Emiliano Dibu Martínez: “I suffered a lot these three days”

By
Roy Nemer
-
187

Emiliano Dibu Martínez spoke about the team’s 2-0 win vs. Mexico at the World Cup and how they had to win.

Dibu Martínez had a very good save and kept a clean sheet for Argentina as they won their first game at the World Cup. Speaking in an interview with TyC Sports, here is what he had to say:

“They gave us a difficult match but having the 10 (Lionel Messi) with us is always easier. These three days were very difficult for the expectations, for having lost the undefeated streak and for having started on the left foot.

“Today, after the second goal, I almost started to cry. I always play with pressure. I play in the best league in the world, I played a Copa America, I played a Finalissima at Wembley… Everything very emotional but today was all very emotional.”

In regards to the loss vs. Saudi Arabia:

“Thinking that if we would lose we would go home was an enormous pressure and the truth is that we showed that can fight. We are not going anywhere.

“I suffered a lot these three days, I spoke a lot with my psychologist because the truth is that they scored twice on me and they put two goals that are difficult to swallow.

“I know I have 45 million Argentines behind me and that match I could have given more but today we showed that we are here to fight.”

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187 Comments

  2. Parades are reserve so I wouldn’t be surprised if De Paul was too. He had two chances, but both failed. You cannot choose a player you like just because he has played well in the past. Scaloni is not as stupid as you think. Except for Leo, no position is guaranteed if you perform poorly. We have quality alternatives. The test will of course be shown on the training ground. The most suitable players will have a chance to start.

  4. Before the change of the last minute to that stupid line up against the Mexico, Scaloni practiced with Paredes-De Paul-Enzo. Enzo played as the left midfielder. It is only the sudden change he changed it to Guido-De Paul-MacAllister.

    Now Enzo got back his starting job. De Paul is untouchable, not even in lala land, he will be a sub. The question is Enzo will play where in the starting line up. I would say Lo Celso’s position because of these 3 things.
    1. He was practicing with Paredes-De Paul as Lo Celso MCL position.
    2. His offensive game is growing rapidly. He is too good to be just a 5. Even his goal yesterday he scored it perfectly from Lo Celso’s position or MCL (midfielder center left).
    3. He will be like Bale. Starting his career as a left back and became one of the world deadliest right and left wingers later. Enzo is the same, starting as 5 and will be a deadly 8 or even possibly 10 later. He will have the same offensive responsibilities of the likes of Modric, Gavi, or even De Bruyne later in his career.

    TYC reporting Enzo and De Paul are guaranteed to start. Let’s see tomorrow’s training who the other one is. I would say Paredes.

    Latest news:

    By Edul
    La Selección Argentina se entrenó hace un rato.
    Scaloni va a empezar a probar el equipo en el entrenamiento de mañana.
    No va a repetir el equipo que jugó de arranque vs México.
    El DT va a hablar el martes a las 10.45 de Argentina.

    Scaloni will NOT use the same team as the one against Mexico.

    — of course man, that team first half vs Mexico performance is even worse than 4 years ago first half vs Croatia. Super ugly performance, it took around 24 minutes for Argentina to enter Mexico box for the first time, unable to dominate completely the Mexican who just defended without doing anything else. Scaloni is not that much of a rookie manager finally.

    • I agree, de Paul looks to be a started no matter what.
      Let’s hope he gets his act together.
      My question is
      Would it be better to play
      Enzo- paredes- DePaul
      Or
      Enzo- guido- de Paul
      ?

    • It looked like Scaloni had instructed everyone to not attempt any risky pass that would result in a counter. Everyone were on their toes to defend incase we lost possession of the ball. Not conceding was no-1 priority in first half as he knew Mexico would park the bus and he was relying on Dimaria Messi and Acuna to create chances but they completely failed to do so in the first half leaving Lautaro stranded upfront. He also tried playing Dimaria on the left flank but nothing changed until he subbed static Lautaro with Alvarez and Enzo for Guido and Molina for Montiel (he was pretty good when defending but completely failed when attacking).

      Against Poland Scaloni will go with a more attacking approach for sure. He might even try to score early or atleast in the first half before going full-defensive! MacAllister covered his ground pretty good yesterday. Not only he allowed Acuna to venture forward he was constantly helping midfield and defense whenever Depaul lost the ball, which might influence Scaloni to go with Enzo-MacAllister-Depaul. But if he thinks that Paredes is fit then he might bring back Paredes who on his day is a very good balanced CM and who can provide some really good passes from deep.

      • Edul reporting the team will start practicing with a complete team tomorrow. But Enzo and De Paul are guaranteed. TYC says Paredes has a good chance if Enzo will play as Lo Celso’s MLC. I think Guido has a small chance. Let’s see tomorrow.

        My prediction: Paredes-Enzo-De Paul

        Paredes has been Scaloni’s starter from the first day Scal was appointed until now. No way he is out of the starting line up 2 games in a row. He along with De Paul and Lo Celso were viewed as the starters.

  8. Reading through the comments I really don’t understand the Scaloni hate. He knew the team
    was in a bad position mentally, and conceding a goal early would be a nightmare. He played defensively for 60 minutes and then he poured it on the last 30 minutes. We scored two goals against a team that was defending with 11. His tactic was smart, calculated, and delivered the win. End of story. Give it a rest guys. He’s no dummy. You don’t win all those games by accident, you can lose one by accident though. And we were cheated out of that game for two disallowed goals which was bullshit.

  10. One of the 2 biggest issues is the midfield, none of the Paredes, De Paul or Guido is able to break the lines with their pass from the defense, we lost the ball in the critical zone and exposed the defense to very dangerous attacks. The other one is the lack of depth and pace in attack. The replacement Enzo, Julian Alvarez, Palacios and Cuti during the match against Mexico seem to fix those 2 problems.

    I won’t be surprised to see this team finish by a defense of 5 during the competition. I believe that Mac Allister-Enzo should be in the 11 no matter what and we should sacrifice either Di Maria or Lautaro for Julian Alvarez for his speed and his capacity to hold the ball. I don’t think De Paul should be in the 11 with this form but I guess Scaloni will keep him no matter what.

  11. Just a few comments now that our universe has returned to normal.
    1) any team can beat anybody on any day. This has been shown now several times, so let’s not assume any one team like France is going to cut through everyone like butter, same as Argentina.
    2) DePaul is critical to us, and I think we need to let him play into form. We have the traitor Simeone to thank for his destruction of Correa, Molina, and now DePaul.
    3) As none of us really know the politics of AFA, I wonder if there is bad blood between Simeone and Tapia or Scaloni and that is why Gio Simeone left off the team. Just something to ponder.
    4) I think this game provided a lot of confidence to Scaloni so that he understands the moment is not too big for young guys like Enzo, Palacios, and many others.
    5) Licha is a warrior. He is a God. I love his attitude and his courage. What a player.
    6) What a wonderful sign to see Tapia be so positive about the squad. That piece of shit Grondona only cared about his pocket. He didn’t even pretend to care about winning.
    7) Marcelo Gallardo needs to be kept in Argentina football. His contributions to this team are incredible. So many of his players are contributing to our future. I don’t care if you are a Boca fan, we are all Argentina fans and respect must be given.
    8) Our depth is impressive, I hope Scaloni remembers that this is our advantage over every team, and that fresh young legs in the second half can run for 40 minutes and this will give Messi space to be lethal.
    9) VAMOS ARGENTINA

  12. What a game from Morocco! So happy for them.
    We rooting for Spain later boyS!!!

    Back to our boys.
    I’m so happy for Enzo and the team. This world cup is showing us that the youth have to be tried, not only for Argentina, but how Morocco was able to play a better Belgium, but an older Belgium, while the coach for the atlas lions relied on the next generation.
    Scaloni needs to start Molina, Licha, Guido and Enzo beside DePaul. If acuna isn’t tired then he should always start.
    As for Lauturo, it’s too early to bench him. I know some may disagree, but he needs to start against Poland along side Messi and di maria.

  13. Everyone saying Montiel is bad . But current foam and fitness of our
    wing backs are below thr merits. vs Mexico I think Montiel did well. First half game plan of our team is different than thy played in sec.half. We knows current foam of mexicns. Even if our team hold it well in a panic situation. Hope all our wing backs are getting thr rhythm back soon

    • He didn’t do well. He was panicked. He couldn’t even move the ball or make a good pass. He was totally confused. U can’t defend that by bringing in any team strategy. No team strategy will ask a player to panick and be clueless. Especially if he’s a defender. He almost brought us down to 10 man.

  14. I think only France and Brazil are the scary teams in this Tournament. Anyone can be beaten in Football. But I belive avoiding this 2 teams will make things much easier for Argentina.

  15. A good team and A good player evolp as the tournament goes deeper. If you check the history of last few World Cup you will see all of the champions played like they will get kicked out by someone yet they became champions or even runner up. De Paul will turn back for sure. Pressure was immense. It was shown in the pitch. I felt like they were frozen by the thought of going out. Saudi game took chunk of confidence from the boys. Now hopefully they get back also it depends to Scaloni too. He needs to fix left midfield ASAP because we already waste two games and yet we experimenting. Unless Paredes shows his old glimpse of him then I believe Enzo should start as 5. His passing and positioning is sublime. I just worried if he start at left side what if he collide with Paredes unless Scaloni change the scheme to fit them both as double pivot. If Enzo and Paredes start then we can definitely play two attacking wingers like Acuna & Molina. I don’t know what Scaloni thinking or planning but I felt like with Acuna & Molina we are more threat to attack when we have passer like Paredes, Enzo and Messi in the middle. Also I find it unnecessary Molina and Acuna crossing unless anyone makes late run in box from midfield. Because most of the time Lautaro marked by 2 players and Messi too and Di Maria not even in box so extra player from midfield in box cause big problems to any defence

    • Rewatch first goal, and see where was MacAllister and how he was moving. Clever.
      Enzo and MacAllister are inform players. Both should start every match until they are showing otherwise.

      Third midfielder could be anyone. DePaul, Paredes, Guido, Palacios, Papu.. anyone who is suitable for the tactical adjustment against different oppositions, and the one should be fit and in form.

      Enzo and MacAllister can play any role in midfield. They can be used in different positions depends upon the third midfielder.

      Clearly DePaul, Papu and Paredes were not the same player as before. Either they are not in form or not fully fit. So keep using them..? Then you will see another shocking results like Saudi.

      • You can’t make DePaul optional in this team. If someone is into statistics, just compare the distance covered, touched etc between McAllister and DePaul. DePaul and even Messi showed up helping the LB near the boundary line.

        McAllister, although he has a better version in the second half, was the most static player, circling around 10 meter diameter for the most part of the game. He lost the ball even while making back pass.

        McAllister should rotate with Palacios.

        DePaul will catch up with his form, I have no doubt. Even a half dead DePaul is better than some players in the team.

        Some people were asking for taking out Messi from the match before he scored the goal. Even if Messi is walking, you never take him out. He will change your opinion in just 2 mins.

  18. We only have one match to talk about (not 4 or 3)..and this is the scenario:

    We can qualify for the round of 16 with a win over Poland. Can also qualify for the round of 16 with a draw and a Saudi Arabia draw or loss by fewer than three goals to Mexico. Can win the group with a victory and a Saudi Arabia draw or loss.

    I will be following Saudi match on my phone with the Poland match on the TV

    Palacios/DePaul, Enzo Parades might be worth training and experimenting with… can always bring in MacAllister for Parades or DePaul to protect a lead in the 2H.

    Vamos Albiceleste!

  20. Argentina played with character. Let me tell you, this pressure was worse than the copa final, a humiliating defeat to mexico to go home in the group stage would have been the worst loss possible. With that being said, Argentina is back mentally, a win against Poland will give us the spark we need in the knockout rounds. Regarding De Paul, this guy is a warrior, if we’re to lose, we lose with this man on the field. He had a bad first half, but his work rate is unmatched. Vamos Argentina!!

  21. El principe..he is not only haters of macalester but also mankind..i never seen such a loser here.. He provide many update i like that but he is totally bias person..if he like a player he always promote that player even he was worst on the pitch and if hate?.. You all know.. he came with his bullshit Statistics about macalester even after a good game…lol
    Against Arabia papu played bad and he said not bad, papu this, papu that..lol
    Today de paul very bad, specifically 1st..2nd half, specially After messi goal he improve.
    Montiel,depaul played very bad..but pandit come with his skill……
    Macalester played good game but you know what pandit say..lol..bro come on.. Respect the player and Stay Honest…
    I missing lo celso very much..and de paul off form is concern..hope he back in next game…
    2nd.. messi need runners from behind..missing nico here..montiel,monlina,acuna not up to the mark..i still think why not scoloni called a speedy winger after nico and juaqin injury… I think its poor decision..

  23. Why we dont have quality full backs? Zabaleta and Roja were the last quality full back. Argentina always produces good attacking players but neglects defence. Sabella identified this problem and concentrated on defence first. Messi, di maria and Enzo can win any match if defence is solid. I was watching Harnandez brothers of France. They are tremendous. Even Switzerland or Denmark has better defence than us.

  24. Scaloni had only one thing in mind after the humiliating 2-1 defeat, that was not conceding any goals and especially an early goal. That is why he had Guido playing between Licha and Otamendi when Mexico had the ball and MacAllister was brought to cover for Acuna and the defense. Tata was playing ultra defensive with all 11 players defending as they needed only one point. However Mexico didn’t even bother to attack when they had the ball. They were always pressing us with 2 less players at the front rest in the back anticipating our counter. That was the reason Messi Dimaria Lautaro and Acuna had no space whatsoever. In the early second half Scaloni brought Julian and Enzo , both of these are not only creative but their off the ball movements were quite good. Enzo made that pre assist for Messi’s goal.

    It was a hard fought match and victory under these kind of circumstances boosts confidence and belief in themselves. Scaloni Messi Depaul couldn’t hide the pressure on they faces from the moment players came on the field. Especially Scaloni face was under extreme extreme stress. This victory has released the pressure and brought back the belief in the squad and I don’t think Poland would want to face us now.

  25. If I describe yesterday game by 1 word, it should be “fear”. Guido and De Paul made a lot of mistakes on some very basic passing, at this level of competition, that’s just not possible. Too many midfielders are out of form since a couple of months and you cannot expect them to be good again in few days.

    Enzo didn’t only score the 2nd goal, if you watch carefully the 1st goal, he player an important part as well. Initially it was him who made the run to free space for Messi. That’s why I said he is good with or without the ball. Macallister and Palacios need to start as well. This is the only way to qualify

    • DePaul lost the ball many times…but in stadium it was a horror show when he and Montiel lose the ball. Man, we thought we will concede any time. These happened many times. Somehow we escaped each time.
      Here, We can’t say that. DePaul is hero..so you can’t tell..huh. This guy was unable to control easy balls. First touch was very bad. Passing was very bad. One time he passed somewhere and had a word with Montiel for not helping him. DePaul should be leader not like this, creating problem in their own team.
      DePaul lost the ball 16 times last night. Highest in our team.

      Enzo is a player moving to every part of the field. Very mobile. This is why, I told here before, He’s a modern midfielder..will become one of the best ever Argentine midfielders.

  26. Finally such a huge relief watching Argentina get those vital 3 points despite Mexican anti football for most of the game…. Anyways now is a fresh start and time to rinse and repeat the same next game 👍

  27. Whoever starts… Won the match and score more than saudi. Top the group.. Maxico had 61% and Saudi had 64% possession against poland… Surely they will sit back and counter with Lewa. Hope messi will get ball near the oppostion box…

  30. You don’t have to respond to negative comments here, because trash is everywhere. The more you reply, the more they think their comment is valuable. They are just fake fans. Let them continue to show their arrogance if they want to.

    • Rest Di Maria and Play Dybala/Angel Correa…. Bring on as sub if required…. He is injury prone and we need him in knock out stages….. Dybala/Correa are no downgrade….

  33. can Argentina play this line up?
    ……,……………..martinez………………
    …………romero…..otamendi……..
    Molina…………………………………………licha
    Palacios……….peredes…………enzo
    ……………………..messi……………………
    …………….dybala…………..almada………..
    If licha martinez play as a left back then he will defence, attack espeically licha is very good at ball distribution. I put palacios in place of de paul.because RDP is very bad so far and palacios is very good in long ball and his pass Between the line also good.i put Thiago Almada left side because Argentina are suffering in this position. Argentina’s most attack come from rght side but when opposition block both ADM and messi then they have no clue what to do.enzo and almada can exploit in the left side area.Enzo and almada can rotate their position like manchester city.I am missing Argentina’s rotation play style that they are playing for last three years.

    • he had always been, but the players saved him. Unfortunately the likes of De Paul, Parades, Di Maria and Cuti have come into the WC either short of fitness or form and that’s why he is being exposed.
      The worst fullbacks in the entire tournament doesn’t help either.
      Grit is the word. Grit and individual brilliance saved us.

  35. The morning after a nerve wrecking gane against Mexico. The first half was bad, we kept passing the ball around in our own half , many players did not pass forwards, hence we created zero chances. Guido is useful in defending a lead but not when we need to score.
    Second half started the same. The goal turned things around, Mexico had to come forward and the subs changed the game in our favor. The 5 3 2 worked much better. If Julian was less selfish we could have scored a third. Goal difference could become a factor in this group.

    Like many I hoped Dybala would enter the pitch. We lack creativity in midfield.

    DePaul needs to work on his passing. The guy works hard but loses possession time after time.

    • I also thought it was very weird. I watched some tactical analysis of Mexico before the game and it seems that he was one of the crucial players for their style of play. Odd

  37. Btw Garnacho posted Argentina victory on his insta story. Our key Argentina seleccion member starting January 2023. Hope Messi won’t retire yet. Messi likes to give that split defense through pass to the left side player (in Barca mostly to Alba), imagine if Garnacho would be the one.

  38. Licha has to start no matter what. Who will be in mid in next match. Depual macA/parades/guido enzo.. It will be 433 possibly. Againts poland. Who play 532..

  39. Emi
    Molina-Cuti-Ota-licha-Acuna
    Messi-Enzo-Depaul-Dimaria
    J.Alvarez

    Not bad …

    1st half was little tensed..
    Against poland we must play good from start..

  42. Messi said another World Cup has began. I think he is right. The players body language was not right. They were nervous, panic, scared. On the top of that Scaloni made a huge mistake in fielding his starting 11. I mean if it was Brazil in our situation (losing their first game), I don’t think Brazil would have gone ultra defensive mode like us in their second game. They have too much pride for that and they knew it would have been unnecessary. We need such confidence.

    The good thing is Scaloni redeemed himself by making great substitutions. After that the whole atmosphere changed and Argentina played relaxed and we finally played like the champ of the Copa America.

    I think the win is a huge mental boost for us. We can’t be over confident but we have to know who we are. There is no need to play that safe to start the match. I see a lot of positives after the match is over.

    Enzo: Anyone who will buy Enzo in January or June will need at least $90-100 million. Mark my words today. Especially if he stays until June and Benfica keep killing the giants.

    Cuti: back to himself 100%. Very fast in anticipating the danger like Cuti I know.

    Palacios: got a chance and did well, nothing spectacular but somehow he always improved the team performance.

    Emi: Not many could save that FK with ease. Very good against crosses too as usual.

    Otamendi: Fans around the world think he is done as he doesn’t play in EPL anymore but he plays like the old Otamendi. That’s why EPL fans don’t understand why Cuti and Licha don’t start.

    As for Montiel, I think he only fits the team against the likes of Brazil where we mostly defends, no need to attack. Against all other teams, Molina is the answer.

    As for De Paul, he has been poor in the WC but it is part to the genius coaching of Martino. He knew that shutting down De Paul would shut down all Argentina midfield/offense to the forward. So De Paul kept getting double teamed. I am sure Scaloni will fix this.

    I am much more confident now going forward. Poland will be our next victim. For sure they will park the bus and rely on counter. But we are already back to our best.

  43. Mexico came into that game with one thing in mind, GET ONE POINT and prevent ARG from getting any, it almost felt vengeful and probably was because they wanted them to suffer in the worse way possible and what could be better than sending MESSI home very early and stick it to the AFA.
    Tata is already been called an agent by MEX fans and would most likely be fired on the plane back.
    ARG only started playing once Messi scored, the pressure was all of a sudden released, even Scaloni and his coaching staff were in tears and disbelief DURING the game.

    All of a sudden we started seeing what we have not seen in the last game, 2-3 defenders HOUNDING an attacker the sec they got the ball and it was LOCKDOWN mode, Cuti came in and that was that.
    Poland is gonna want to play and ARGENTINA will play their game NOW especially after gaining their swagger back but not too confident I hope.
    Its almost 4Am, i was gonna sleep then said heck with it, what good is a vacations if you go to sleep early and not watch football….whose playing now! lol

  45. Very poor 1st half amd decent 2nd. As seen in the second Messi trusts MacAllister they had some 1, 2 passes connecting great. I don’t know what’s up with RDP… Everybody was always laughing at me when I said GLC is our best miedielder and everyone was like RDP is way better and more important…. So now most of us, including RDP, are missing GLC. He brings so much to the team… And now woth Enzo I would love to see those two. Hopefully our futer Midfield stars…

    Otamendi was really the best player on the field. Messi had a good second half and was, at least for Messi, running even defensively.

    Right now the problem is our main Striker. We don’t have anyone… Well we do but somehow Scaloni ignores Dybala… I said before WC we should have brought Gio Simeone… That would’ve been a grat addition…

    Now let’s focus on Poland and hopefully start Enzo Mac and probably RDP
    Defense should be Molina Ota Licha Acuna
    Up front i would like to see Messi Dybala and either Lautaro or Julian

  49. Whilst everything was going on and everyone playing poorly, let’s not ignore the fact that Acuna worked really hard and overall played well despite how weak we were on the left flank. This guy is a beast.
    Messi, de Paul and Martinez played quite poorly for most parts of the game. Montiel was the worst amongst everyone on the field including the Mexican players lol. I hope Scaloni has a clearer picture of his main 11 after this game. Vamos

  50. The poles will surely park the bus and give it to lavandoski on the counter, he is dangerous in the air and long range! I hope otemendi can cope with his speed.

  51. The GOOD ,the BAD & the UGLY

    Good:
    1) Messi rising to the occasion when chips are down
    2) Enzo announcing his quality.
    3) Restoring momentum & confidence with the 2nd half display. Potential turnaround point
    3) Palacios , Cuti getting decent minutes & will be important cogs in our wheel going forward
    4) Macllister deserves minutes
    5) Otamendi & Licha held backline firm
    6) Emi having a strong save & feeling reenergized.
    7) We will have good crowd support in stadium against the poles.
    8) Acuna was useful going forward
    9) Dimaria is threatening & can punch well for 3/4th of match

    Bad:
    1) Scaloni got most of the initial selections wrong. Too many changes showed panic. No purpose or intent for long time
    2) Lautaro had an off day & Alvarez though pacy loses ball often. Strike back up is an issue for a deep run
    3) We seem weak on aerial offense. There will be a drought for getting header goals on corners,crosses & set pieces . Reduces probability of ‘against the run of play’ goals

    Ugly:
    1) DePaul was pathetic. Loses ball & running like a headless chicken. No point blaming simeone. His offield issues, success going to head is the reason..need to keep his head down & focus back. Without a prime DePaul, we won’t do well in midfield against quality teams
    2) Montiel is a horror show. We shld try Molina who is avg or maybe even foyth. Wrong selection

    • you need foyth and Dybala. I have seen the horror show Montiel was giving with Sevilla that was the reason, I was happy with foyth selection. against poles, molina should start if any issue then bring foyth he brings ariel stability. dybala should be sub in next match. argentina can also do a 3-4-3/3-5-2 against the poles with all three center back cuti,ota and lisandro starting.

  52. I think 3-5-2 is not such a bad idea.

    All world cup winning team needs their mojo. Romero-Otamendi-Lisandro can be our mojo.
    All of them are tough defender with excellent ability to play from the back.

    I am always negative about Argentina playing back 3. It did not work in past. But it may work now with the defenders and fullback we have.

    Give Acuna and Molina freedom to push forward.

    Enzo-maca-rdp in midfield. Messi and Lautaro upfront. (3-5-2)

    If RDP does not improve, ditch him for Alvarez. (3-4-1-2)

    Di Maria super sub for last 30 mins. Tell him to run like mad dog.

    • Yesterday it was 3-5-2 Conte’s tactic. 2 forwards and 3 midfielders in the center but I think 3-4-3 fits us probably more as Di Maria needs to be included when you talk about “secret tactic” as he has been our secret weapon. I would say 3-4-3 with Di Maria-Alvarez (left)-Messi and Molina-RDP-Enzo-Acuna in midfield.

      • I think we can switch between 3-5-2 to 3-4-3 and vice versa, depending on opposition.

        It is for sure 4-3-3 is not looking good for us right now. We needed goal yesterday and we failed to create any chance or pressure in first half with 4-3-3.

        We need control and dominance.

        • I think 4-3-3 still the answer. I just think he got the midfield messed up yesterday. Putting all 3 defensive minded players in Guido, MacAllister, and Montiel when we need to win is a questionable decision especially the last time we saw those 3 played were against Jamaica in first half where it was super ugly. I don’t think he will change 4-3-3. He will change the players yes, not the formation.

      • i don’t like giving up an attacking mid or forward for a CB. We need to stick with 433 and shift to 3ATB when defending a lead. That’s what Scaloni is seems to prefer anyway.

  53. I will watch the match in 24 hours again to check out how many passes did MacAllister to De Paul or vice versa. For me it is crucial because those 2 were the midfielders along with one DM (Guido). They are supposed to be connected. If things were ugly in the first half, that maybe is (no connection between De Paul and MacAllister) the caused of it. I will do an “investigation”.

    Those MacAllisters lovers, say whatever u want but so far most of my predictions/evaluations have been 100% correct. These were the things I evaluated/predicted in the past:
    1. Scaloni introduced MacAllister and then now the more superior one named Enzo came to the scene. It would be a similar case to LM Quarta being promoted then suddenly there was Cuti.

    Result: Enzo is surely a starter now and he is much more superior

    2. I am not convinced that we would do good with the trio of Guido/MacAllister/De Paul as they are too defensive minded. I know we won’t concede any goal but it is hard to think how we would score. We would be lucky if we can steal a goal in the first half.

    Result: They were struggling immensely in the first half

    3. I am sure Argentina will play better when using the subs in the second half.

    Result: Argentina played better in the second half

    4. My prediction is 2-0

    Result: 2-0

    5. Unleash Enzo (I posted an article yesterday about Enzo where an ex Porto manager praised him he is a bit like Zidane)

    Result: Enzo was the hero

    6. My stats showed that Guido, Montiel, and MacAllister are among the lowest “offensive rating) meaning we hardly can score goals whenever they played.

    Result: When those 3 were starting we scored 0 and had 0 chance to score. When Scaloni took out the first 2, we scored one finally from Messi. When Scaloni took the last one (MacAllister), we scored one more.

    You guys can disagree or whatever, but I am speaking the fact and I analyze everything deeply. Remember I work as a statistician. You can check out all my comments BEFORE the game, you will find me posting number 1-6 above.

    • Keep posting your stat…
      Do it for defensive as well… I believe Palacios will be one of the player last in that…I mean goal against..
      Till now, Argentina didn’t concede a single goal when MacAllister playing…if he was “below average” player as you described it would not have been the case…
      And I predicted months before, he may even start in WC if some scenario happened…it happened..he started…

      You watch 100 times…but I will tell you one thing, DePaul and MacAllister was playing on different side, I believe that’s what they asked to do… because Mexico will be using the wings to attack…
      Lisandro, Acuna, MacAllister to Messi..
      Montiel, DePaul, DiMaria to Messi
      Messi was the only one in middle…Guido was far behind ..
      Lautaro was upfront…
      This is what I have seen on the ground..
      DePaul and MacAllister moved inside after 30 minutes… again..may be asked to do so..by Scaloni..

      Again, after the first goal, everything became easy, chances came…that’s all…

      • Btw dude u and ur brother jewel dont need to reply to my comment. I never ever read yours anyway. So lets do the same. I just saw ur name posting a long post under my comment dunno what u wrote about at all. I accidentally replied to yours once yesterday coz i thought it was godin comment.

        lets just stay away from each other comment. u say what u want. i say want i want.

        I just interact with all ppl here except u, jewel, tom, som, and outlaw, that’s all.

        • I will always reply.. when I see…hate towards some players…you are one of those . spreading that here…I have nothing against you personally…
          MacAllister not my favorite..Messi is… LoCelso is…that’s the two jersey I have…soon I will get Enzo’s…

        • Just my 2 cents guys. i actually liked the Mac A showdown. You both provide great input, keep it up but important to stay cordial. we’re on the same side!!! Vamos!

          • His famous MacAllister hate comments..
            “He is below average.. and always will be…”
            “He won’t contribute anything to Argentine NT.” “He is Next Meza’
            He was mocking me..when I predicted long time before, MacAllister may start in WC if certain things happened..that was even before Enzo’s emergence…but still he started…played well…he wants to downplay that…
            He always do offensive stat..with his own.. basketball logic… only offensive…he won’t do that for goal against…then MacAllister will come top..and his favorite will go last ..

        • Also, here everyone is same for me…all same .
          If somebody has my opinion.. he’s my brother..and if someone has different opinion..he’s my enemy..?
          You are one of the stubborn… always spreading hate.
          Yesterday we won…still you are somehow.. putting some negative to MacAllister head…huh..
          MacAllister is lucky that he didn’t play first game… otherwise..you would have put that on his head…You were telling..Cuti fine, Paredes fine, Papu fine….why..? Why they didn’t start second game..? You didn’t get one guy to out blame for the first match..? Oh sorry.. MacAllister didn’t play…! Montiel didn’t play…Guido didn’t play… your favorite was in mistakes…!
          If one of them started… everything you could have put on their head ..

    • I think the strategy was for the midfield to play as two units macallister-acuna and de paul- montiel obvioudly link up play is crucial but youhave to keep player instrucion in mind when tracking stats and evaluating

    • I think it is not good to say negative about some players to make any predictions about them by the MA members to become true or to promote their personal favourites. It is relatively easy to play attacking game when you find there is no threat to do so. That was not the case before we scored the first goal. There required lot of patience till that goal. We are not Brazil or France to play fearlessly as we don’t have pacy players to defend a counter attack. Scaloni himself told that “That (the change) wasn’t because of the substitutions. It was because we have good players and we have Leo, and that’s what’s important.”

    • The freekick line didn’t even bother jumping to block the ball, what a joke. I see why that Argentinian team under dilevered

  55. Some crucial point what I realised so far:

    1)Paredes and Enzo are must (No one can replace these players). I don’t know how many days Paredes needs to recover from injury. Guido is not an option to start.
    2)Molina is the best option for RB. May be Foyth we can try but playing Montiel will be the biggest mistake
    3)Licha is playing good but against European team I prefer Romero
    4)I think Scaloni will gain confidence if we reach to Knock out round.
    5)We are playing on individual brilliance. We don’t have bench strength like brazil, France or England. So Scaloni should plan accordingly
    6) Mid field is the key.

  57. Man Roy Keane destroyed di maria, I watched the match English Channel itv , Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Joe Cole was the pundits first half they gave us and rightly so but after second half display Gary Neville have said the the second half and substitution, the back three of cuti, otamendi and lich that shape can win Argentina world Cup according to him , Roy Keane praised scaloni by substitutions he made during the game and they all praised enzo Fernandez. What a player .

    • Enzo is in a different league. He should get Emi/Cuti treatment now. His pecking order kept going up though. Now without doubt he is an undisputed starter. Seeing him playin from his debut days is like seeing Cuti/Emi debut. Very easy to tell that this guy is a cut above all his midfielders. He is what we had hoped Banega to be.

      For sure Paredes will be back as Guido has been too one dimensional. I fully believe next match Scaloni will start Paredes, Enzo, De Paul.

      As for the rating:
      Ole rating
      Emi 7, Montiel 5, Otamendi 7, Licha 6.5, Acuna; Guido 4.5, De Paul 5, MacAllister 6; Di Maria 6.5, Lautaro 4, Messi 8; Enzo 8, Cuti 6, Palacios 6, Alvarezh 5, Molina 5

      TYC rating
      Emi 7, Montiel 5, Otamendi 7, Licha 6, Acuna 6; Guido 5, De Paul 5, MacAllister 6; Di Maria 7, Messi 8, Lautaro 6; Enzo 8, Cuti 6, Palacios 6, Alvarez 6, Molina 6

      Hope Cuti is back to the starting line up too. Molina for sure, Tagli/Acuna 50-50 I think.

    • Roy can be a twat but no surprise since he’s still sulking over AFMs stint at United. That old fool still defending Ronaldo’s mess at United just to give you an idea of his bias.

      The ineffectiveness of ADM in first half had more to do with Tata out playing Scaloni and midfield than ADM himself

  58. It sucks that we lost 2 very important players in Lo Celso and Nico for the most important occasion. And our most important midfielder De Paul is out of form, just when he needed to be in his best form.

    This is exactly why we need to win the group so we play Denmark/Australia and not France and go to quarterfinals hoping for an easy team. I think a newly formed midfield setup needs at least 2-3 games to know to play with each other and there’s no way in hell we should keep playing Guido Maca and De Paul midfield.

    We aren’t really a team that blows past the opponent anyways, as in Copa we were just barely doing the job in every game. I don’t think it’s any different here as well, but a familiar midfield partnership helps the team to be watertight.

    • I agree with you on all the points you have made. Hopefully we will win vs Poland and show more confidence. BTW, I think you were lurking since 2018 WC. Nice to see you again @Istiaque.

  59. How about that chance around the 70th, eh? Acuna with beautiful low driven cross to Molina. Molina had acres of space but nervously blasted it over the net. Painful to watch…he could have controlled it and shot or dribbled few feet at least. Check it out.

    imgur.com/a/sQuttJS

  61. to be fair ,Guido Rodriguez played an important role. look at second half, he drop back to be a CD with licha and otamendi .Both Acuna and Molina move forward to assist. That is the turning point. I think both Guido and Paredes have their value can benefit the team .

    In knock out stage ,defense is more important. Hopefully this team keep on improving

    • > look at second half, he drop back to be a CD

      That actually happened much earlier at the beginning of the 1st half.

      Scaloni started off with splitting Ota and Licha alongside Emi, Guido as single pivot, and Acuna and Montiel pushing up the wings.

      imgur.com/a/eqvKXDo

      Tata was smart and had both Mexican forwards and a mid mark the Ota, Licha, and Guido, forcing our only option out wide to fullbacks. He then pushed up is wide players and center mids which didn’t give much oxygen to our CBs, fullbacks, and wide players like Di Maria. Around the 12th minute, Guido dropped back to support the CBs.

      imgur.com/a/eqvKXDo

      But even after the change, Tata again was quite successful in pressing and marking, especially when RDP was off.

  62. “Today, after the second goal, I almost started to cry. I always play with pressure. I play in the best league in the world, I played a Copa America, I played a Finalissima at Wembley… Everything very emotional but today was all very emotional.”

    So, you know, why Scaloni was going defensive at starting..if you lose you are out….if they scored somehow, we would have been in a dilemma…never allow them to score, make everything right, find the balance, use proper sub, fight to win… Strategy was good… Scaloni is right…

  64. Attendance of 88,966.
    The most in this world cup. Almost 70-75 % were Argentine supporters. Around 25-30% are Mexican supporters. Most of the time, Mexican fans were very noisy. From the very first minute to the goal, they were supporting their team. Booing Argentina, Pressuring noise on every Argentine move.
    After Argentina scored, they have no noise…they have been silenced…
    Argentine supporters were singing Vamos from starting but it became more loud after the first goal scored.

    • But why Argentinian fans didn’t make similar noise from the get go to lift their team spirit? Ain’t they supposed to be there cheering for the team before the starting whistle?

      • They were cheering…but Mexican supporters were like machines… never stop ..and very united in their noise….
        Also, I felt, most of the Argentine supporters were more tensed than Mexican. A lose they could not imagine. So much emotion..
        Near me there was Argentine girl running to her mother after scoring first goal, hugging, crying…they were sitting few meters away…

        Just imagine the emotional situation of the players…we have to salute these players…

        • the argetine supporters in Qatar have money compared to the rest of the populaation. they are not the rowdy type that define argentine supporters. meanwhile mexicans in general have more money and so comparitively you get a wder range of socioeconomic classes and thus you get rowdier fans

    • > Most of the time, Mexican fans were very noisy.

      Yep..they only made up 25-30% of seats but made 70-75% of the noise! Tons of Argie supporters must have been quite because there’s no way that split should have favored Mexico. It’s crucial for fans to play a role and cheer like lunatics when the team needs it most (1st half) and not wait until we score or doing well. Hopefully this win ignites their vocal spirit from the 1st minute next game.

      Btw, I LOVED seeing Messi passionately and angrily encourage the crowd to cheer after he scored. He looked pissed yet confident, loved seeing the passion and grit.

  65. With tactics to bunker down using 5ATB when El Tri has hardly used that formation and didn’t play their best defensive mid Alvarez…..you gotta wonder? Can we all take a moment to praise Secret Agent 🇲🇽🇦🇷Tata🇦🇷🇲🇽 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 .

  68. Like or not we need fit paredes or play his position enzo, MacAllister or even palacios but not Guido

    De Paul————- paredes—— enzo will be ideal
    Paredes can find messi in between the lines he so good breaking lines
    First half vs Mexico our midfielder looked worst Simply scaloni can’t repeat same midfielder that started vs Mexico.

    • The midfield trio of DePaul- Enzo- Palacios was super dynamic and mobile- all three work their ass off, equally good at defense and offense.

      In today’s game, Enzo taught Scaloni a lesson, which the coach should have learned in the very first game Enzo played with Argentina. Time is essence here- you need to find your team fast and build the momentum.

      The 20-25 minutes Palacios played, he was everywhere, made a few interceptions and exchanged well with Enzo. McAllister is an option that i see many people like but he is more of a static player. If Palacios is fit, he should be ahead of McAllister any day at LoCelso’s position and MAC as his sub.

      The sooner and more time you give to DePaul- Enzo- Palacios the better.

      In some games, parades could be used and Enzo playing in LMF. But, I see it coming less in nock out stage. Parades has something in common (to a lesser extent) with Foyth, they both make deadly mistakes leading to goals.

      • After the first goal, Mexican stunned and there was no energy. They became completely unorganized and lost. Don’t judge the performance of any player to that of before. Messi also same. First goal was everything.

      • El_torero
        “The midfield trio of DePaul- Enzo- Palacios was super dynamic and mobile- all three work their ass off, equally good at defense and offense”

        I will take that midfielder 3 any day of the week bro

        • These 3 midfields yes, always bring positive impacts to the team. As for De Paul being dropped, not even in lala land that would happen.

          But realistically Scaloni will go with Paredes, Enzo, De Paul. He loves Paredes too much. In Copa, in some games Guido played better than Paredes but he still started Paredes in the final. I am fine with Paredes as long as Enzo and De Paul start.

  69. I think we are back to where we began. Copa 2019.

    In that Copa, we faced same problem. Flat midfield, zero creativity. Same case in this wc.

    We played better in second half. But goals were individual quality. We had xG less than one. It means there was no creativity at all.

    Lo Celso gone. Paredes bad fitness. RDP bad form. Guido does not offer anything besides defense.

    So we need to incorporate new midfielder. This is not good news in wc. Enzo is good player. Maca did his part too. Palacios did well.

    I always liked Palacios. He is tireless, great one touch passing. Enzo is like for like replacement for Paredes. Great distribution with good footwork.

    But the question is can we win an intense cup like wc with newly integrated midfielders?

    We need to win the group stage. This way we will have relatively easier opponent till QF. It will help with understanding and cohesion.

    Sabella’s team was unconvincing till second round. He ditched fantastic 4 in QF. Went for Biglia, Lavezzi and Demichelis. This changed the team and we went for final.

    So scaloni must find right combination very quickly. Otherwise, we do not have any chance.

    • He ditched fantastic four only because Di Maria was injured and Aguero too. Otherwise he would play fantastic four in all games and we would have won the WC. That tactic was close to perfection with the prime Di Maria, Kun, Pipita, and Messi.

      • Di Maria started vs Belgium. It was classic 4-4-2 with Lavezzi and Di Maria on opposite wings.

        Sabella’s fantastic 4 in WCQ was a modified version of 4-3-1-2. Di Maria as LCM.

        Sabella tried 3-5-2 in first half of Bosnia. Then went back to fantastic four till Swiss game. We looked shaky at the back.

        Fantastic four did not work due to Gago’s long term injury before world cup and his dip in form. It became worse with Aguero’s fitness issue.

        I think we face similar problem now. Lo Celso is gone. RDP bad form. Paredes fitness issue.

    • 2019 Copa is very different from 2022 WC. All the players have been playing together for 4 years. Unexpected loss can be a huge confidence hit for any team. When the opponent needs only one point and we need a win after a humiliating defeat, it was never going to be easy. 2019 we didn’t have a core,2022 we do. Depaul Enzo and MacAllister/Paredes is the midfield vs Poland. We will have more room againt Poland but they will also play counter attack against us.

  70. We have another hard fought R16 qualification ahead of us.. we need to go on with fighting spirit but also the humility of having lost to a40 rank team. That will tell us to not get cocky…
    Also would like to see DePaul Parades and Enzo start….

    It is an untested combo sure.. but Scaloni could try this in training

    • He had been trying this combo for the first 3 days before yesterday. Then he changed it somehow to ugly trio of De Paul, MacAllister, and Guido. I already knew it wouldn’t work as it was similar to Jamaica match midfielder. Scaloni was super lucky, I consider that a coaching error. If Messi never scored that goal or if Mexico scored somehow then we were fucked.

  72. You can’t win the next 5 games on Wednesday but you can play to beat Poland. I think Scaloni learned a lot this game. First, dont give up a goal at any cost early so you aren’t playing from behind. Second, that Enzo is the real damn deal. Third, having fresh legs at the 55 minute mark makes all the difference in the world. I would expect Julian, Palacios, and Dybala to be coming in going forward and Enzo starting. Another thing, when we went to 5-3-2 we may have stumbled onto something especially when Molina and Acuna push up. With Enzo in the middle and Palacios and DePaul that combo is deadly and I would expect some of that against stronger opponents. If we score 2 on Poland without conceding a goal it’s the confidence we need to go on a role/

  73. What a fantastic save “spider-man hands” and a massive confidence booster leading into the 2nd half. Most keepers would parry the shot but big balls Emi ain’t havin’ none of that.

  74. I think this game would be a turning point for us in this tournment. We will only get better going forward. Vamos!!!

    I look forward to Wednesday’s game against Poland. I hope we bring this momentum to the first half and dominate Poland from the beginning.

    Enzo, Lisandro, MacAllister must start. Palacios should be ahead of Paredes and Guido as a sub.

    5-3-2 wasn’t a bad experiment as Lisandro/Cuti/Otamendi are very solid. We have the best CB line in this WC.

    As far as Lautaro, he will eventually score for us.

    Alvarez didn’t impress me so far. He made good runs but lack of creativity and dribbling. I hope we give Dybala some time to play false 9 in the second half.

    After a disastrous start, now it’s time to enjoy this world cup!

  75. It was an ugly win but a huge confidence booster!! Its not easy playing against bus park teams with zero intention of even counter attacking!! I also want to give Palacios a shoutout. He was very good in that 30 mins, made us look alive again!! Acuña was also very good, didn’t put a foot wrong, well covered by MacAllister.However, Molina and Montiel both are struggling. Montiel couldn’t do much when attacking but in defense he didn’t make any lethal error. Got booked, put his body on line but didn’t concede. He was replaced because he wasn’t adding anything to attack and was already booked. We really need Molina and Depaul to get back into form next match. Only one spot in midfield is undecided now. Out of MacAllister, Paredes and Guido, only one can start. Palacios will come off the bench.

  76. We had our first win. As I said in the previous game, the team is not bad, the point is that the var wins the result. In the match against Mexico, when announcing the starting lineup, the image of Mac Allister covering his mouth said that negative people should be quiet. I guess Scaloni focuses on defense to deplete the opponent’s fitness. The important thing in the first half was that we didn’t concede a goal. Of course, Mexico pressed very well. When the second half started to change, I knew the team would dominate the game. That’s the tactical intelligence we’ve come to expect. We will win the remaining 5 matches to be crowned champion. This tournament is for Argentina.

  78. Don’t get to carried away people. There is alot more room for improvement. That first half was brain wrecking for us supporters. And we still depend on messi. So me personally I have no hopes on winning this cup. Only scaloni can find the right tactics 1 game at a time to suprise us. From now on is one game at a time
    Don’t excite yourselves and think to far ahead.

      • Of course as much as group stage games depends on attacking and collecting points, knowout stage depends heavily on defending. The best defensive team win the world cup.

    • @Gonzalo It wasn’t pretty, but all we ask is that they show this tenacity as a team. Championship teams always find a way to get the result.
      The lost against Saudi Arabia was unacceptable and the team deserved every criticism.

      I think DePaul, Paredes (or MacAllister, or Palacios), and Enzo should start. The team can bring in Dybala instead of Alvarez for that 5-3-2. The counter-attacks worked well with Dybala against Italy.

      We do need to improve. The good news is no one is at their best and we should have had the result against Saudi Arabia (especially now that we know Lautaro goal should have been onside).

      Lautaro hasn’t scored, but he averages a goal every other game or so. Will he score an important goal against Poland or in the round of 16? Or does his drought and Alvarez lack of confidence forces the Jewel to enter the grand stage?

      Surely Scaloni has to think about what Mourinho has said about Dybala!

    • agree with Gonzalo. first half – defensive (not that it was wrong if that was our intended tactic to not concede) but it was just extremely cagey and nailbiting. no fluidity as our team struggled to even string 2-3 passes togethet throughout or even create any 1 significant chance of note. hearts in mouths every time the ball reached our defence and it was uncomfortable watching Lozano or the other striker ready to pounce if the ball broke to them. it was damn scary if we were to concede as at 0-0, it was already hard to see how we could score, much less having to chase the game. Fideo was the only one who could dribble somewhat and bothered to create. i was keeping count of the no. of times RDP misplaced his passes and lost the ball. clearly, the instruction was the moment Messi and RDP got the ball, crowd them out. yes, i know it was difficult circumstances to play (Guido and Mac had to work hard) but we had no other plan and couldn’t counter that and it was extremely painful and excruciating to watch. the only point of some fludity was when we managed to string the passes towards end of the half, broke into their lines and created a corner or the free kick that Messi skyed.

      thankfully, we could still depend on our old class of Fideo and Messi to assist and score. from that point on, the game opened up and it was much easier for the team to play. the players that came on generally performed better too as Mexico had to come out.

      it’s not job done yet. i hope our team gains back its confidence and starts another unbeaten run on the back of this. we cannot wait to play one half just to settle into the game. no disrespect to papu, parades, mac, guido but it’s about current form in this competition. i hope scaloni learns who are the players who can and who are the players still to play and try out and who cannot make it.

      i hope the loss to KSA is not going to cost us in any way. we now need at least to equal or better KSA’s result but must win POL if we are going to avoid FRA and want to play AUS/DEN instead and have an even better chance of advancing further, gaining more confidence and stability, etc.

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