Lionel Messi with kinesiology work in his soleus, will play for Argentina

By
Roy Nemer
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292

Lionel Messi did some kinesiology work for discomfort he has had in his soleus but will play for Argentina on Saturday vs. Mexico.

Messi trained with the Argentina national team on Thursday and will start. According to Gaston Edul, he did kinesiology work in his soleus, which he has had discomfort with prior to the game vs. Saudi Arabia.

It is believed that he has had discomfort since he was with PSG and nothing new.

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292 Comments

  1. Vini Jr said after the serbia game they won the first of seven finals. This is the right attitude to have. Scaloni warned a thousand times in the press conference that the best team doesn’t always win and it’s about details. Like not understanding an offside trap even though we were robbed. The bottom line is we need to fight. Paredes DePaul and a whole lot more used to be fighters on this team with attitude. Now they are pranksters covering their mouth fucking around with Messi. My advice is this, shut the fuck up, play hard, deliver a result, and all the critics will go away. Play like crap and go home and every criticism you deserve. The NT, all of them including Messi, shit the bed against KSA. If the fans and media destroy them it’s because of their performance, just like we praised them when they win. This team is living way too long on Copa and it’s time they realize nobody gives a shit if you are knocked out about Copa. Redeem yourself and all the doubt will go away. And as far as Messi I don’t give a crap if he is injured or healthy. If he can’t give 100 percent and run his ass off due to health he needs to say it and give Scaloni a chance to come up with a solution. There’s 26 players on this team for a reason. They deserve a chance to show themselves if one teammate is down.

    • If this team can’t make it against Mexico or polland, then it is a fact that this team lacks the mental strength. If we play without pressure it is 100% that we can be victorious against those teams. From there own then it’s all about that particular day.

      • It’s not that they just need to win. They need to have the attitude that we are going to send a message to everybody that we are here to win. It’s better to be cocky and work your ass off to succeed than to be humble and make up excuses(var, injuries,hostile crowd) and to lose.

    • > Vini Jr said after the serbia game they won the first of seven finals.

      For every 1 quote like this, there are 1,000 quotes opposite. Almost every single player, captain, and coach interviewing pre or post match match, are all an always confident, praise the opposition, respectful, and humble. Liverpool, City, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Germany, Spain, France etc for the most part were always praising other teams. You’re giving weight to 1 comment when 99.9% go the other way.

      Don’t get me wrong, we need to change mentality and that quote isn’t particularly offensive or anything but players, captains, and coaches almost always praise and respect opponents and stay humble. What is demonstrated in quick interviews and sound bites on camera is superficial, showing grit on the pitch is where it matters. I honestly don’t think there is any correlation between on camera and pitch behavior.

  2. At South America apart from Brazil everyone sits deep against us

    the team were so surprised by Saudi’s high pressings and their high line ,we couldn’t handle them the Team and scaloni had no answers

    Since Scaloni took over we’re never played teams that press high up with high defensive line

    I hope this is a wake up call, let’s hope the coaching staff have learned their lessons to how to deal with these types of teams

    • So?
      How is that even possible ?
      You mean Manager of Argentina National Football Team came to WC expecting every Team will sit back and defend?

      • Not every team but smaller teams like Saudi

        Most people thought Saudi will sit deep not play that Risky Highline

        Scaloni admitted in post match conference that he was surprised by the way how Saudi approached the Match.

    • Because ARG didnt colonize the half world as Portugal, France, England, Netherlands, Belgium etc. and didnt work with slaves from Africa as USA, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador. All of these players are blacks. Btw Italy won the Euro wo black players or with 1 Emerson, a very slow team. (slower than current ARG).

    • Argentina in general genetically is not very athletic compared to other race. I mean you won’t see any super high speed players from Argentina. The likes of the young Di Maria who was very speedy, Caniggia, Claudio Lopez were very rare. Garnacho is super fast but he is half Spanish. That’s why you will hardly see super fast wing back from Argentina. Zanetti is quite fast but more like skillful than fast. I remember back then Ortega who was quite fast went head to head with Roberto Carlos a lot. Roberto Carlos was almost twice faster than Ortega when fighting for a loose ball.

      If there are tall players, they are usually very slow and stiff kinda like Fazio, Gaich. You won’t see tall and fast and agile players like Haaland or Van Dijk. In basketball it is the same. All the tall players from Argentina are very slow. They are skillful but slow like Fab Oberto or Luis Scola. Ginobili, considered the Maradona of basketball from Argentina was quite athletic for Argentine standard, but compared to NBA athleticism, he was just average. It is just genetics. But although they don’t have the athleticism, they usually are very skillful in many other aspects. Think about Riquelme: Very slow, very not athletic, but extremely skillful. That’s very Argentine there.

    • If you want a summary, then Enzo is a deep lying central midfielder who is excellent in short and long passing, setting the tempo of the game, skewing passes to the direction he wants the team to go, and great defensive awareness. And he has a rocket of a shot in him to go with his passing. He’s a gem, and Europe is loving him at the moment.

      What he doesn’t do that Lo Celso does is dribbling and be a number 8. Thats not Enzo’s game. Actually no other Argentine midfielder does what Lo Celso does. May be Buendia does a little bit but he’s not in the squad and rightfully so.

      Enzo will probably going to cost 65m+ whoever wants him next season.

      • Good summary, Enzo if anything should replace Paredes or Depaul, not Locelso.

        The closest we got to Locelso is Macallister, Dimaria when in midfield like Sabella used him, and a very improvised Alvarez.

        • The closest we got to Locelso is Macallister, Dimaria when in midfield like Sabella used him, and a very improvised Alvarez.

          Totally disagree, MacAllister offensive game is close to none. He got not pace, no killer pass, no dribbling and he never wants to beat his man when one on one and he always wants to play safe (trying not to make bad pass by passing to his closest teammates, that’s no Lo Celso). Enzo has much higher ceiling offensively than MacAllister. There is a reason why Brighton moved him from #10 then 8 then left midfielder, and then now DM where he is at his best.

          The closest we have to Lo Celso is Papu and Almada who is a midfielder/attacking midfielder, NOT DM.

  7. I have no doubts about how the team will play and who will play. The only thing that worries me is fitness. They will have to press like the match against Italy, choking the opponent, not giving them space.That’s the performance I expect from them. To do that, they must reach 100% physical strength with the highest spirit. Also, they have to fight with var. While I’m optimistic, it’s certainly not easy.

  8. WHAT IF ARGENTINA QUALIFY FOR ROUND OF 16, THEN “DO OR DIE”
    LET IT START FROM NOW ON ” BETTER HAVE IT SOONER THAN LATER”

    VAMOS ARGENTINA “WARRIORS NEVER AFRAID OF DEATH, INFACT AFRAID OF DYEING WITHOUT FIGHT “

  9. Latest news from the training:
    1. The MAXIMUM IS 3 changes. So relieved. So not 5-7 changes like most of you wish. It is confirmed. So stop wishing 5-7 changes.
    2. Messi is completely healthy now. He moves normally, much better than a couple of days ago.
    3. The 3 changes are 2 in defense and 1 in midfield.

    The ones that have the best chance to play:
    1. Licha instead of Cuti.
    2. Montiel instead of Molina
    3. Enzo instead of Papu.

    It won’t be more than those 3. Acuna has a chance too to replace Tagli, but Licha and Montiel have bigger chance to start. MacAllister also has a chance to replace Papu, but Enzo is preferred.

    Tonight is the last training. Scaloni and Lautaro will give the interview.

    My view: Montiel and Tagli are a bad combination both are too defensive minded fullback. Better one of them is Acuna or Molina. Licha vs Cuti. I still want Cuti because he has better understanding with the whole team and Otamendi. But again since 3 changes is the maximum and only 2 of them are the defense change, so it can NOT be all three changes (Licha, Montiel, and Acuna), it can be only 2 of them.

    Enzo vs. MacAllister? Enzo all day all night for sure. No brainer. IF Enzo really starts, then I think MaxiLopez here is correct. He said Scaloni tried already MacAllister (vs UEA) and Papu (Saudi) as Lo Celso’s replacement and he seems to not be satisfied. That’s why he goes for Enzo now. Enzo played Lo Celso position for 30 minutes against Saudi. He seems to give a better impression than MacAllister and Papu in replacing Lo Celso for Scaloni.

    • Enzo played in Paredes’s position, but I’m not opposed to him starting next to Paredes. For the very least the shape will not be a 4-4-2 with Enzo Paredes and RDP.

      As for the Montiel Molina swap – that would be disastrous. One sure yellow (could be red too) with no associative play forward. Our right side will suffer with him. Remember against Mexico, we aren’t supposed to setup how we did setup against Brazil. I think Montiel only getting the shout because Foyth isn’t matchfit.

      • That’s correct. Enzo played for Paredes in 2 man mid in Paredes Role. He has done it better than Paredes. Now in LoCelso’s role..? He can play in anywhere in midfield. But LoCelso was completely different player. Enzo will be good in Paredes Role, or in DePaul role. He can do whatever these guys do.

        • Actually for Benfica, Enzo does not play as the pivot. He doesn’t dribble to progress the ball like a Frenkie de Jong or Pedri, but he is the same controlling midfielder who knows where the spaces are and where his teammates should be going. The gaping hole in midfield that we saw in the last match will be properly filled by him if given the chance.

          And this might help RDP who will be wanting to make runs and be around the box instead of trying to stay deep which isn’t his game.

  10. ARG ‘s total preparation for WC is bad I think. Only Scaloni is prepared all other players are taking it as a tour. They seems lazy in full 90 ,mints

    • Sorry dude but when it was obviously cheating, whatever they did or said, i am utterly unimpressed. The same as Ecuador and Qatar. They tried to cheat the same way too by saying the first Ecuador goal was offside. Luckily Ecuador still won. Argentina was just the victim.

      Argentina deserve to ask FIFA for justification. Why other games have no offside checking by that STUPID NEW TECHNOLOGY except Argentina and Ecuador games who happened to meet Qatar and Saudi? Did you guys notice that??? Bring the case. yes there are some offside checking in any game for any goal that was obviously offside (not even close), that doesn’t count.

      Portugal game and another game before that, no offside checking. What is this? A total joke. So that coach can say whatever. I am not impressed at all. He shouldn’t be proud if his victory was just part of conspiracy theory.

      • Yes, I know dirty money is playing its role but Argentina wasn’t playing the best football that the players should’ve played. The players weren’t showing any signs of motivation. Everyone was lazy and looked like they never cared about the loss. That attitude should be changed ASAP.
        FIFA is giving Qatar and Saudi Arabia a five-star treatment and that’s very obvious. S/korea was the same in 2002.

    • I already noticed from that soft penalty given to Ronaldo. The referee didn’t even think about going for a check. Real rigging is happening. May be Saudi coach is so confident that VAR could help them in those minute things and exactly what happened. Little luck plus favourable VAR plus lazy attitude of our players plus that shortness of speed infront for us made the whole day for KSA. If we had Nico instead of papu, all other factors would not have saved them. Coz he has a blistering pacem

  14. I wouldn’t mind if Argentina win just 1 goal difference.important is to win the match.getting goal in first half is very crucial. As time goes on situation can be dangerous.

  15. What’s with this brainless hot take on players tattoos?
    Or players eating asado?
    The vast majority of players have tattoos. Who cares. It’s a choice of artistic expression. Weird issue to obsess over. Welcome to 21st century.

  16. Unleash this guy: Enzo Fernandez

    Bitter rivals Manchester United alongside Manchester City and Newcastle United are reportedly interested in also snapping up the services of the 21-year-old talent, so if Liverpool are serious in their interest they will need to provide a very tempting offer.

    Over 13 Liga Portugal appearances so far, the €50m-valued (£43m) ace – who was hailed “elite” by former Liverpool star Maxi Rodriguez – has scored one goal, delivered three assists and created eight big chances, as well as averaging two key passes, one interception, two tackles and winning 3.7 duels per game.

    Not only that, Fernandez ranks in the top 2% of his positional peers across Europe’s next eight best leagues outside of the top five for shot-creating actions, progressive passes and passes attempted, as well as ranking in the top 11% for pass completion and shots on goal.

    The Argentine midfielder also made his debut World Cup appearance earlier today in the shocking 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia. Despite his nation suffering an embarrassing loss, he impressed in the centre of the park, completing 100% of his crosses, winning six duels and completing one tackle over his 31-minute performance, but it wasn’t enough to save his side.

    Fernandez has been the recipient of the highest praise with former Porto coach Jose Peseiro comparing the young player to Zidane:

    “(It is) absolutely surprising the level at which he plays at, at only 21 years old,

    “The best player I worked with was (Zinedine) Zidane, at Real Madrid. Of course, I don’t want to compare. But I’m talking about Enzo’s passing and surprising vision; a bit like Zidane.”

    With that being said, there is no doubt that Liverpool will be watching the talented midfielder closely during his World Cup campaign with Argentina and a move for the player could be on the cards when the transfer market reopens. Based on his huge potential and statistics this season, however, why would be foolish not to sign him.

    • It’s their choice. U are making a joke of yourself, if you think their tattoos ate the reason of them playing bad in last game. Tattoos were there when they brought us the trophy after 28 years of waiting.

  20. Brasil is only play good 2nd half and made them champions… Lol..Think about italy game we played 5 time better than this brasil.Actually loss Against S Arabia blow our confidence , hit our mind….
    Nothing to say just need a win against Mexico then whole scenario will change…
    Do or die.. Vamos Argentina

  21. Someone posted a moron/false thing like this: (Sorry if I use that word but it is very MORON)

    “Like someone on here said, the training ground turned to be a rehab centre for all injured players to the point of instead of counting who’s injured it is easier to announce who is healthy.”

    —Excuse me what rehab center? Do you get
    any tier 1 news source saying that this player is injured and that player is injured? Tier 1 source will tell you this

    Gastón Edul

    @gastonedul
    ·
    Ningún jugador empezó el partido con una lesión. Eso es falso. Lo que se vio son jugadores faltos de ritmo porque venían de lesiones que los obligaron a parar por semanas en la previa del Mundial. Eso es diferente.

    Meaning: No player started the game with an injury. That is false. What was seen are players lacking in rhythm because they came from injuries that forced them to stop for weeks before the World Cup started.

    So stop spreading tier 5 news that came from your negative thoughts/wishful thinking. Who “all injured players” in your wish? Cuti? Paredes? Dybala? Acuna? Guido? Emi? Messi? Any source they are currently in rehab like you said?

    I would not trade our situation with Brazil who lost their best player or countries like France who already lost Hernandez or England who already lost Maguire in the very first match. We have yet to lose anybody to injury and we have to be grateful for that.

    Lacking of rhythm is not as much problematic as being injured as the more u train/play, the more u get back in shape.

  22. Have faith we will win both the games and qualify for next round. I think our squad is unfit and not match fit that was the major reason of our struggles. Just watch the game and think even with 47 minutes left why we couldn’t even create any goal scoring opportunity?? Because we were not match fit. Because we were not calm but desperate. Messi was unable to run or dribble. Dimaria was only sending useless crosses though we don’t have any striker who is good with the header. Noone shoot from distance. I don’t know why noone even tried to shoot from distance. Dybala, correa could have provided something different. Alvarez should have been brought in place of lautaro and Correa in place of dimaria.paredes, Romero, messi and papu didn’t look match fit. Depaul has an off game it happens

  23. I don’t believe playing in Qatar would be that much of an advantage for Argentina. Arab is not India or Bangladesh. If the WC had been held in India, then yes it’d be just like playing at home. They are crazy for Argentina.

    Argentina might have a lot of fans in middle east too but the same can be said to Japan/Korea, North American countries, or Africa too. Argentina also have a lot of fans there. The World cup that we feel like playing at home the most are Brazil and Mexico. Maybe because they are close to Argentina so easier and cheaper access to go to those countries, so the number of fans were much more than usual.

    Also I think in middle east countries they are not known for idolizing a team/player (such as Messi). They are fans only, nothing more than that. Different from India or Bangladesh, they idolize Messi/Argentina sometimes even more than Argentines themselves.

    I believe we will not get booed against Mexico but I don’t believe the whole stadium will be full of blue and white color. The same goes to Poland match and so on.

    • After the defeat against Saudi Arabia, a Bangladeshi supporter died from heart attack due to the sheer shock. And it is nothing new for us. This is the level of passion that we have here for Argentina or Brazil. Just to give a context for everyone else to understand. It’s disgraceful to see some people here insulting and making derogatory remarks towards asian people.

    • But one thing concerning me is that, will this support remains the same for Argentina in India or Bangladesh after the retirement of messi? Especially Argentine football not producing real talents that used to be. The situation of Brazil is different. They have 5 World cups to boast off even in 2050. And Neymar is not that much a reason for the support. Thus even if they underperform in WCs it is not that much influential to reduce their fan base in the whole world. They still argue with that 5 stars. Or again we have to wait for another saviour after Diego and Messi? Or to try making a decent side with good physicality and team spirit.

    • Don’t waste your time man…
      What you know about Qatar .or middle east.?

      “Argentina might have a lot of fans in middle east too but the same can be said to Japan/Korea, North American countries, or Africa too.”

      This writing is enough to tell us that you don’t know anything about Qatar. Qatar most population is Indians. Qatari citizen is around 15% and the total population of Arabs including Qatar citizen are almost same as Indians. Then there are Nepali, Philippines, and Bangladesh citizens.

      Even I didn’t get the tickets for Saudi match, I was trying hard from June but couldn’t.. because the opposition was SA… crossing the border is just half an hour from the City..and stadiums…it’s like same county.

    • REST IN PEACE DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA AS U WILL REMAIN IN SO MANY HEARTS OF PEOPLE FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD FOR ETERNALLY ! I TRULY HOPE THAT AS U MADE SO MANY OF US AROUND THE WORLD SO HAPPY AS JUST BEEN ABLE TO WATCH U PLAY AMONGST MANY OTHER GREAT PLAYERS, BUT NO ONE WAS U LIKE U OR MADE US SO HAPPY EVEN THERE BEEN MANY OTHER GREATS WITH LA SELECCION TOO ! AS TODAY HAPPEN TO BE MY BIRTHDAY I WISH THAT SOMEHOW EVEN I DON’T KNOW HOW, BUT I THINK U MAY KNOW OR WISH U BE ABLE TO GUIDE WITH YOUR GREAT SPIRIT THE CURRENT LA SELECCION IN WC AT QATAR TO ARGENTINA’S 5Th WC FINAL AND ALSO HELP CURRENT LA SELECCION TO WIN IT FOR ARGENTINA AND LIONEL MESSI FINALLY AFTER 36 YEARS TO LIFT THAT VERY SAME TROPHY U WONCE LIFTED IN MEXICO 1986 !

  27. I hate those supporter who always spread negativity and create panic to the supporter. Please stay calm and wait till the group stage match finished. True supporter always with the team specially at the bad time.

  28. It’s a hall of shame for a team like Argentina. How on earth a team like Saudi has the courage to play a high line against us? Liverpool always play like this coz they know that they have quality defenders to outpace the opponents. Is di Maria or lautaro or Julian that much slow with the ball?

    • They never outpaced anyone, Messi and Lautaro ran past them and had 3 quality finishes with the minutest of offsides forget it, luck was with them and that’s it

      • Go watch on YouTube the inspirational speech the KSA’s coach had to deliver at half time igniting the fire in his players. No wonder they turned out the outcome. He was furious, yelling and shouting at players, telling them to stay home if they are not going to compete. Now, we should realize that 50% of the game depends on the coach. Sabella was like that.

        • Yes man I watched youtube and heard the inspirational message. It was something like this:”we already paid a lot! don’t get discouraged, the ref and VAR will help us again in the second half! you see were supposed to be down 2-0 or 3-0 but they helped us. come on don’t let the money gone for nothing!”

          And of course all of this is off the record. But somehow I “hear” it.

  29. Garnacho would have added pace to our left side, especially after loosing nico. See wot Vini Jr has done yesterday. We talk about experience lads who can’t run. Scaloni should have had the balls to call him. Feel very sorry for the team we are not in position to contest against Brazil, France, England & Spain.

    • I agree Nico and Joaquin should have stayed with the team or Garnacho should have been one of the replacements Scaloni should have been patient a little bit.

  30. Both Depaul and Paredes will have to step up next match. They can’t just sit back and pass to Dimaria and Messi. We desperately need them to bring their creativity against Mexico. Depaul and Paredes have to get back their rhythm for us to win this world cup!! If we play like we played against Italy where the whole team was pressing both while defending and attacking, Mexico and Poland won’t stand a chance. Our margin for error is null, which means our defenders will have to keep it extremely tight. Enzo most likely will get his start and hopefully he will balance our midfield. Emi also need to up his game. We need him to be at his best.

  32. Most of you here are still unable to control your emotions. Hey guys, calm down. Do whatever you can to help the team. Even if you turn down a good coach, a good team after an unlucky game, you can’t change a thing because you are an outsider. If you’re calm, it’s better for your health first than living in stress. If you are calm in your comments, I’m sure you have a chance to convey that calm to the Argentina team. That’s the positive thing you can do here, to the extent of your knowledge. Please pray a lot for this team. God bless you.

  33. Montiel Otamendi licha acuna will be our backline.
    Parades depaul enzo/mac allister will be mid
    Messi lautaro dimaria.up front with 433… I am expecting good game … We need early 2 goals to settle. Enzo is not lo celso but seeing enzo at benfica. He can control the tempo of the game…

  34. I think only Mr anuparno made warnings regarding our lack of speed/ wingers. He shouted for Enzo and atlast Enzo going to get the start. He criticized our full backs especially Molina for his lack of defensive work. And atlast all his pessimistic opinions turned into a reality and were the prime reasons behind Saudi defeat. All other big teams that won the first match have speedy wingers which made the difference. France england Brazil. And others without it are struggled badly. Argentina Uruguay Holland…And Germany only the exception.

    • Anuparno was a realistic guy while rest of us were in dream world where most of us reached at some point of time, via Maradona the legend and Messi the Goat.!!

    • The loss had nothing to do with speedy wingers. Zilch, nada, nothing,
      nichts. Do yourself a favor and take 20 minutes to analyze the loss. Do some online research, re-watch the game, read comments from posters that call out specific plays and squad issues. I’ll give you 1 example – Timing the offside trap. How many important plays were negated by offsides? Do you think if our players waited .5 seconds more to start the run, we would have scored? One of the many issues was clearly timing offensive runs, something our players do in their sleep any other day.

      • @choripan I didn’t say about the loss was only due to lack of speedy wingers. But other teams with good wingers made good results. And what made Saudi coach to plan this high line tactics? It’s only due to our lack of speed. They know it is risky but I am sure they won’t even think about that tactics against Brazil or France.

        • The issues were timing the runs and players not releasing passes correctly. They were so critical to the loss that player selection is a trivial issue to keep raising.
          The Saudi coach got lucky our players were off, it wasn’t some genius move. Total suicidal plan from him. 99 / 100 times we would have scored from the runs and the Saudi coach would get roasted.

      • Making excuses, the highline offside trap is an outdated tactic that was blown away by coaches. Almost everyone new what you have to do to beat it but Scaloni and the team. Instead of imposing our game on Saudi Arabia, they imposed their game on the mighty Argentina. Total shame. We need a big win as a statement of intent.

        • > Making excuses..

          Huh? It’s an observation. What …. you dont think Messi, Di Maria, and Toro know how to get in behind? Give me a break. For whatever reason, they had a shit day. Like i said above, 99 / 100 times they would have scored from the runs due to proper timing and correct passes and the Saudi coach would get roasted.

          • How many diagonal balls and runs did you see, how many balls did you see played behind the line, how many sprints were started from way behind the line ? Admit it, bad day or not, tactically we were outsmarted.

          • Minute 22 – Gomez long ball to Messi and Messi curled it to lower left corner but goal denied due to offside

            Minute 27 – Gomez through pass and Toro chipped it over keeper but goal denied due to the controversial offside call

            Minute 34 – Messi through pass to Toro and Toro feinted past keeper and scored but denied due to the offside call

            Shall I give you more examples? The SA tactical masterclass you speak of would have been bodied at this point. 2-4 Arg – SA 0. Definitely would have changed the outcome, highly likely we would have won.

    • Well, u may be right what u said about speedy wingers, but there are also other factors in the game as i understand the point about speedy wingers, but Still so many more remaining factors left, but for example if u look at Portugal vs Ghana and even the list of Portugue’s 26 men, well if u compare that to other teams 26 men list, then on paper, but only in paper their team look more superior than any other team, though, Still they played very bad game against team like Ghana, who i do actually like, as also Senegal, Cameroon and even more Uruguay and young Ecuadorian team as even Japan too or if Arg can’t win WC South Korea will be more than fine for me with all those other team names that i mentioned above as i don’t want Brazil or any other European team to win than Denmark, but only if Arg not face Denmark or Arg can not win WC etc.. as i do not wish any other team from Europe to realky win even i’m from Europe and born and grew up in there, but i have travel around the world to see different culture’s and countries and to hear different languages and to see different land scape and learned from very young age that world is not equal at all what come to justice for all and equal rigths for all etc…, but the world is not like that even with so many beautiful countries, culture’s, landscapes,languages and most importantly so many good people around everywhere, but alkways controlled by those who are very rich as the rich are just getting more richer and poor people just more poor as all this also is purpously done as also our planet as mother earth suffering from those very rich who are just getting more richer awy or another by using obviously mother earth own riches from various places around the world as there are various goods and items that are obviously given with purpose more higher value than some other item etc…so for me nothing is fair in this world, not even the game i love the most which if would had alkways been played as fairly and equally to everyone could had perhaps had an impact as way or another or smaller or in larger scale for the whole world and for every human being etc.,,but, even i know as my good friend is a referee and has been referee in european leagues too, but not in the WC or in the Euros or in Copa or not in African Nations Cup or Asean continental cup or whatever it is called or not in Gold cup for Concaf countries etc., Still i belive in his way of seeing things as he has seen with referee’s and VAR too at very the present WC or some major tournament’s before now as let say more or less when VAR was introduced and sold to everyone as the ultimate key for equal rights in the game and for those who are the one using it as now obviously specially in Europe it exist’s allraedy in most of the competive leagues of Europe, which are also those who have the most money in european leagues as smaller european countries do not use it yet as they do not intrest UEFA because there is not that much money involded with smaller leagues, though for those it might be also available in the future depending how much money will be involded with certain leagues etc…

      Ok, so i was talking about Portugal Vs Ghana and i watched this game with my friend who is a referee, so we both agreed that even Portugal has very strong 26 men list on paper, but only in paper as after the game we also agreed that we had been right about what we thought of the Portugue’s team, who did play great at all as quite the opposite, though they may Still win the WC, as we don’t know who will win it yet as i have only one team that i have alkways supported for life since 1978 and i will never change that, but as i seen Arg win 2 WC’s also i seen Arg not winning many WC’s even they should have etc..,Ok so my friend as referee has no favor team as he is only intrested about the referee’s and VAR in the present WC etc..,but, offcourse he has his oppinions of different teams etc..,so either based on tneir player material and also based on other things as for example some teams been allways favored by FIFA more or less or those behind FIFA, who can actually hold an power even over FIFA, because of money as FIFA’s intrest’s alkways has been in money and not in football etc.,,So for us even the game started we knew Portugal will win most propably end of winning even Inaki Wiliams even prooved us wrong as i really hoped he had done so, but at least the game should had been a draw as my friend also did clearly point out as being referee by himself that not only that penalty which was given to CR7( as we were also expecting that as that would be, maybe his only way to score in this game as being alkready 37 and lately been struggling with scoring etc.) onlly, because CR7 happened to felt down in Ghana’s box by his own as Ghana’s player had nothing to do with that penalty as the referee just decided only by himself that it was penalty as he can do that if he wish so and not even VAR can not stop him by doing so as even if they would had asked to check again from the screen (which he did not) and had tried proove by evidence of VAR that his decission was clearly a wrong one, Still in the end he would had decide about in the as he could had said or decided that Ok it was not an penalty( as it was clearly not), because of the evidence pointed out by VAR( which did not even happen) or he could has Still kept his Mind even VAR would had tried to change his Mind( which was not the case as he just kept his Mind and took that decission by himself ) also i asked him about Leao’s goal which looked like similar like LAUTARO’s first one against Saudi’s( which was pointed out by VAR to the referee who had first decided it was an goal, but changed his Mind because of VAR and denied that goal) and he answered to me that as he has watched every game so far, because he is an referee who do not have any favor team, only as he want’s to see the referee’s in action in present WC and also VAR and how they might work together or when the referee works together with VAR and changes his decission because of VAR or will not and will kept on with his own decission as hapoened for example in Canada’s game when referee from Zambia ( who should never been allowed to be referee in WC, but as it is FIFA who picks the referee’s by claiming that the aWc must have referee’s from every Continent etc, which in a way is good as if only the very best will be picked they will mostly come either from Europe or SA, though he said that there are good referee’s from other continents too acvording to their offical stats, but as itäisellä FiFA picking the referee’s they may not pick the best one’s as he said that they actualky done so) who had allready made headlines in African nations cup was selected by FiFA to this present WC, who decided not give penalty second penalty to Canada as whether he did not see or did see (as we will never know) that the actual pass was made by Belgium’s player, so obviously it should been penalty, but he denied it claiming obviously that it was offside as it was not and once he had took that decission as it was offside then by the rules the VAR can’t have word with him about it or even not try change his Mind by showing evidence from screen and by talking to him as in the end it is only him who decides and no one else in that case as he had allready decided that is was offside as i could not had ever belive so if he would not had clearly explained how and why forexample VAR did not or could not do anything about his decission as it Still sounds crazy as it questions the whole existence of VAR in the first place, but i trust him in this as he clearly knows what he is talking about as he is referee and therefore he knows the very exact rule with every possible scenario in the game as in this one the decission was only up to the Zambian referee, who allready made very big misstakes also in African nations cup etc…, but it is not only that as we will never know if he did it purpously ir not, but it is more about that VAR could had not change his decission in any possible way, which Still sounds so unreal like why and what is the real purpose of VAR in the first place etc….so in the end, maybe Ghana should had won that game as Penaldo’s penalty was falsly given just by referee himself and also if LAUTARO’s first goal was offside, because of VAR did actually changed or more convinced/ manipulated the referee’s first decission and made him either chance his Mind from his original decission which was not an offside, but somehow VAR convinced him to change his decission in the end, then should had been Leao’s goal as my friend said that the only difference in those 2 goals was that in LAUTARO’s case even referee had decided allready that it is not offside, but VAR made him decide differently in the end as in Leao’s goal they(VAR) did not, so he was wondering how come Leao’s goal was accepted as LAUTARO’s not as for him this happened only because they as FIFA or who are behind FIFA favoured Portugal more than Ghana, but not only Ghana as obviously Argentina too as they favor CR7/more over Messi etc…As for them Penaldo brings just more money or someone is willing to give more money to FIFA tonfavor Penaldo’s Portugal as Messi’s Argentina etc…

  36. The maximum player is not 100% fully physically and match fit, if messi is dropped to bench then who will start?dybala?i wish messi dybala both start but unfortunately dybala is not fully physical and match fit… 50% player of starting 11 is totally physical problem and not match fit… Only superior mental strength will save us

    • Like someone on here said, the training ground turned to be a rehab centre for all injured players to the point of instead of counting who’s injured it is easier to announce who is healthy.

  37. I don’t know you guys talking about Dybala playing the position or that. I haven’t seen the guy playing for Argentina. I have only seen him playing for his clubs. The only reason he’s with the squad is to enjoy the company and watch the games live.

  38. I was very excited(positive) before KSA game. We lost. Also lost our unbeaten streak. It really was sad. And terrifying. We lose one more game, we are out.

    While I am hopeful and optimistic this time. I am also preparing myself mentally for the worst.
    A loss will likely mean the end of an era. Messi, whom I admire and consider 2nd only to Maradona in football, will possibly end his career without a world cup. That will hurt. So, if we are unable to reach at least another final, that will be a disaster.

    I am mentally preparing myself for such a disaster.
    If that happens and Messi retires, I will probably stop watching football till next world cup.If he doesn’t retire, probably start watching again in 2024 copa.

    • Look, Messi had a golden opportunity in 2014 and all stars were aligned for him but the team did not capture it effectively, but wasted chance after chance in the final. World cup was in their continent, Brazil the host crushed massively, the team had a genius coach, golden generation of players were in their prime and their counter attack was deadly, Messi was in his prime, Germany reached the final with only strong midfield but with no strikers, and it was easy to defeat, Germans were shitting in their pants facing Argentina in that final and showed from they way they played. I said it back then, if Argentina does not win this world cup, Messi won’t win it in his professional life as a player. God, now we get to the point witnessing the team being tarnished by the hands of KSA nomads.

    • If Argentina exits, my interest in this world cup will immediately end. This is like the easiest world cup to win, no team is strong except Brazil which we can beat on any day. Most European teams are weak or missing star players. We must not make a mess of this good opportunity.

  39. So apart from us and Germany other biggies didnt slip. All right. Our destiny is still in our hands. Win the next 2 thats it. No ifs and buts.

    Hopefully this group will reveal their true identity and character. But if most of them are not 100 percent its difficult, cant blame the players too. Its midseason and they are humans too. Lets see.

  40. Not that it is important but somebody (i don t remember who) living in Qatar was saying that the locals will support Argentina and it will be like home games for us. this posts was months before world cup and that was surpriced me honestly.But it wasn t true finaly because the reality is that we face hostile conditions and sure it was far from home game. locals is normal to support Saudi arabia because they are Arabs. i wonder how things will be on saturday.

    • I have a friend there. The locals are split between their neighbor Saudi and Argentina.
      Btw, not all the arabs are same and support each other.
      Just as an fyi, Morocco and Tunisia are in north Africa, they are arabs, but they are very different then Saudi and Qatar. They dress differently speak differently and the only similarities are the base language and sometimes religion.

    • I commented that here…
      There was one more line… except Saudi game..! They are neighbors and closely connected..it’s like home for SA too.
      We will see from next games…
      I will also be in stadium…with my friends…

      Argentine match tickets are the only one…sold out long time ago…!

    • I’m sure the first thing Anupama would do before taking over this role is taking workshops in configuring tactics including off side traps because he doesn’t want to look fool in mega tournaments like the world cup.

      • Well, he would…The guy is an eternal pessimist and I am turning into one myself w.r.t this team. He will cover all the oddities and tactics that’re in the book and will be ready to be the non-profit coach after he takes his coaching badge similar to Scaloni except he would win us the WC. My vote to Anuparno as our next coach!:-):-)

        We got do to a poll!:-)

      • Lionel scaloni and Argentina almost broke the offside trap but the bloody VAR showed it’s funny animation..if Martinez’s goal was allowed then the whole match should have been Argentina’s control.stop talking like noonsense.

  42. Rest assured, the people on this board who are ultra negative know nothing about Argentina, its culture, or its futbol. I’m honestly not sure how these guys even became fans.. in either case, I rejoined this board after 10+ years just to instill some calmness. It’s insane the amount of negativity over one game. All of our songs are literally about poniendo huevo y alentando en las buenas y en las malas. What I say to people on this board is, please find another team if you are that negative over one game – trust me this isn’t your team

    • I am NOT argentine but I am a fan of their football and watching them since ’94. It’s like a religion. I don’t know about Argentina other than as a 3rd world country and being a place for ww2 nazis to run to along with a mix of natives, italians, germans and spanish folks, love for the meat, wine on top of Patagonia.

      It’s my no.1 team and there never was/will be a 2nd favorite but will stop watching football right where Argentina stops its journey in this worldcup…Too much heartache on something that I never could take control off other than my own feelings!:-)

  43. Argentina has very few scorers.
    All the talks about Argentina having the best attack has to do with big names, and less to do with actual facts.

    In WC qualifiers-
    Brazil GF:GA was 40:5
    Argentina GF:GA was 27:8
    Even Ecuador scored 27 goals

    Uruguay, Colombia, Bolivia etc all had 20+goals

    Spain had 6 scorers against CostaRica.(all 6 had non-penalty goals)
    England 5 scorers against Iran.(all 5 had non-penalty goals)
    France played with Mbappe, Giroud, Griezman, Dembele. All forwards.
    Brazil also played with 4 forwards including 2 wingers.

    Given the creativity of Messi, Di Maria and Dybala, why do we think that we need so many midfielders? Those 3 players are not pure strikers, they are striker cum attacking midfielders.

  44. I don’t know which is more depressing, reality or seeing all this negativity here!?
    I’ve been a member here for geezzz 10-12 years, I lost count and I have never watched a live ARG game while being on this site at the same time except last Wed. Vs U.A.E to avoid being agitated of some would-be comments

    • Sorry, Dfox1942. I was sick of reading the negativity as well but I think we need to taper our expectations and not have further heart-attacks. My heart was POUNDING for a few mins when S.Arabia got their 2nd goal and the whole defense and Emi of all people were so disappointing. Again, none of this is the fans fault…We call a spade a spade and feel miserable for days/years when a bunch of primadonnas play for themselves making millions off of stardom and never show-up with balls to play. I think it’s a sick society and every player has lost their heads except a few…Argentina will no longer be a powerhouse and it’s rotting like Uruguay in football. These are my final hours of watching football for life…As far as I see it and as hard as it is to swallow for all our fans, it’s curtains, my brother!

    • my friend i never enter in Mundo when Argentina playing. i spend that day always far from here and always with friends and Argentine style. the next day of game i enter Mundo. it working fine for me. as about depressing i can t find anything worst to see a final between England and Brasil. mundo looks paradise compare to that. my friend if that happened i need to leave earth or at least move to Antarctica.

        • living out of space is even more expensive lol
          plus if wifi is very weak there as you say that will be perfect.
          i should be far from civilization !!!

      • Any of these teams winning would be a nightmare for me: Portugal, England, France and Spain. And everyone of them has a good chance this time around unless the real Argentina shows-up!

    • I was never as negative as Anuparno here but were just pretenders all along for the WC. It’s going to be the other way around as we buckle under pressure and will be out of the tournament similar to ’02…Argentina 1 – 2 Mexico. And Poland will be a consolation win or a draw. We’re done and won’t win another tournament for almost a decade or longer. You heard it hear first!

      • There’s a reason the most ardent fans are selling off their coins/tickets. We ain’t showing our level at all…

        • I am a Messi fan but god damn, the guy needs to freaking take the ball and control. Somebody mentioned here him giving a celebrity appearence and I 2nd that…Guy needs to freaking grow some balls and start running again. Idgaf if he gets injured but we will need to progress and him walking and tip-toeing is SICK to watch.

          I don’t understand how anyone can simply put their head down and let the world go merry around when getting f’d in the ass. His is like Zidane’s from ’06…If e freaking doesn’t bring his A game, he’s going to tarnish his legacy and folks like me won’t even bother while guys like CRonaldo will take all the plaudits as Portugal has a very good chance of winning.

          • @randomguy: CRonaldo will take all the plaudits as Portugal has a very good chance of winning.

            Well, first of all i do understand your frustration about Arg as obviously every Arg fan is frustrated and getting more and more(though hopefully not depressed), which i can easily understand as being Arg fan for life since 1978…, but any how regardless to Arg’s last game, which was obviously dissapointment specially those defennsive errors as lately Arg under Scaloni and CO, at least fir me are well known of their very strong deffensive set up as i’m not only talking about defenders or goalkeepers now, but more like collective very compact hard working deffensive team, which just don’t let basicly the oppent to get that many goals, more or less in fact they have led in very few goals, though have obviously not scored so many as Brazil from SA WCQ’s as i think Arg has scored pretty much the same number of goals than Ecuador did, which is little surprising as with all due my respect fir Ecuador, i thought of their end product being not that clinical than Arg’s also Arg clearly have better goal scorers in over all amongst their, though whether they have succeed with scoring in Arg’s Nt game’s is obviously different, but Still even i don’t know exact number and i respect the young Ecuadorian team as i also respect Uruguay, though they could not really find away past South Korea, Still i think Uruguay was the better team, though they could had also easily lost if South Korea had scored just like what happened to Arg and Germany forexample as Canada also clearly super unlucky not score even given one penalty and created so many good chanches as also the Zambian referee stole penalty away from them as he had decided himself that it was an offside, though everyone obviously saw that the pass for that situation,which should had been penalty was given by Belgium’s player, but as had allready decided that the VAR could not change his decisssion alone, as what come to Portugal vs Ghana, though Ghana played themself in trouble many time’s, Still Portugal could not acore, before again the referee had decided alone that was penalty, just because CR7 felt down as again VAR could not alone change his decission as obviously that penalty was given by him, like Canada was denied an penalty as the referee just decided that way, though i don’t know what was VAR’s view in theese situations or one false not given to Canada as other way too soft penalty given to CR7, just because he is CR7 and Portugal is and mean more money and fame for FIFA as obviously BELGIUM also preffered clearly more by FIFA than Canada, though i can’t proove it, but theese 2 referee’s as pecially the Zambian one should had never been selected as referee also now as that the referee who gave that soft penalty which was not penalty, but stii gave it as purely, because CR7 as my friend who is a referee or used to be also whistling in around European league’s explained clearly to me that when the referee decide’s to give penalty, even it might be discussed with VAR or not he is Still the one who make’s the ultimate decission as it is not VAR as they might point or try to point clearly evidence enough to referee who alone has decided to give an penalty and sometimes we see the decission discussed with VAR more longer and also we see the some referee’s to run to check those evidence’s that VAR might say or proove to him that his first decission hasckearly a wrong one as sometimes after discussed and checked from the screen the referee might change his decission, but it is Still his call, so in this case first of all these things should be allowed for us as fan’s or the one’s looking at game and also paying for it way or another from all over the world as forexample: we should be allowed to hear if there is any discussion with VAR after referee’s decission and what is the all info from those referee’s decission’s if there is any at all specially when it come’s down to closely denied offside goals or about oenaltie’s as now we can only now that there has been most propably VAR discussion in place if the game has stopped for more longer or if the referee decides to check it once more from the screen, but Still we don’t hear what are they talking about or are they talking about it at all, until this comes available to everyone also for the players and for us as watching those games, there is not really any real use for VAR, even they might say that the referee has got obviously more than not right, Still in the end we can’t know that fully as we don’t near the discussion between the referee and VAR and therefore as i said Still in the end it is the referee who makes the final decission as might accept that they got it wrong or some completly ignore it or maybe there is no discussion at alll at sometimes and sometimes there could be, this all is UNKNOWN TO US ALL UNTIL WE HEAR THEIR VOICES AND POINTS THAT THEY MAY ARGUE ABOUT OR TRY GIVE MORE EVIDENCE TO REFEREE’s or MAYBE NOT, AS WE CAN’T SIMPLY KNOW THAT UNTIL WE HEAR THEIR DISCUSSIONS IN LIVE !

            So what comes to what u said about Portugal and CR7 as u posted this : CRonaldo will take all the plaudits as Portugal has a very good chance of winning.

            Well, ihave agree as my friend who is a referee and been alao referee in Europe clearly told me about every Penakty decission so far that has been called by the referee’s pivked by FIFA from as they put with their own words as FIFA’s that they want to pick referee’s from every Continent basicly, but in here lies the very biggest problem of all as mostly the one’s picked from Europe and SA according to my friend are clearly better prooven referee’s by their offical stats, than sone from other Continent’s also he was horrified about the Zambian referee’s inclusion as he had been one of the very biggest Topic in latest African Nation’s Cup, as offcourse he understand that if only the best referee’s in the game at the present would be picked, then they would all be more or less from neither Europe or SA as this will obviously lead to racisism, but also it is clear that some referee’s as he did not say that all from other Continent’s as Africa or Asea etc…will be not up for the task å, but he just pointed out that they are just not ready yet for such high level as WC forexample and also he questioned the use of VAR as it is Still, in the end that the referee is the who decides in the first place if he sees something or if he not see something and missed out obviously something that he should not etc…and then, maybe the VAR take’s a look at it and tell him to for example to have a look at this and this and those points the VAR is thinking differently about it as him and, maybe i’m not sure that if the VAR can actually tell him to go to look at the screen and he must obey or not, as i think this might be so that if the VAR tell’s him to go check that again from the screen, Ok let say so as i’m not fully sure about this rule as i think this rule may only aply if he missed out something that VAR has found, Ok, so they tell him to go and have look at it on the screen again, but Still in the end the referee makes the final call the way or another, so he holds that ultimate power for the correct decission in his hands and as if he has missed out something or made an clearly decission allraedy about it by himself and as now there is something called VAR, well it just feels like this either used wrongly as purpously done either by the referee or together by the VAR, as VAR does not make penalty decission’s alone as the referee is last one to make that call wither with support from VAR or by himself..

            So my question is that is this justice to all and fairness to all and something they call equal rights to everyone as VAR has more or less introduced to be the ultimate answer to solve everything ?

            Sorry, but it is not even near to that UNTIL WE HEAR THEIR DISCUSSION,though they might Still play along with refereee as making wrong decission’s purpously together etc… so even then i don’t know or my friend as referee don’t know exactly yet, how avoid all this, but he clearlybthinks that VAR was not created to make the game more fair or maybe it was, but it is not used in the right away as those sitting in the VAR box are just there to actually support to referee’s decission or if referee did not see something they could change the results of game or at least effect them heavily by stopping the game and telling the referee when ever they want, that now it is time to make that call as they have founded something which the referee did not see or perhaps he saw,but did not interfer with it as once VAR stopping the game they could either manipulate him to make decission that will effect the result way or another as obviously wanted by those who control the world football as FIFA or someone who will give money to FIFA to favor certain teams as this being done even before VAR, but now as everybody more or less that with VAR now involved, talking about the majority and masses of people can be even more easily to accept decission’s going against team or another as that is Still clearly happening now with VAR as it did hapoen also before, but now they use the VAR as clear evidence against team or another or i would even say that against the team that they not favor or team that has not been favored by those who can effect VAR and ultimately the referee too as obviously it has to do something with money, power and other reasons too,which may not that easy to be prooved as somethings that can benefit their future too as not only the presence as by doing this they canhave more guarantee and effect allraedy fir future as well, as they don’t want to let go of that power whichbthwy hold in their hands as we talking about the one or maybe the biggest sport eevntbin whole world, which in other words mean lot of money and power to those who play along with this dirty cheating game that has existed allraedy before VAR, but is allmost now completly confirm either with VAR’s support or if not then at least they Still has the ultimate key button on the field as the referee who can decide everything in the alone or with the SUPORT of VAR together or can be manipulated or even threatened by VAR as obviously VAR and the referee are not the one’s who hold the ultimate power as they are just used as tools by those WHO HAVE THE ULTIMATE POWER AND WILL WANT TO DECIDE BY THEMSELFS WHO WILL WIN, but it won’t necessaryly allways work their way as we allmost saw in the Portugal vs Ghana game as Ghana came back and allmost levelled the game only because Portugue’s Goalie did nor see Inari Wiliams coming from behind and allmost levelled the game as i don’t know if there could had been anything done either by referee or VAR to change that,as obviouslybtheybcan’t have their effect on everything even they are pushing hard and making things more and more difficult forcthe players by adding constantly new rules etc…as all i can say that even this may sound just like whining from Arh fan for life, But if LAUTARO’s goal was offside then should had been also Leao’s goal for Portugal, but even Still Ghana allmost levelled the game as i’m not sayingbthebPortugal team has bad players as offcourse itäisellä obvious that CR7 at age of 37 is not like he once were as age TaKe and an toll on every player more or less, but actually if look at the Portugal 26 men list,Still they look on paper easily way more stronger than any other team,but this does not mean that they will win WC because of their obviouslybgreater list players than any team has, as they will have to play Still every game and from KO’s on to also win every game like any other teamand in fact today they looked horrible, sorry to say,but against Ghana as team i like even Ghana playedcalao badly or at least it looked like that they made too many easy misstakes as one those misstake’s also cost them at least one goal, maybe 2, but not 3 as that penalty should have never been given according to myfriend as referee and he do not have any favor team as he is only intrested about referee’s and obviously VAR and how all this works together as itäisellä obvious that those both been only used as tools to try effect as much as possible in the game, but not meaning that every referee or even every VAR arecplaying that dirty game or been used as tools forcthatvdirty game, but alsomin the WC it is more easy to for those who want every referee and every VAR to play their dirty money game, though we can’t say or name them all as some we can or at least my friend can be allmost certain with only some things, but not with everything, butbas it is clear that he can pointbout now at least some things, but Still not all, Still it raised a VERYBIG QUESTION MARK OVER EVERYTHING ? But, as i said there are Still plenty of things left in the game that no one else than the players can effect, but offcourse as i’m pretty sure that sone players allraedy know this it may effect their game knowing that even they should had won or at least got draw, Still in the end they lost regardless their performance nor the opponents performance, so there is Still hope even there is a lot corruption around the game and that games can be manipulated by using Referee and VAR either together or separetly etc… as they many variations to allraedy to play this dirty game as they even had before VAR, but now VAR they multiple opitions,BUT CAN’t STILL EFFECT WITH EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN THE GAME, SO I TRULY EVEN THERE MIGHT BE PLAYERS KNOWING THIS ALLREADY TO MAKE THEM EVEN MORE EAGER TO PROOVE ALL THOSE EVIL’S OR DEVIL’S WHO WILL TRY TO EFFECT THE GAME BY USING REFEREES AND VAR AND ALSO MOST PROPABLY SOMETHING ELSE TOO, AS I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED REALKY ABOUT ANYTHING NO LONGER, BUT STILL I WANT THE PLAYERS TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE AND BY DOING THAT IS THE BEST WAY OF FIGHTING THIS EVILNESS THAT BEEN AROUND THE GAME FOR VERY LONG INDEED AND IS MORE PRESENT NOW WITH VAR THAN EVER AS THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO USE IT WRONGLY FOR THEIR WHATEVER PURPOSES AS THEY HAVE DONE WITH REFEREES AND ALSO PLAYERS TOO SPECIALLY IN CLUB GAMES ETC…AS IF THE ANY PLAYER WHO WILL START TO TALK LIKE THIS WILL GET BANNED FOR A LIFE TIME AND NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY AGAIN AND MOST PROPABLY WILL FACE ALSO OTHER SANCTIONS AND PUNISHMENTS TOO, so therefore Arg players most remain calm than ever and also play the best they can as ever as i Still want to belive that Arg can win the WC even seen now i think every game, though every game is game of it’s own and only thing that mattersvin the end is to win or to Qualify to KO’s and then win the rest as i wish truly all the best for Arg even writing something like this, i don’t want to manipulate anyone or try to play some funny game, no not at all, also i don’t want to make exuses that will explain whybthis and this happen as i only want correct some things in name of justice for the game as offcourse i’m fan of Arg forvlife andcthat will never change, but i’m not only writing this because of only Arg orvthatbindo hate some others, no even there are countries that i do not wish them to win, Still what can i do if they end up winning ? NOTHING ! ONLY I HOPE ONE DAYBJUSTICE WILL ARRIVE NOTBONLYBTO THIS GAME, BUT FOR WHOLE WORLD AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FACED UNJUSTICE WAY TOO LONG AS I JUST WANT EQUAL RIGHTS TO EVERY HUMAN BEING OR EVERY BEING OR PLANT OR ANIMAL OR OCEAN OR RIVER OR MOUNTAIN OR FOREST OR DESERT OR POLAR POLES OR ICE OR WATER, MORE THAN EVERYTHING FOR THIS PLANET AS MOTHER EARTH !

  47. I think scaloni and co made rush decision to send nico gonzalez home they should have take a chance by him
    Him on the left and di maria on the right would have been good for some games I mean 442 old school

  48. It’s good when press starting overhype likes England, Spain, France and Brazil because they won first game of thier group matchs very well ,talk rubbish and look down on us can’t wait on Saturday.

    • They are over hyped but they won their first game and did their job. What we did? We lost to Saudi Arab, can u imagine? We lost to bloody Saudi Arab who learnt playing football yesterday. Still they are over hyped and we are not. Think mate, think… Please…

      • I know you have points but it’s football anything can happen I believe Argentina have robbed one legit goal which even they come out and they admitted one offsides goals wasn’t offsides, yes We did lose to Saudi which is shocking but we get up and fight which may end up happy on all of us Winning first games doesn’t grantees you to be champion

  50. I honestly can’t wait for Almada’s debute in this world cup. I have confidence he will imprint his name on Qatar soil for centuries to come.

  51. Neymar’s injury

    twitter.com/CanalSupporters/status/1595882224330903552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1595882224330903552%7Ctwgr%5Ee0bbfedd1f48e9566d283ff52fb57c4de6c91f04%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Fz3u97j%3Fresponsive%3Dtrueis_nightmode%3Dfalse

  52. As critical as I have been of Argentina, this team has the ability to beat everybody in this tournament. Our problem aside from some knocks is psychological. DePaul has to run for 90 minutes which he can. Enzo has to replace Paredes. Palacios must be worked into the rotation. We need to fix our work rate. Look at any team in this World Cup and the players are running their asses off. Look at our games from the beginning of the Scaloni project and we were running hard. Last 5 games has been being the ball up slowly or rely on long pass counterattack. This will not work through a 7 game competition. Our boys need to work for it. The can’t count on one Messi to win it for them. It didn’t work with a 25 year old Messi, and it’s not going to work with a 35 year old Messi. You want the championship, you have to leave every bit on the field on every game. Every team is fighting for their lives. If we don’t do the same we will lose;nor matter who the opponent is as we learned in the first game. Our mentality should be we have to score 5 on everyone. No 1-0 and sit back.

    • 100% agree…I’ve no idea why these guys take their time with the build-up, are slow and also freeze on these occasions instead of getting excited and playing as good as they can. One consolation for me from the S.Arabia game was that we’d 70% possession and in every possible way, we blew them out of water except the one metric that mattered – goals. Got to take things by the scruff of the neck and win it hard and strong.

  53. I had the same ankle sprain injury one month ago than Neymar. Imo a soft one, is this a soft one too? 1 week to walk again normally (with pain), 2 week to run again (very slow) play football on the highest level, shoot, dribble, make sprints? Maybe 1 month but you lost your form completely. Maybe medicals can do miracles on this level.

    • Hope you’re back to your normal fitness levels. In regards to Neymar, the way he’s tackled, I tought he would be out for a long time but perhaps he’ll be back by the time Qtrs start.

  54. For me Scaloni is doing fine. No other coach can perform better with this squad. To be honest Argentina lacks talent. We don’t have squad depth.We only have messi. Remove messi from this squad and think.Scaloni did a an excellent job with this below average squad. Even if we loose in group stage Scaloni is still the best. Imagine Scaloni managing 2002 squad or 2006 squad with huge squad depth. He would have won all the tournament. May be unlucky this time. Lots of injury. Lack of squad depth. Sad but so unfortunate.

    • Very well said. Removing Messi and DiMaria, our squad is the same as Columbia and Uruguay in terms of talent level. If we don’t do anything for our youth academy, we will never be able to compete in WC again.

      • Can you remember Scaloni tried Battaglia at starting? But unfortunately Battaglia lost his career due to a serious injury. But I believe he was better than Paredes in this prime time.

        • Battaglia was a bulldog. Unfortunately that injury put his career backwards!! Scaloni needs fully fit playerd to execute his high pressing game and with Messi, Dimaria, Acuna, Cuti, Paredes, Dybala all not 100% it very difficult for him to play that kind of match. Against Italy all our players were fully fit and well rested. Messi had just recovered from a disastrous season and was a hugry lion. But right now he looks like the injured Messi of PSG, losing possession avoiding tackles and hence cutting down in dribbling . May be medical experts can help, can pur players not take pain relief injections ? How much difference can pain killers make?

  55. Argentina rivals Brazil, France, England, Spain are looking very strong at the moment. Meanwhile, Scaloni is still experimenting his squad and still has no clue about his starting 11. He had 4 years to build this team and he failed miserably. Argentina were horrible in last copa too, but luck saved them. Scaloni has no plan B when plan A is not working. He should have never picked players like Papu Gomes, Armani, Montiel, injured Dybala, Tagliafico, Almada, and lazy parades. I don’t see this team progressing to the round 16 with these horrible bench warmers in the starting lineup. This team is too slow, old and choke under the pressure.

    • Scaloni doesn’t have same squad depth like other rivals. No coach can perform better with this squad depth. We only have messi. Remove messi from this squad and think.

  56. Leo’s injury can only worsen from here. He will need to fully rest for few days to get his fitness back but our situation is such bad that we can’t afford to rest him. We can’t have Messi start from bench. It will be suicidal. Both Dimaria and Dybala are still recovering and Dimaria clearly didn’t look 100% fit in the last match and was out gas around 70min. Scaloni didn’t even bother to use Dyabla when we needed an equalizer which means he is not sure if he is 100% ready or he thought tired Lautaro Messi and Dimaria will get him the goal. This is why it is super important to win the first match. We have put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. Only positive I can see it , it was a much needed wake up call and the pressure of us being the favorites is gone. With a little luck we can end up in the other bracket with tier 2 teams.

  57. If there’s one player I am worried about right now that is De Paul, not Messi. Messi will be fine if he can play. I don’t know if it was complacency or what, but RDP was poor.

    Although everyone was kinda bad last match, but we simply can’t afford to have RDP play poorly. He’s needed to have a great tournament for us especially because of Lo Celso’s absence. Good thing about Tata Martino is that he’s a conservative manager and he will probably make some weird ass tactical decision which will play into our hand. (Or at least I hope that’s the case).

  58. A lot of succesful WCs after bad group stage performances:

    Argentina 78
    Italy 82
    Argentina 90
    Italy 94
    France 2006
    Spain 2010
    France 2018.

    And these are not 1 bad match under the expectations rather 2 or even all 3. (France 2006, Italy 94, Italy 82).

  59. Is it true that FIFA is reviewing the Poland Mexico match because of the Mexican fans anti homo chants ?
    I heard that they will get a hefty fine and or a deduction of one point !!!!!
    Sounds hard to believe, but it just came on Telemundo news after the Brazil match.

  60. All want Argentina blood. It looks like the world is against Argentina. They all are waiting for the defeat of Argentina vs Mexico. To crucify and get the hell out of us. It looks terrible. I dreamt of Argentina getting out from the shadow of Brazil and thus our present and future players may get that potential boost in the transfer market. All goes in vain. The hype was that much.Before the start all said that middle East would be like another home for us. And when the match started it was the opposite. And that copa 21 now visible as only a fairy tale tournament which appeared from nowhere to satisfy all Argentine fans in which all the luck supported us in every stage. It was made for Messi. And now an another tournament comes and the curse started from where it was left off in 2018. This time it is injuries. And our options are so thin that we consider Alvarez as a winger, macallister in CM role. Its sad to say but the reality is. Again same de Paul to Simeone hands. Lo ceslo without UCL. Messi in qataris paradise or later to MLS. Molina going good to worst. Emi remains in Aston villa. Paredes is in the verge of getting out even from European football. Same Argentine agony another 4 years in European clubs.

    • First game in Lusail, it was the worst reception ever Argentina have ever had in any WC games. Everyone booed Argentina, everyone booed Messi, only 2 times during the whole match Argentina fans were singing and you could hardly hear them singing. The booed was much stronger. So far Qatar has been a bad host for us.

        • Arabs are anti Argentina… I read on arabian english blog that the Inca Sun GOD in Argentinian flag is a pagan God and that is why they do not like Argentina. Not sure about it as I am not Arab.

          Today Brazil got the support like host.

          But what I have seen in the first match I will support any team against QATAR, bloody Saudis and any Arab team. Hope all the arab teams will be crushed out….

          • “Arabs are anti Argentina…”
            Completely false statement.
            I am living here…don’t write foolishness..
            SA will have support like home team, especially when Qatar lost. Understand that. This was pointed here many times.

      • What do you mean? Argentina squad was treated like kings since the moment they landed at the airport. It felt like it’s the only team that important in the tournament. They even engraved Messi’s name on his suite, they were given luxury training centre and hotel. They captured the media attention since day one. What else do you want? Perhaps that exorbant care caused the arrogance players displayed on the field forgetting it is a competition and everyone was there to win it.

    • Argentina will feel home except Saudi Arabia game…!

      Saudi is neighbor country, very attached to Qatar since long time…And many here have family connection too.
      From now on…you will see..

  61. Keeping a keen eye on the argentines here in England, I can safely say consistent performers this season have been;
    Lisandro Martinez and Alexis Ma Callister.
    Enough of this Garnacho flag bearing. He has talent and is no doubt a future, but he has alot of work to do, especially with his decision making during the game.
    Apart from a huge gapping hole left by Lo Celso and Nico Gonzalez, to some extent, we have the right personnel making up the squad…..
    Although, we could’ve done with an out and out no.9😅

  62. I also do not get the super-defesive line-ups that many here keep posting and keep saying things like Messi, Dybala, Di Maria and Lautaro can’t be playing at the same time.
    Of these only Lautaro is proper goal-poacher kind of forward. Messi, Dybala aand Di Maria are actually advanced playmarkers who can finish.

    Look at France –
    Giroud, Griezman, Mbappe and Dembele were all playing together.
    Even some of their defenders like Pavard can score spectacular goals.

    Look at Spain –
    Spain had 6 scorers and 2 of them were proper central midfielders.

    Do we even have that many scorers?
    None of our defenders score even once in 10 games. And even our midfielders don’t score much. Only Lo Celso could score somewhat and he is out.

    And if we are too worried about defense then play Acuna as a midfielder who can drop back if needed.

    ———————Lautaro————–
    Dybala/Alvarez——-Messi—–Di Maria
    —–Acuna————-De Paul———–
    Tagliafico–Lisandro–Otamendi—Molina
    ——————-Emi———————

    or(play Alvarez as a 9 and not 10)
    —–Alvarez/Dybala———Lautaro—-
    Di Maria—————————–Messi
    —–Acuna————-De Paul———–
    Tagliafico–Lisandro–Otamendi—Molina
    ——————-Emi———————

  64. Btw Ney injured his right ankle. There is a picture of his right ankle, it’s swollen and Ney cried on the bench.

    First of all he is right footed.
    Second it is his right ankle

    Third ankle is an injury that if u are not 100% recovered, u can not play. In basketball u can use 70% half healed ankle but not in futbol. How can you shoot with an injured ankle? What if someone does a sliding tackle on your injured ankle again?

    Fourth, u can not speed up the healing process of an ankle injury. It will heal with time.

    Fifth, as a former athlete myself, I injured my ankles A LOT in my life. When I saw Ney ankle swollen like that, in my case it would take at least 3-4 weeks to be 90% recovered. 100% recovery would require me more than a month.

    Just sayin… For any Brazil lovers here.

    • If I can choose to play Brazil without their one player, I would choose Neymar. No brainer, that’s how important he is. Remember Copa final 2021, the only one who made things difficult for us was Ney, although Montiel did a good job on him. Others were like newbies compared to our players.

      Without Ney they would not play fantastic four anymore.

        • I wouldn’t trade the position with Brazil now. For example, like you said the players gained form and pace. Let’s say that’s Argentina but then we lost our most important player let’s say Messi.

          I would rather have some players not fit but we don’t lose our best player.

          In other words, Brazil is in fucked up situation now. Much worse than us. Their consolation prize was only that 2-0 victory.

      • U can’t play futbol if not fully fit from ankle injury, opponents will target your ankle. Either you will re injure urself or you would be scared doing anything on the pitch because of that ankle.

        • If there is 50% chance of playing, he will want to play. I’m not saying good or bad for them or us, but he will try his best to play if there’s a chance. And he’s that star player who can force the coach to make him play – like Messi. If Messi is 70% fit and he asks to play, Scaloni will play him.

        • I would like to remind everyone here that Maradona in 1990 took a pretty crappy squad all the way to the final with an ankle the size of a grapefruit/melon.

          If Ney can put weight on it, he could be out there. He will be handicapped for sure.

      • 100% injured, there are a lot of pics of his ankle. It is not fake pics. Go google it. Ney even cried because he knows that he might be out of the WC.

        Some here underestimate the importance of Ney for Brazil.

        • I see.
          I do not underestimate Neymar. I consider him to be one of Brazil’s greatest ever players.
          But I was just wondering if this could all be some masterplan to preserve Neymar for a later stage. Because Brazil has a strong squad even without Neymar and their group is relatively easy.

  65. People on this forum are very reaction type. Lionel Scaloni was better than Tite a few days ago. And now Scaloni has to learn froma from Tite!!!! amazing.Nothing to say. All of a sudden everyone is crazy about Garnecho. Funny. Lionel Scaloni will prove himself in the next two games. If he can’t then I’ll accept Scaloni has to learn from Tite.Stop crying about Garnecho who was a bench warmer in the whole season.

    • Yes, he was untill he was stupid enough to call Almada instead of Garnacho and he kept Roberto Pereyra in reserve. My lord, can u imagine- Roberto Pereyra. What a coach…

      • Well he snubbed Garnacho for a better player and that is Almada. The entire world is waiting for his debute. Almada is the solution to dilemma, he’s a jewel to this team.

      • One reason is Argentina don’t play LW position. Because Messi plays between CAM and RW, playing a LW will create a massive gap between him and Messi and there is no linking in between (de paul plays on the right and Paredes does not move up). Not saying fitting a LW is impossible, but that will take time.

  66. So earlier on the week Messi comes on in front of the media and denied any fitness or injury issue…..yet all along there was. In short, why was he played against Saudis?
    I don’t care how great messi is in current times and if he’s unquestionably the goat, what I care about is the shirt. He shouldn’t have started or better not played.
    Fed up of all the obvious cover ups.
    All this negativity around such an important moment period does nothing but sour the mood.
    I almost want this world cup to come and go asap so that we can rebuild without the likes of Messi, Di Maria, Otamendi, Tagliafico and so on…….we need to let go.

  67. I won’t bash scaloni to be honest. He got outcoached by Renard but hey that happens every now and then to every coach even the best ones. He is young and still learns his lessons.
    In my opinion is the best solution to bring back Bielsa or Pekerman after the Worldcup. They are both great in finding young talents and they have time to rebuild the team slowly without any rush. Personally I don’t believe this Worldcup is gonna be Messis last one. But for sure it will be the last one in which he is able to stay on the pitch for 90min. Let’s see what happens.

      • I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories but even if. I expect from an argentina team to bring the lead home and break the offside trap in the second half. There was no reaction. The Saudi Arabia team outrun our team fron the start to finish. You could see the difference in physical condition of the both teams very clearly.
        While our players were active in the leagues for their clubs 9 days before the Worldcup starts, their players stopped playing in the league long time ago because of the break and could rest.

      • eL – principe

        I love reading most of you posts they are very interesting and insightful, but I disagree with that one

        we’ve lost because we were too snobby too arrogant didn’t respect the Rival and Scaloni responsible for that, he clearly underestimated them

        the Game was there for the taking if our Forwards timed their runs right or if any of our Midfielders done few well timed runs from deep, we would have won that match comfortably

        the first half reminded me of the first half of the final vs Germany, we could have scored 2 or 3 goals as German highline was there for the taking

        unfortunately, the problem is still there we don’t have a fast and powerful No 9 or Pacy wingers along with our slow Fullbacks it remains our weaknesses

        • In few sentences: Scaloni had no answer to the KSA’s offside trap. The interpretation is that he was outclassed by the other coach who came with a solid plan, although risky, but he used what his players are good at. He left the field victorious leaving Scaloni picking the hair off his chin.

    • Messi really might get another world cup.
      Pepe, Dani Alves and Atiba Hutchinson are are 3 non-GK players who are playing this WC at 39.
      Roger Mila played at 42-43 I think.
      Even Argentina had a player long ago who played at 39.

      So yes, he might not get full 90 minutes, but he might really get to play another world cup. Messi has never explicitly stated that this will be his last world cup. I think Di Maria did.

  69. The World Cup is not won by the one who has the best debut game or the one who scores the most goals in the group stage. In Copa America 2021 Brazil were much more fantastic than Argentina in the group stage-until the final, but when the real match began, it showed who the real boss is.

    Don’t forget that Messi missed a sitter there too and Brazil had no really golden chance other than 2 shots that Emi managed to block. It could have been easily 2-0.

    Btw Ney injured is huge. That’s their best player right there.

  70. Messi looked very different from what he has been for PSG and Argentina recently. Definitely the injury is there. He should probably start from bench. We have the fire power to take down Mexico without him. Unfit Messi would be a disaster to play Mexico, as much as I love the GOAT

  71. Look at likes of England, Brazil, Portugal and Spain. They are investing in young players. But Scaloni in rigidity sticking with likes of Papu Gomez who are past retirement. You can’t have more than 3 players in Midfield and Forward who are above 34years.
    Lastly if Messi is carrying an injury, let dybala start, alongside Alvarez and Lautaro.drop Paredes as well replace him with Guido Rodriguez.

  72. against Mexico:
    —————-Dibu—————
    Montiel—–L.Matinez—–Otamendi——-Acuna

    Depaul——Paredes——–Enzo

    Messi——-L.Matinez——–A.Correa/Alvarez

    Acuna can attack forward with Alvarez while Enzo keep balance.
    As usual Dimaria as a super sub against tired legs – he should not use too many overage players. Cuti should rest

  74. As I said a few times after the last game, something was NOT right, either Messi has an injury that nobody knows about OR he was saving himself for the coming games.

    Question is, WHY why WHYYYY did he play the whole game Vs U.A.E nm the defender that stepped on his foot in the closing mins of the friggin game when he should have been LONG GONE.

  75. We have to many slow static players. Look at brazil . So much energy. Papu..parades..Guido.. tag..Ota .mc Allister.. even Romero is not fast neither lataro. Its a bitter pill to swallow. Scaloni needs to find some miracle tactics for this team to win. Break down the opponents and control the tempo.. cause reality is that we can’t match with pace.

      • CAN WE PLEASE stop with the Garnacho TALK…..he never played a SINGLE SEC with the NT and all of the sudden they gonna select him a week before the WC and even if they did, chances are they wouldn’t play him because NOBODY knows if it was gonna payoff!!!!!

  76. Brazil is showing how to play football against weaker teams. Over the last few years they developed youngsters, they connected the old with the new and now they are reaping the benefits of what they did. Hats off to Tite. Scaloni should go and spend some time with Tite and learn a few tricks before he starts building his next team for another disaster in 2026. Once Messi and Di Maria retires, we would not even cross the qualifiers. We do not have a Richarlison, Rapinha, Rodrygo, Vinicius. We have a clown like Martinez, a few roamers like De Paul, Paredes and some very silly looking defence. Look at the goals scored by Richarlison. The second one was out of the world.

  77. After seeing fan fight with Mexico and they calling f..k Messi…! I want Argentina to beat this team without mercy. Their fans should never opened their mouth again. Such a minnow team.

  78. And during the press conference before the game he said he was okay…

    If not fit, he should not start. The team is more important than him. Better play Dybala than hear excuses afterwards.

  79. I can guarantee you messi is injured…… Moreover some of other players are not 100% like cuti, pappu, de maria….. So unfortunate that half of our key players are not match fit. As in this WC we needed fresh and full fit squad because pace and using the width is the order of the day… Look at Brazil they are deadly at both flank….. I think we will be in trouble Against the pace of mexico specially like lozano…. I don’t finding any positive energy….. Please prove me wrong and say some positive word…

  80. No wonder he was losing possession and avoiding tackles. Unfit Messi is like playing with 2 players down!! Hopefully its nothing major and he is fully fit by Saturday!!

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