Argentina starting XI, Lionel Scaloni makes five changes

By
Roy Nemer
-
399

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni has made five changes to the team which started the opening game vs. Saudi Arabia.

Lionel Scaloni has made three changes in the back line and two in midfield for the game vs. Mexico. Marcos Acuña starts in place of Nicolás Tagliafico, Lisandro Martínez for Cristian Romero and Gonzalo Montiel starts for Nahuel Molina.

Leandro Paredes is on the bench as Guido Rodríguez starts with Rodrigo De Paul. Alexis Mac Allister is with them as Papu Gómez is on the bench. Here is Argentina’s starting eleven:

Dibu Martínez; Montiel, Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Acuña; De Paul, Guido, Mac Allister; Messi, Lautaro and Di María

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399 Comments

  2. Lautro has been shit lately. He is being complacent knowing he is starter. Hope Julian start next game to give kick in his back.

    • Can’t judge Lautauro for this match. Like in the past couple of WC, our strikers not getting enough service. He should have had a goal against Saudi Arabia. Remember El Tore scores a goal every 1-2 games.

  3. Glad we’ll came together and enjoying the win. Wc2022, Sorry, mate…Was livid reading your comments but I see you are a fan too!

    • He is clearly fit. Practicing normally before every game. Already made a superb substitute appearance for Roma. And this is not the first time he is being excluded despite stellar club form. It has happened again and again in the past 10 years.

      I suspect some stupid nefarious nonsense like “not ethnic Argentinian” or not so great relation with team management to be behind his continuous exclusion.

      Inb4 “yeah but he can’t play because same position as Messi” – that is utter bullshit. He can play left, right, center, or even as a striker. As can Messi for that matter.

      • Complète BS. You start Messi and Dybala, Argentina IS NOT struggling scoring goals. Hope he gets his chances. May be, just May be, Scaloni is saving him for much much tougher later games. He may be growing into full scale form, he was just hurt. May be. But I want to see him start.

  6. Our first half performance was even worse than Jamaica. They did not deserve any credit there. So flat. We only looked good in the second half, and the subs changed the whole thing. Of course Messi the ice breaker started it.

    • Now I think it was the game plan to play the first half like this way, especially because all the players were too tensed. If we had conceded first, the game would have been different and probably would have eliminated from the WC.

    • I think you don’t understand this football…
      You know MX was pressuring like hell in the first half..they didn’t give us space..we would have conceded if we didn’t use defensive tactics…but whoever bad . replaced them.. immediately we scored…later there was no energy for MX…gas down…I saw this here…

      • You are right insider and I think this was Scalonis plan as well. I don’t think Scaloni thinks by playing Macalister he will have a kDB type of player but he will bring assurance. Macalister did what he was asked for.
        @insider what were your thoughts on palacios? Now that you have seen him play live.

    • Wrong. We started looking good after that Messi goal. Shambolic display otherwise. Hopefully it was only because of the nerve and the pressure. Also ADM should be a sub and Dybala or Correa should start on the right. Enzo is a must in the midfield.

  8. I told you guys earlier that if Messi does Messi things, then speed of the team will not come into picture. We are not a team depending on the individual speed. Only two weapons we have upfront are Messi and Di Maria. I am now waiting to see a Messi-Dybala partnership. I liked how Mac Allister played today, particularly his passes to Messi at promising positions. Also, our defense unit did a good job.

  11. Enzo Fernandes- youngest to score for Argentina in a world cup after Messi. What a class goal… Mr anuparno is in sleep. Oh he couldn’t watch live Enzo first goal. In every 2 posts he shouted or mentioned Enzo to get included even way before the Benfica days.

  12. Dale Tango. Cagey in the first half with nerves on some of the players but we got unshackled in the second half. Enzo Fernandez is proper baller, Riquelme/Redondo vibes, no pressure, he simply has to start. What puzzled me is Toro, what has happened to this guy, no shot on goal, no threat, no nothing, we need him firing ASAP. The win is dedicated to the trolls and doubters.

  13. Scaloni did a Sampaolism, the same quasi 5 men defensive line with Guido Rodriguez in salida lavolpiana as vs Croatia in 18. None knew what is his position, where to move. The midfield were completely empty in first half. Total chaos. Messi saved his ass. WTF was this plan Scaloni? Guido is good defensively, but not in progression. Maybe the Macallister Enzo De Paul midfield will be the solution. 3 balanced midfielders who are good defensively. They could switch each other constantly. And Macallister played well ofc.

  14. Next match is must win. Argentina can’t afford to meet France, Mbappe will wreck havoc. Should Argentina top the group, they can easily go all the way to the semis, avoiding likes of France and Spain

    • Yes they can win their 3rd match. Mexico is more aggressive and powerful than Poland. They also know better Argentina’s game.

  15. A day when Scaloni virtually got everything wrong. But Goat saved us. Apart from the 3 points & Messi magic, Enzo getting established, Romero & palacios having some good minutes were the takeaways. But the biggest win was our ability to change the mentality in last 30mins. Hope this is our turning point in this campaign. Onward & upward from today.

    • You are quite right. This was delivered by raising of individual performances, not some tactical masterpiece. It does not take a genius to sub in the young man turning heads all over Europe. In fact it is a crime that it has taken this long for Scaloni to drop his favorites for a better player. Same mistake was made with Emi Martinez and Romero for a very long time in 2020-21. Same mistake is still being made with Dybala.

  16. The 5 – 3 – 2 line up in the last part of the game could be the solution. Gustavo Alfaro, Argentine coach of Ecuador, used the same system against the Netherlands. And it worked very well.

    • Yeah Cuti and Licha and Otamendi together with Acuna and Molina as wingbacks sound cool. Maybe not a starting formation, but a situational formation where we need to defend a lead or something. We looked very lively when all the subs came as I expected before the match.

    • Yeah we can do it…….

      —————(-Emi, M,) ——————
      -Romero-Otamendi-lisandro–
      Monila ———-Enzo——–Acuna
      ==Depaul ——————Maria==
      === Messi ——–Alvarez===

  17. HA HA ! We won!
    Finally, some good news.

    But we need to win the next one too if we wanna top group.
    And if Saudi wins, or Mexico wins by 3+ goals, a draw will not even qualify us.

  18. Praise the GOAT.
    Vamos Vamos Vamos Argentina.

    It’s 3 A.M here. What a Beautiful Morning.
    Have a beautiful Sunday everyone who loves Argentina.

  19. This is who Enzo Fernandez is!!

    How many mutinies did he play with Argentina? Already one goal, one assist and one wood work.

    I wouldn’t disagree that McAllister improved in last 20 mins of his play. Before that he was the one least working (aside Messi) on the pitch. He came back to the match later in the first half and I wanted him to continue.

    Can’t say how impactful Palacios was. But the whole dynamic changed after Enzo, Molina, and Palacios were introduced. Maybe because of the goal- everybody start believing in themselves.

    I’m telling it again, Scaloni should have given more time to
    DePaul — Enzo— Palacios

    Hope, Scaloni finally understood it.

    • Palacios is very underrated. He is not spectacular like Enzo, but he is useful. Always have positive impact on the whole team anytime he played (Think about the game of Italy or Estonia). He energized the whole team whenever he played. So glad Scaloni gives him a chance.

    • Palacios was jogging…here and there… nothing..after first subs.everything changed… Palacios came after goal…we didn’t see anything from him.. jogging..very slowly…
      My friends were calling him to run…

  21. Thank GOD!!
    Great goal from Messi and Enzo!!
    Insider i am really happy for you that you experienced this joy in the stadium!
    I am very happy for all of us!
    Rune, are the guy from Norway or Finland that used to post during Sabella era?

  22. Enzo needs to play LoCelso position. He is World Class! The best we have now and could be the best we’ve had in a long time. He is not CDM, he is a hybrid regista (Riquelme/Redondo). A generational player. Put him further up the pitch! He is so calm, never under pressure. The stage was his for the taking with a Riquelme-style goal!

    Alvarez is only good to apply pressure, but he looks scared when he has the ball on his feet. Come on show the confidence to take it upon yourself or pass it quickly. 3-4 counterattacks to finish the game. This is why we all called for Garnacho. Speed would have killed off Mexico with 3-4 goals.

    DePaul is poor for 2nd game in a row. Never go to Atletico Madrid. Hope he gets his confidence back because we don’t really have a replacement for him it seems.

    MacAllister played ok in 1st half. Only person comfortable with the ball in 1st 45 minutes other than Messi.

    DiMaria not good in 1st half probably because of Montiel. But 2nd half was good. Surprised about his sub.

    Where is Dybala? Too bad we didn’t win the 1st match because Messi could use the needed rest.

    Montiel trash. Never thought I a player could be worst than Foyth in RB. That boy looked scared, lost, and uncomfortable. The stage is too big for him.

    Messi got the wonderful goal. I loved that he shot it low and hard like Dybala vs Italy Finalissma. Had to drop deep too many times. I would have taken him off after 2nd goal but we didn’t have any more subs, unfortunately. He needs rest.

  24. Our XG is 0.28 and we scored 2 goals. In other other words, our score card is way better than the chances we actually created. However, I’ll take this luck any day.

  26. The team has improved a lot in the second half. We didn’t have any identity vs Saudi Arabia and in the first half vs Mexico, but thanks to Scaloni and co everything changed in the second half to the best. Romero has shown signs of recovery, and Messi’s leadership was great. If we play even better vs Poland and win that match we are ready for the round of 16. Vamooooooooos Argentina Carajo!!!!!!!!

    • Guido is not trash. It is just he is a very one dimensional defensive midfielder. He can defend. But it was a problem to match him with MacAllister as they both are too similar, as a result, no creativity. Once they shut down our only creative midfielder in De Paul. No creativity anymore.

  29. Now you see why starting Guido, Montiel, and MacAllister altogeher make Argentina a very low scoring team. Look at our performance in the first half… Numbers don’t lie.

    Once Scaloni took out 2 of them, we scored one. He took the last one, we scored another one.

        • I never felt any situation where MacAllister should have passed to DePaul and didn’t. Reverse yes.
          DePaul was very bad in the first half. Light improvement in second half. But he is not same DePaul. He is running back and forth..but he can’t control the ball easily, mainly first touch is heavy, passing to opposition..very bad …
          Once DePaul was in anger to Montiel, because he didn’t support him to keep the ball. Another time he was angry to Montiel, because he didn’t have a forward run.
          I didn’t see anything like that with DePaul and MacAllister. They were not close. Later there was adjustment. Then MacAllister started to go to the middle.

  30. Who was saying to substitute Messi before the goal? Think twice before writing. I was thinking of a midfield of ENZO, DEPAUL and PALACIOS.In my opinion, this would be the ideal at our disposal, or replace PALACIOS with GUIDO or PAREDES. But my heart is with PALACIOS

    • Yes, that looks the best midfield option….. Palacios has to play, but he is injury prone….
      Montiel was the worst player on the pitch & De Paul had a game to forget….. AM move screwed him big time….

      • But now Palacios is fit. He should be starting line up instead of MacAllister. I have not seen a single match where MacAllister was impressive in the white blue shirt. Correct me if I am wrong. He is not creative. He is not speedy. He can’t score. But somehow Scaloni loves him.

  33. Lisandro Martinez and Enzo Fernandez will become legends.
    Happy for Mac Allister (he is nothing like Biglia).
    I never liked Julian Alvarez, not for the youth teams, not for the NT team, but he a fighter now I like him.
    Messi didn’t play well but showed up like a leader.
    De Paul was poor again.
    Don’t judge players on a game.
    A lot of work needs to be done, haven’t found the team yet.
    We are clearly missing LO Celso(I wish he was with us)
    Hope we beat Poland.

    • I liked MacAllister today he was good. Guido, I like him but we can not play with his kind of midfielder the whole team play will suffer we can only play with a regista, not with a defensive midfielder. Montiel is shocking I don’t want to see him ever. Depaul was bad too. Licha, Otamendi, Dimaria and Enzo after coming on were excellent. Acuna Messi Alexis did well

    • Very happy to see argentina win ,it isn’t an easy match all since we are missing several important players.

      Dibu Martinez: Trustable performance

      Montiel :once again the worst player

      licha: reliable performance

      Otamendi: defense leader

      Acuna :when missing lo celso ,Gonzalez he is a must,forget about tagliafico

      Guido :below par performance but not too bad ,defense OK but never contribute in attack

      Mcallister : No.5 material ,not too bad .but still far from that of lo celso .

      De paul: disappointed can be better indeed ,hopefully gradually build up fitness.

      Dimaria : Good performance ,very active both on two sides .

      Messi:no need to say more ,team leader

      Enzo :Versatile performance ,Hardly to say he can 100% take up the job of lo celso but definitely deserves a chance .

      Lautaro: average performance since first half we are a bit conservative so not too much chance for him

      Alvarez: Average ,the same to lautaro

      Palacios : average

      Molina: reliable ,definitely better than montiel

      It is a huge success not because of a win but we find out Enzo is a Versatile player also our defense in second half which will be very useful in knock out stage .

      • Are some of u still talking about Locelso he is not Messi he was important but he is replaceable not directly but with a little tactical twitch. Play Enzo Depaul and Macallister/Palacios this will be versatile and more defensively strong team I think.

  36. Scaloni needs to start enzo.. There is no excuses now. I think palacios and macallister look good too. De Paul ran for the whole match but need to show some quality in the next match. Even alvarez looks like an upgrade to lautaro. Yes lautaro was devoid of any service but his hold up play was awful to say the least.
    End of the day messi saved the day for us.

  38. Enzo Fernandez best argentine midfielder told many many times..he’s beast…Alexis Maclaster also played well in 1st half..Acuna and lisandro Martínez good game. Good cameo from Alvarez but lautaro Martínez disappointed me..

  40. Otamendi and the defence played well today. Our midfield is either loosing key players or out of form; there’ll be crisis if this happens. Hope Scaloni learns and adapts things well.

    De Paul is really out-of-form, reminded me of Gago in 2014 and Veron in 2002, such worrisome. But who’s De Paul’s sub, look like we have no one.

    • Good thing we have some very talented midfielders coming up after the World cup no more Depaul Paredes And Guido

  43. To all the haters out there if you want us to be disappointed by Messi and co, you can shove it. Vamooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooos Argentina Carajo!

  45. I was so disappointed after the loss from Saudia.I did not watch any game since then.But today it was treat to watch especially the 2nd half.Messi as always was the man of the occasion.Enzo wow!

  46. OK Before any of you praise MacAllister. He did not play bad, played safe as usual. But he did NOT pass the ball to De Paul AT ALL in the second half! Our midfield won’t work if they don’t pass the ball to each other.

    I start noticing this in the 47’th minute then I decided to pay attention if he ever passes the ball to De Paul. The answer is 0. NO!

    We can not play them together. De Paul does not trust him. Tomorrow I will rewatch the match and I want to count how many time MacAlllister passes the ball to De Paul the whole match.

    Think Xavi-Iniesta or Gavi-Pedri in the same 4-3-3 and same position. how many times they pass the ball to each other each match? It just simply does not work. Open your eyes widely!

    • true but De Paul was a disaster first half, once he stepped back the play was much more successful

      de Paul is good but he needs to stop diving and losing the ball

    • In this win also… you can’t agree… MacAllister…huh… Palacios was lost when he came on for MacAllister…
      Montiel, Guido, Lautaro all bad… replaced.. only player bad and continued is DePaul…his heavy touches put us in risky situation many times…
      Now we have new midfield..as I am telling from starting… MacAllister -Enzo-Depaul

    • Bro, but Mac Allister played wide left, the closest players to him were Acuna, Messi. De Paul on the other side mostly. I am not his fan, just want to be fair.

      • Yeah but not left midfielder. He played midfield left center. De Paul midfield right center. The same as Xavi and Iniesta. They are supposed to be connected at all times. But what happened was MacAllister only passed the ball to Messi or backwards. Watch the game again.

        • If you guys don’t believe me, rewatch the match again tomorrow. I am also curious how many times he passed to De Paul or vice versa. I am sure it is less than 4-5 times the whole match. It will not work out. If you think about Lo Celso, he and De Paul had an amazing mutual understanding.

          • At first half DEPAUL was right side most of the time…and MacAllister left…they were not close..Guido was at the center…he stayed back ..that put above 2 in different zone…

          • As I can remember , Lo Celso never play wide left and De Paul never play wide right this much. This is suicide to pass the ball wing to wing without connecting someone in between.

          • @ nukleuz

            MacAllister was NOT a left midfielder. He was a left center midfielder, the exact same position as Lo Celso. De Paul was NOT a right midfielder. He was a right center midfielder. Di Maria was mostly the right winger. De Paul moved everywhere, but he did not connect with MacAllister at all.

            In the first half, I saw him holding the ball. MacAllister was right in front of him and free, but he decided to keep holding the ball and he got dispossed as result. It is a problem. Let’s rewatch together again the game. You will see why we struggled in the first half. These two players were the main reasons (not connected to each other).

        • Again wrong. That’s was not like that
          They were playing wide. May be the tactical adjustment to nullify the wingers. They were not close at the starting. Later they played close.

    • I don’t know whether Mac Allister didn’t pass to De Paul deliberately or not. But, I am sure Mac Allister played a good game. His passes to the Messi were good. It is immature to think that it is because of so and so substitutions we win the match. I was pessimistic earlier about him. But, now I realizes that he was an useful player in this tense match.

    • I have been saying he is in a different league compared to all of our midfielders. Scaloni is a bit late to realize this. He is as good as the very top midfielders in the world: De Bruyne, Gavi, Pedri, Kroos, Modric, etc. If not as good, then already very close.

      Benfica is the best team in Europe, in Champions league this year and their key player is that man, Enzo Fernandez.

  56. Remember what I said a month ago?

    “Comparing Enzo to MacAllister is like comparing Haaland and Gaich”

    In million years MacAllister won’t be able to score like that.

      • Bro, you will be surprised if I say this. MacAllister did not play bad but he did NOT give pass to De Paul at all in the second half! In the first half I did not count. Maybe close to never too.

        Our midfield won’t work if they don’t pass the ball to each other. If you don’t believe me, rewatch the match.

  61. Enzo! You see, I’ve been saying this for quite some time now – capable players should be given the opportunity to play irrespective of their age of where they ply their trade.

  73. I never thought I’d say this but DePaul is not a starter anymore..he is the perfect frustrater-in-chief..so bring him on to maintain a lead in 2H

  74. Mexico knew what they was doing they was just looking for a draw and trying to trap us in conter attack, look at them now trying to open. This Is how we will score our second goal

  80. I knew it when saw the lineup…
    Scaloni let Maxico play and get them tired and he wanted to play real game after 2nd half by replacing attacking player with defensive players.
    Glimpse has shown in just before the 1st half…

  83. With the squad and subs, I have a feeling that Scaloni is panicking the most and that passed in to the whole team.

    He is changing team every second.

  99. There is no more time to waste. Throw the kitchen sink. Bring in faster players now. Bring in Dybala. Go all out now. No OT, go for it. Now.

  103. You’re right but only thing is, we’re still in it with a tie while eliminated with a loss. Cannot lose. We don’t score, and if they don’t either, we still have another crack. But agree with you, again, because we have to score. Gotta open up, create, push them. Score.

  105. We don’t want a shifty team in this WC, let them pack and leave. We need to enjoy watching strong performances.

  108. Backline is clueless. Every game they just pass it between themselves for 10 minutes and fall to a counter attack.

    Basics of football, don’t hold it in the back for long yet these guys lack vision and creativity.

  111. Messi palying too many miss passes, i have never seen him delivering that great chance creating passes with Argentina, with argentina he always try to be bit more selfish by going to dribbling or slowing the game in order for him to get into a possision to shoot
    Kind of selfish version in argentina jerrsy

  115. As we are complaining Montiel or any player, we also need to think about our talent pool. Montiel can’t even make France and England U16 team. Why?

  116. Can’t believe the way we are playing. I expected the team to come flying of the blocks. I would have even taken a loss if we were playing well but this is nothing less than a disgrace. Multiple substitutions needed. The only way we can forgive this performance is a win. Expected much more from Messi considering this might one of his last matches.

  117. Anyone in here who’s still stupid enough to believe we will win the World cup? 🙈😂 This is the worst half I have ever seen my beloved Argentina play in a World cup. We have no chance. This hurts like hell. 😔

  118. Our midfield failed to make one forward pass in the whole 45 mins. Every time we have ball, we are forced to move it sideways. It’s because we lost LonCelso and De paul is in horrible form and Guido is super defensive.

    Only option I can see is fielding Julian in place of Mac Alister, Mac Alister can take de paul’s place and bringing in Enzo for Guido. So Guido and DePaul out, Julian and Enzo in.

  122. Scaloni turns Sampa . Totally panicked & team choking. DePaul was pathetic. Playing montiel is a time bomb. Can’t beleive where we are. This is not about Locelso absence. Mentality is an issue. Every big team has lost key players & blazed their guns well. We are shitting against Tata’s Mexico. Just imagine if we meet mbappe. It will be massacre

  123. We desparetly need a goal and you guys are still fighting like ‘I told you so’ ???? Mexico are defending with 11 men and we are also trying not to concede. We need a player that can break through the wall and create chances and hopefully Scaloni has seen that!!

  124. This is not Argentina. Even 2018 team played better than this. Midfield is the real engine oh god. Prime de Paul plus creative lo celso plus Paredes is always great for us. Now it’s seems we have to rely on luck. Lo celso I miss you

  125. I can not believe some people here still defend the team. The team played HORRIBLE! That’s ALL. There is NO EXCUSE and NO SILVER LINING! Changes are needed. Stop defending horrible performances!

  126. Everybody except the young ones need to go right after this match incl. Messi. Fnck this team bc supporting them is simply masochistic!

  128. Guido totally sitting at the back…Enzo and Paredes can pass from there…but Guido failed….
    DePaul and Montiel completely lost…
    Enzo, and Molina must..

  129. A lot of people, including myself, were not that up for Scaloni. He was an unproven assistant who was already on the failed previous staff. He was a temporary coach. But he finessed his way, through early, but tellingly defensive, success. There were talk about bringing in a real heavyweight. Pekerman freed himself. I commented on his Instagram that this was his time, he liked the comment and said he agreed. Inexplicably AFA went with this Scaloni. Huge mistake. He has no imagination, none of those instances where a team is creating so many chances that it’s inevitable they will score. Nothing. Seeing his limitations exposed at the wrong wrong and wrong time. Team looks slow, and someone here said unprepared. Only one among the early favorites to look this abysmal. 😭💔😭💔, hope they get it together. Just get W.

  130. Removing Messi is not going to solve. He should try to pull aside few defenders to the right while Di Maria and Dybala can get some space to move. Mexico is simply parking the bus very well.

  131. Scaloni is in a big mess now. He doesn’t trust his real starters. He goes ultra defensive tactics and hope we will win somehow.

    Some people make fun of this, but my stats show me that we score the LEAST when these 3 players are on the pitch: Guido, Montiel, and MacAllister. These 3 are good for defending the leads, not for us scoring goals.

  135. Another 4 years and Dybala still has 0 minutes played on a World Cup.

    Not sure why coaches always decide to leave him out. The guy is almost always in good form.

  137. At first I thought it was because of lo celso absence.
    Something happend to the mojo of this team.
    We aren’t making fast passes.
    Our passing has no confidence in it.
    Our players seem afraid.
    I’m not going to be negative, but this isn’t because of a missing player or a starting the wrong player. Something is off.

  138. Immediately after the break we should bring in Dybala, Enzo and Alvarez. We are in a desperate situation now and Scaloni’s choice and strategy again letting us down. When he knew there is no other option than win, why such a defensive strategy. De Paul was simply horrible. So was referring. Messi pushed, pulled, thrown but the referee remained silent. That would further encourage the Mexican defence to commit fouls.

    • You’re right but only thing is, we’re still in it with a tie while eliminated with a loss. Cannot lose. We don’t score, and if they don’t either, we still have another crack. But agree with you, again, because we have to score. Gotta open up, create, push them. Score.

  139. De Paul and monteil are the weakest link so far… My god if macallister got involved more in the game we will have chances for sure.
    I didn’t like scaloni’s negative changes of guido and monteil…. The only pacy player we had molina and he didn’t play him.

  141. Guys, lemme tell you. Mexico AND Martino know that De Paul is the engine of Argentina. When they saw the line up, they know all they had to do is mark De Paul with 2 players. That’s why he looked really bad.

    The reason why De Paul was bad because his other teammates named Guido and MacAllister were NOT threats at all.

    The duo of Guido and MacAllister were absolutely horrible against Jamaica. I can’t believe Scaloni try that again in the WORLD CUP! We need just one of them, not both of them at the same time. We need a more offensive minded MC.

  142. This team is at the same level as Qatar this team was nothing but hype, I never trusted this team now they getting exposed in the world biggest stage this Argentina team have nothing but a bunch of average players.

  143. Sometimes are wonder what is the coach trying to prove, clearly zomething not working. Dybala been on fire why is he not getting a chance on this team smh, you gonna put him when game almost done

  145. I feel physically ill. I can’t believe these next 45 may define all these years of waiting and the next 4. Please please please keep going and believe

  147. I’m going to start breaking things if DePaul starts again and continues to give away the ball… what a fucking disgrace for the Midfield warriowarrior…Love can fuck things up and bring down even great players…

    Shit man…. id rather dump my feelings on the team now and be wrong in the end rather than stay quite and hold it all in

  148. Based on what I am seeing if we get past the groups we are not going anywhere. Four years of preparation and all we can come up with is this mediocre show in the big game. This team packed it in after finalissima.
    I would make the following subs
    Dybala for Messi—-sorry but screw this walking around shit.
    Palacios for MacAllister
    Enzo for DePaul
    Julian for DiMaria
    Molina for Montiel

  149. Mac alister, lisandro and di marria impressive
    Leo looks very frustrated, fan aside i wont even mind him substituted with dybala or alverz since messi is not in the attack nor in the defence at the moment

  150. Gonzalo Montiel is not a football player. Starting from his body language he is not. He don’t deserve to be on a football pitch even for a sunday league game. How come this guy play for Argentina in WC.

  152. So far so good. We didn’t create anything but didn’t concede anything in the first half either. Mexico are defending with 11 men. We need to make changes now. Dybala for Dimaria , Enzo for MacAllister or Depaul and Molina for Montiel who is already on a yellow. We need more creativity on the pitch with balancing defense.

  153. Get this crazy bastard De Paul OUT. He has been horrible yet he keeps getting played. Our previous wins have really bloated how good he is.

    Dybala needs to be put in for him.

  155. From the stadium… Only players good… MacAllister and Ota…Acuna and Lisandro.. okay.
    Worst…Montiel, DePaul, Guido… Lautaro..Messi
    DiMaria..no final product..

  156. De paul is playing bad because he is not getting any help from Montiel. Scaloni should bring Molina for Montiel and enzo for Mac allister or de paul

  159. Here some morons will say that Argentina played good in the first half because MacAllister started. I mean I am not putting all the blames on him but our midfield was our MAJOR problem today. Guido-MacAllister makes De Paul playing alone by himself. That’s why De Paul was bad.

  173. Somebody predicted a yellow or even red for Montiel. Prophecy fulfilled.

    McAllister is saving his energy for the next training session- hoping Scaloni will give him another start.

    Great save by Dibu.

    Our players look anxious while Mexicans look optimistic Ava determined.

  180. Sad to say but we do not have solutions for anybody. We disappear in this tournament every time. You need to play Dybala Palacios and Julian in second half for MacAllister DePaul and Lautaro

    Also are we the slowest team in the World Cup? And does Messi even jog anymore even run?

    • What a save by Emi!

      So true..lack of ball control is so obvious and hard to watch… I hope ElDiego intervenes – at this point it is beyond us.. f@$k it..another

  192. Most of players are lack of WC experiences, we won only friendly games and copa america without supporters….actually this team is garbage….okay, I switch off the TV and back to sleep…let us see the result tomorrow

  200. It’s 30 minutes now. We need to make quicker passes and open the game up a little bit. I thought this group has chemistry???

    Scaloni’s team don’t take risks, but we have to do it now. 0-0 in the half time is not acceptable.

  201. Guys this first half is very similar to Jamaica game unfortunately also starring MacAllister and Guido. They dont do anything wrong but they also dont do anything!

  202. Dybala should’ve start the game smh , but with coaches ego this is why our team is in this mess . Dybala is a baller he prove himself so many time whats the fucking hold up?

  205. I’m really appalled by the way we’re playing. Players have to be good with the ball first,before they can implement a coach’s plan.
    It’s called Football after all.

  230. I’m so sad watching this. How can a team win WC when you can’t pass through middle line. Even Diego’s 2010 team can easily outplay Mexico in midfield. Maybe Lo Celso is indeed our DeBruyne.

  233. damn someone needs to step up, we are not playing well.
    A lot of possession but Mexico is all over our players and they are more dangerous so far… Montiel is bad

    Please lord Diego help us

  235. Alexis M.A just bungled a pass from Messi. I keep talking about skillful players who are comfortable with the ball but it appears people have other ideas. God help us.

  239. Can DePaul focus on his own game? I’m tired of seeing him chasing referees for nonsense. This is not playing against Brazil, so you should only build up your psychological momentum by outplaying your opponent.

  240. Very Few things can match up to the EMOTIONS of watching Argentina in a World Cup. I am having goosebumps watching my team at the Anthem. May all the luck shines on us and we win all the World Cup matches from now on In Sha Allah.
    VAMOS ALBICELESTE.
    Ameen

  243. Surprisingly high number of Mexican fans at stadium. May be around 25%..! They all seat together..in different pockets.. every part of the stadium…but everywhere..it’s blue and white…🇦🇷🇦🇷
    Terrifying experience…!

    Some MX fans mocked me by seeing my Messi jersey..they are asking where is Messi..? I told..you will see in this much…

  244. 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷!!
    VAMOSSSSSS!!!!!

  245. OMG I’m soooo nervous I really hope we can win this. We need to win this Match. But don’t forget it’s a WC Game everything can happen…
    No matter what I will always support Argentina!!!
    I’m more or less happy with this line up it’s more safe the the one against Saudi… I hope Mac can step up and Messi scores again. I really hope to see Dybala if Di Maria doesn’t deliver…
    Ochoa is kind of Emi, he always delivers for NT Mexico it’s not gonna be easy today
    Vamooooooooos

  246. not exciting lineup Mcallister and Guido Rodriguez how are we going to create messi and dimaria are not explosive wingers anymore we don’t have that great fullbacks.

  248. Im going to sleep can’t take so much pressure. I didn’t watch the copa final because of the same pressure and we won it. Hopefully same will bring good luck to Argentina

    • Honestly I made fun of you skipping the final before but now in my superstitious state I hope it helps and I’ll never hold it over you. All logic out of the roof today. I hope you wake up to good news

  251. Mexico will start with around 8 players from Mexican league (the same league where Meza is a star (currently having his best season of his career)). One from Italian serie A, and one from MLS, one from La liga (the 36 year old Guardado).

  255. I know Mac Allister doesn’t seem like an exciting inclusion but I like that it will give us midfield balance and we won’t be playing a 4-2-4 again (hopefully). I honestly think that last game we would have won with him just because of that balance

  258. Hopefully MacAllister and other changed will prove all of wrong and give a spectacular performance. What we need is an early goal and shouldn’t be heading to 2nd half goal less. And most importantly, no conceding early goal.

  261. I think we either get a lucky win or a meltdown loss. It’s so difficult for the team to turn 180 degrees in just a few days. So I hope we get lucky today and it will be a turning point for us in this tournament. Vamos! God bless Messi and Argentina!

  264. I’m a die hard fan, win or not will still stay an argentina fan, but I believe in my team. Let’s go albiceleste, I put $150 on you guys make me happy

  265. It’s their 3-5-2 (5-3-2) with speedy wingers in Vega and Lozano up front vs our 4-2-3-1.

    They are going for counterattack it seems. Expect long balls behind our defensive lines. Otamendi better be careful with his positioning, he can’t outrun those two.

    Without the ball Mexico may park the bus with 5 at the back. That’s not how Tata normally plays but he may want to play it safe knowing our weaknesses.

    I expect Mac Allister to tuck inside, closer to Messi, Acuna to bomb up and down the left flank (if allowed by Mexico), provide width and crosses. Di Maria trying to cut onto his left from the right, Montiel mostly staying conservative. Messi, Di Maria, De Paul need to find spark in the final third, find that decisive pass…

    • Mac Alister is a good player. He’s good in possessional passing, average in progressive passing, but bellow average in carrying the forward. He and Guido risk thinning our midfield. I guess we will see Messi and Di Maria frequently coming down to the midfield today.

      • I haven’t really been impressed with MacAllister any time he’s played for Argentina, but he keeps getting man of the match performances in his club team. Let’s hope he can transfer some of that today

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