squad size is 23. for me alvarez should go to world cup because european team have not dissected him well as he is new + his first touch is phenomenal. the only problem with A correa is his goal scoring stats are good for la liga but pathetic for champions league(10 matches 1 goal) which point that he may be a good bet for group round in world cup but wont be of much help from round of 16 onwards.where as J correa provides all the great qualities but goal scoring ones. his goal scoring stats are worse than all of them even molina have better stats than him. out of his 6 goals 2 goals have come is first match and 2 in his last match for serie a. he need to take shooting lessons again. when selecting players we may have to also see that substitute player may have to start in match because of injury to player or suspension. then he should be at-least 50 percent the player he is replacing.

    • With that logic then Lautaro should also not play the knockouts as he also scored only one goal in the champions league, if I am not mistaken.

      • please see j correa , a correa, lautaro or dybala record for champions league in last 4 years if someone is continuously sub par in champions league it is a concern and my thesis will hold true. lautaro has scored 10 goals in last 4 years , a correa has scored 1(3 total in CL history) , j correa has six(0 this year) and dybala has 12. you can take out similar numbers for assists as well . the point is you can take 2 players as forwards(the correa’s ) with sub par performance with respect to goals. CL provides you insight to what will happen to your games when their is tight space as you will get similar conditions in world cup as well.

        • correction :the point is you can not take 2 players as forwards(the correa’s ) with sub par performance with respect to goals

    • Well, when Argentina dominated possession and created lots of chances, they lost like in 2004 final, 2007 final, 2014 final but when they didnt , they actually won like in WC 1990 round 16 and Copa 2021 final against Brazil.

      The thing that matter the most is final result.

      • This is illogical to compare different generation and different tournament. Its important to take whatever chances comes. When you dominate you have better chance of winning. We won not dominated doesn’t mean that always be the case.

  2. Almería have been promoted meaning that Robertone will play La Liga next season. Girona will play the playoffs so there is a chance that Bustos will go up too

  3. One of the most common forms of criticism here is that X player is slow. While it can be said about a central defender or a midfielder but when you apply that carelessly to fullbacks and wingers it really is odd. A winger and a fullback almost by definition cannot be slow, otherwise they would not play in that position where speed is a must.

    • I also think it is very short sighted when people use a player’s slowness as seemingly the only reason why they should or shouldn’t play. Someone will praise Senesi for good performances but then another person will object that he is “slow”. Okay that’s it? If he is so slow why is he playing in a decent European club that reached a final? Shouldn’t that be a problem for them? Even if Senesi is really slow that’s not always relevant. If we were to play a high line against a team with speedy wingers and fast counter attacks then absolutely that should be considered, but take for example a game where Argentina sits deeper and is the counter attacking team (like against Brazil). Is his speed noticeable or relevant then? His passing from deep and height could be an asset in a game like that. It seems that a player has to be extremely fast, 6 foot or higher, two footed, and very muscular to even be considered. Many players lack some of those attributes and still contribute just fine.

      • I agree Olive. I also don’t think that Senesi is slow, he may not be one of the fastest CBs but he is not slow either, he isn’t slower than Pezella, neither Chiellini or Bonucci. He has descent speed, but i think that his defensive abilities, positioning and even carrying the ball are pretty good actually.
        The same goes with height regarding defenders as well. Many fellow members in here were questioning Lisandro Martinez because of his height, but Licha apart from being very good in defending as well as having great skills with the ball, he proved to be very efficient in the air despite his height.

        • They probably tried sprint him in PS4 or PS5 and didn’t work hence the reason they moaning about slow but completely ignoring about the positioning and tackling ability and world class passing ability too

        • Actually I was talking about Licha height but I ain’t complaining coz he is a gem like Ayala. I just get excited that what if Licha was in Senesi height

      • > I also think it is very short sighted when people use a player’s slowness as seemingly the only reason why they should or shouldn’t play.

        Everyone agrees he played well. By definition, it’s rather silly, because him being slow did not impact his ability to perform well.

        > Even if Senesi is really slow that’s not always relevant. If we were to play a high line against a team with speedy wingers.. Many players lack some of those attributes and still contribute just fine.

        Most have PTSD from Mbappe racing past our slow ass defense so i get the sensitivity to “slowness” but pace doesn’t explain it all. I’m sure a low block instead of SUICIDAL highline would have achieved better results (i mean, how moronic? ” youtube.com/watch?v=WrWFhZEw1bo ” ).
        Also, when people criticize, focusing on singular traits instead of a comprehensive view is much easier to digest, remember, and comment on.

    • This team lack on field leadership. Masche has to constantly shouting to the team during the game. I remember in 2005, the u20 side was led by Zabaleta who actually being a great captain at the time.

      I’m not too familiar with the current u20 squad so I’m not sure who has strong enough character from lead the pack. A quick check at wiki (I know its not the best source for info), but the current captain for Argentina youth side is “Vacant” lol

  4. If the team is to do well in the tournament, they have to fix the defense. Mascherano copies Luis Enrique/Pep meaning that he wants ball possession as much as possible. Such tactic is vulnerable against counter attack.

    I don’t like what I saw from our defenders today, hope Masche will give chance to others against Panama. Aude and Carboni will be interesting as they both are good for left back.

  5. The wind was crazy and the ball seemed to be bouncing alot.. I think that had an effect how our players controlled the ball. Otherwise they did fine…

  6. This team has great potential . They are skilful players .Garnacho ,Soule are the best players for sure but No.19 Brian Aguirre Is a surprise. T geralnik and goalkeeper Gomez are promising too.

    Box to box player infantino and Gonzalez are decent . Julian aude is too slim but very good at dribbling. However Lucas Romero and Paz are disappointed.

    I think there are still many talent in local league .Especially Boca’s Zeballos ,Velez ‘s Orellano ,Colon’s FACUNDO FARIAS.

    I am looking forward to see Valentin caboni

  7. France is not playing well at all in their game against Panama. Midfield seems non existent. Almost zero penetration so far. In fact Panama has more promising moves and attempts so far.

  8. i want to know technically, is’nt it both the a/j correa and dybala similar type of players.i have this question because our attack is right heavy. if instead of taking 2 out of these 3 players we can take ocampos + one of these because ocampos provides an aerial threat which apart from lautaro none of other forwards provides. your insights are welcome

    • If Dybala and j Correa don’t start well for new season.I believe one of them should drop preferably Dybala as I believe j Correa offers more than Dybala in terms flexibilities, directness , movement in final third. As Ocampos for me is no , let’s hope Alario comes good cus he is the one who can score goals coming as subbs.

      • Recently Dybla is playing really well it looks like he is goettimg into his prime. Recently he has become more powerful,technical and precise in shooting. J. Correa needs to be dropped he is average player whenever J. Correa starts Argentina lacks goal threat except match against Bolivia.
        A. Correa needs to raise his level and leave Atletico Madrid as soon as possible.

    • No need of ocampos. He is slow and won’t make much threat in attack. In 4 3 3 scaloni will choose for di Maria in the left wing or else Nico. Nico is good in air. Also j correa and papu can play in the left wing. A correa would be always a good sub. Dybala inclusion depends on his next season. So from j/a correa and dybala currently both correas may go to the wc.

    • A.Correa ended up as the highest scorer for Atletico Madrid with limited time on the pitch. He is a work horse and will be an ideal player to come off the bench and maintain the high pressing game that Scaloni likes while not compromising our attacking threat! Dybala on the other hand offers very less in Defense and is always injured. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up injured during the world cup. Only reason he is selected is that he provides that X-Factor element. He can score and create from out of no where , however not as regularly as Messi or even Dimaria.
      Players like Alario and A.Correa are accustomed to coming off the bench with 15 to 30 mins to go and scoring. However it might be Alario vs J.Correa and Dybala vs A.Correa for the final squad.

      Oscampus is third tier player in the team, a backup to N.gonzalez as he can play on both sides, will only make it if the former gets injured.

      • If Alvarez maintains this level he is a sure bet for lautaros back up. Then no need of alario. But if alario outshines Alvarez in the next 3-4 months then it would be a headache for scaloni. j correa could be useful in the left wing where we are little vulnerable. Dybala as a sub would not be a good idea coz he need time to settle.

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