Julián Álvarez spoke about Argentina’s 2-1 win vs. Australia in the Round of 16 at the World Cup.
Álvarez started his second game at the World Cup and scored his second goal. He started in place of Lautaro Martínez against Poland and against Australia. Speaking to the media after the match, here is what he had to say:
“The important thing was to win, obviously. After that, at times, we played our game. We suffered a bit but the important thing was to win. It’s a big joy for the group, for all of the Argentines and we are going to give our best to continue to grow together.
“The 2-0 was important to give us peace of mind. I always try to press the goalkeeper high and today, it happened. We went, with Rodrigo and luckily we were able to get it from him.
“I always try to help. Obviously, being a forward, I am closer to the goal and if I can contribute with goals, even better.”
I hope Garnacho is watching. If you wanna learn to be the best left winger in the world. Learn from that man. CR7 is something in the past, nothing to copy from him anymore but ugly attitude and arrogance.
hi all, some of my albiceleste friends over here are complaining papu’s contribution, I don’t see a foot he put wrong. he had a decent if not spectacular game. u can’t expect him to score goal n say he played amazing. yes I am abit disappointed with lautaro martinez for not scoring a literally open goal with his standards. he is on a low but he is no where near finished, I would mind him playing for the last 20 mins. I am glad the river boys are having a great game. messi the goat I don’t need to comment. enzo is the closest to Redondo, a pure class.
My concern with ARG and Scaloni as of today:
1. Messi played every game for 90 minutes (this was his 1st goal past the group stage)
2. Dybala and Correa not playing a single minute, but Almada has.
3. Lautaro is not being benched completely for the time being. Show him he has to earn his spot back. Send a message to put fire in him. I believe he has at least 4 goals in him. We can use them in Semi and final but he needs to get his act together now. Let his ass feel the burn of sitting on the bench for 90 minutes.
It’s been a long time since we won the World Cup. Our managers have a tendency to not select all the best possible players, leaving talent at home, or on the bench.
WC 2014: Only Argentina can leave the best version of Tevez (Juventus) and young Icardi and hope Palacio will score in the final vs Germany.
2002 Only Argentina will not play Crespo and Batistuta on the field together with nothing to lose
2006 Only Argentina will take off Riquelme to bring on Julio Cruz, and not play Pablo Aimar or Messi or Saviola, etc. Pekerman overthinking about height, whereas you could play to your strengths with skill, dribbles, passing, and precision play. The Germans were given life.
2010 Only Argentina can have Maradona as a coach (no real experience), not ask for Riquelme to come back, and leave Zanetti home while selecting Jonas Gutierrez. Best version of Messi wasted.
2018 Only Argentina can leave Icardi, Lamela, Pastore, etc. Leave Dybala on the bench but play Pavon and Meza.
2022 – No left-wing threat and the heavens blesses the NT with a young prodigy (Garnacho) with dribbling skills, passing, crossing, and shooting ability in a top league. But he’s not selected because he hasn’t played with the team? Failed to call him up for friendlies vs Jamaica and Honduras but brought Almada? Dybala and Correa were on the bench without minutes, but Almada played. Lautaro (who I like) still deserves minutes over Dybala and Correa?
I’m not trying to be negative. In spite of all this, we need to win the world cup.
But it’s these questions that lead me to believe that Argentina’s greatest opponents in the past 6 World Cups are themselves.
The irony is we have to beat ourselves (win through our bad habits) to win this World Cup.
not sure if your timelines were correct but if indeed so, these were all a travesty and simply unforgiveable – to not have good quality players is one thing, to not select or play or try to fit them is a sin –
WC 2014: Only Argentina can leave the best version of Tevez (Juventus) and young Icardi and hope Palacio will score…
2002 Only Argentina will not play Crespo and Batistuta on the field together with nothing to lose….
2006 Only Argentina will take off Riquelme to bring on Cruz, and not play Pablo Aimar or Messi or Saviola….
2010: not ask for Riquelme to come back, and leave Zanetti home while selecting Jonas Gutierrez
2018 Only Argentina can leave Icardi, Lamela, Pastore, etc. Leave Dybala bench but play Pavon and Meza.
Dembele is a headless chicken. Without Mbappe this France would be a mediocre team.
L.martinez should learn how to finish from giroud.
In last WC 7/0 from Giroud, teammates saved him.
Giroud is very good in Air. You can’t ignore him.
Funny how Poland seemed more afraid of ARGENTINA than Frenchy now and it shows!
Scaloni’s priority was not make any errors whatsoever which is why we were pressing with multiple every-time we lost the ball. Poland had the same approach us against us but unlike France we didn’t allow Poland to have any ball. Yesterday too we didn’t make any error near the box until 80th min and the 97th min that was also due to the shock from the lucky goal conceded in 75min. Scaloni’s plan is to make no errors to not concede early at all which is why we weren’t able to create much chances yesterday until Messi’s goal and first half against Mexico. We trying to not make any errors and opposition defending with all 11 men resulting in us not looking like France or Brazil but ESPN pundits fail to realize this and write us off !
Poland afraid france too.it’s dider Deschamps too much pragmatism who Don’t want to press just holding,standing and allow poland to attack to keep ball position. Because dider Deschamps knows very well that he doesn’t need ball position he needs just lightning fast counter attack and fast intensity.france played this system last wc and this wc also.this france is headache for every team.
They only need a draw or loose with small margin to get in
Every game really have their phase, look how Poland giving France a really hard time attacking, meanwhile they couldn’t even have a shot on target with us
Netherlands will be very tough to beat! They are fast, physically and skillful, plus a great coach too.
Our defense, attack and the coach need to play a top game. For big games we need big players to shine, ADM and Messi will be very important this match.
Wouldn’t be nice if Poland beat France or at the very least gave Frenchy a hard time.
Somebody remind me, what skill other than speed does the Golden Child have?
Scaloni has a plan for Mbappe. That is why Montiel is here. Montiel will put his cleat in the one good testicle Mbappe has and that will be the end of him.
Mbappe is the most immature classless arrogant piece of shit I’ve ever seen. I wish nothing but misery for that guy.
He is conceited no doubt just like his idol but what other skill does he have and Poland should have scored
You can be a hater as much as you want but speed is a factor in today game. Not a fan of Mbappé because of his cockiness but no one can deny his talent. The guy is legit, he scores, dribbles and want to be the best. Those things are attributed to a great champion…My suggestion to you stop be a hater and enjoy Mbappé, Haaland and even this young kid from the Netherlands Gapko (I think)
Mbappe is more than his explosiveness . Poland has a fast fullback and RCM double teaming against him and hence they have prevented him from scoring but unnecessary panic from Sczhney by sending the ball out for throw and trying to kill the time resulted in lapse of concentration and Mbappe provided a very good ball for the goal. Giroud is in great form and scored from a tighter angle than Lautaro or Lakaka yesterday. Now with 1 up France will unleash it counters with pace.But if Poland can stop France at 1-0 till 70th min and then press then they can cause an upset.
Holland play 3412
###RCB#CB#LCB
DUMFRIES#####BRANT
####DM#DE JONG
#######AM
##GAKPO######DEPAY
they attack from 2 sides with drumfires and brante overlap.attack heavily relied on right side Dumfries +Gakpo.Then depay ,brante ,AM will follow up and score .
sometimes depay plus brante attack then gakpo ,dumfries on the opposite side follow up and score .but they are weak on their left side .so 70% attack come from dumfries ,gakpo or depay .
they also use gakpo as AM which is playing highline pressing .and the tactics are the same .either right side attack, left side score or left side attack right side score ..
To deal with ,we need to play 352 in defense, 433 in attack
##Alvarez
#########messi#dimaria
##acuna#depaul
######Enzo
licha#otamendi#romero#molina
defense 352
###messi
#########dimaria
##Alvarez #depaul
Acuna#enzo####molina
##licha#otamendi#romero
(licha,acuna ,otamendi mark dumfries and gakpo).
(romero versus depay) , (dimaria plus molina tackle De Jong and brante). middle triangle Alvarez, enzo ,depaul connect with messi and protect the team .
we should attack on the right side at the same time take care and specifically mark their right side gakpo and dumfries .
France playing free flowing game… we r lacking defence piercing thru balls
Everyone knows Leo has unparalleled finishing skills. Sometimes he created his own opportunities, but in the goal against Australia, he received the direct support of 3 players Papu, MacAllister and Otamendi, the rest they exerted indirect pressure from there to create space. . If you think that Argentina scores through individual excellence, you don’t understand football. Overall, the team had a good game but there were also unsafe moments when making the wrong decision, or letting an Australian player dribble quite easily. You also don’t care who plays, because that belongs to Scaloni. He knows who will be the right person.
All this talk of Van Gaal or lineups is nonsense. I said before, if we play up to our potential, we can beat everybody. If we don’t play up to our potential, anybody can beat us.
The only guy that didn’t play yesterday we should be worried about is DiMaria. Dybala Foyth Correa Almada are only players there where “break glass in case of emergency”. Otherwise they are at the end of the bench. Sometimes that’s the way it is.
And for the love of God please stop saying stupid crap like Foyth is better than Montiel. Foyth almost gave up 2 goals against UAE in our warmup match so stop with the bullshit of thinking he looks good at his club 5 months ago and somehow that matters.
One last thing. Screw France, Brazil, and Van Gaal, in no particular order.
I watch Inter Milan regularly.
Dumfries is a athletic presence and can exploit space. He is very good in counter attack as a result. But he is not nowhere near top RBs of the game. He is athletic but not someone you can’t handle. He is not so fast that you struggle to keep up with him.
He is not Dani Alves. He is an upgraded version of Emerson Royal. However, you need to keep track of him for counters. He can do damage if there is space.
Check USA game. He scored because he was totally free in the box as USA was defending a free kick.
His two assists were similar to Molina to Mac Allister assist. If USA could track the run of Depay, they could be prevented.
We should defend their right and attack their left. Blind and Ake will be easier to attack when you Di Maria on that side.
I wish there was a Lavezzi to keep Dumfries busy. But we don’t have any left runner except for Acuna.
Disagree…. I think Dumfries is thier best player and the most threatening one.
However, I think we are good enough to win against Holland.
Agreed.
But they are not going to play with Dumfries on the ball. They will try to progress on the left with Blind and Frenkie with Depay holding the ball, and will switch to the right to get their runners like Dumfries ans Gakpo. This is basically their attacking tactics. However as good as their names in defense, they have not been good defensively throughout the tournament. They conceded a lot of shots and quality shots at that against mediocre and poor opponents. No way they are as good defensively as they were in 2014 and their attack is considerably weaker for sure.
Always believe in scalony. People always remember the winning team which scalony provided us. We won Copa and will win WC insaallah. We are very proud of our team approach and fitting sprit. DePaul getting his form slowly and surely to his best. Never ending running for the team. EMI also getting his punching hand back. Vamos Argentina.
Do not play Montiel pls, rather play with 10 men!! He’s not even a school team material! Montiel & Armani r just two showpiece spot in this team. Except them, everyone has some contribution.
Anyway, Argentina got their momentum, hopefully they r going to win this time inn shaa Allah. Vamos!!!
Man football is collective and team work effort yesterday when Lautaro missed those chances guess who bail him out non other than other two martinez that is why that tackle from Lisandro was good as goal still I’m celebrating that tackle what a player he had great comeo
Bring on the Netherlands I’m not fearing them at all but respect them, some pple in here were expecting Argentina to go out in group after Saudi lose but I stay positive hoping that my beloved team will come through this difficult time and march on and that is exactly what is happening . Hate or love Argentina are going to get the gold, God willing.
Just read an interview with Van Gaal.
The guy is talking about provocative pressing…?
He also mentioned diagonal play (from wingback to wingback) as a key component.
He is making up his own vocabulary along the way 🙂
He only lost 4 games in 63 matches as Dutch coach and reminded us that Argentina never beat Netherlands in 90 minutes. Since he returned after Euro 2020 they are unbeaten. It is going to be very tough. Di Maria is a must in that game.
Best quote by a former Dutch player: Van Gaal loves himself so much, if he was made of chocolate he would eat himself.
link please
I’ve posted it before and I will say it again, VanGal is probably the best coach in this tournament. There is no doubt about it. We will have to beat them physically, strategically and skillfully.
They are tough but you can’t just rely on good coaching and good defense to beat the best. Their midfield and attack are quite mediocre compared to their 2014 version. I would say their 2014 is stronger. Ecuador should have beaten them. Only FIFA was cheating again. And if I am not mistaken, Ecuador also beat the post twice against them.
Netherlands have yet to be tested meeting world class teams here in the WC.
We survived those last 15 min. Happy to be in QF. Thats an upgrade from 2018 edition.
Once the knockout starts there are no minnows. Even the smallest footballing nations without much pedigree of winning competition punches above their weight. Turkey 2002 against might Brazil, Korea against Italy 2002, Algeria against Germany 2014.
Still few more hurdles to cross.
By the way, glad to see every one alive and kicking in this Mundo group.Everything about the match has been said in different posts.
The Orange team has the same coaching staff as they had in 2014. Most of the pundits are not giving us any chance against Holland. Hope we can make them eat their words.
Dybala was unlucky, he was warming up, thats when Australia scored. Else he would have got his minutes.
Hope we get through the next round.
I didn’t watch Netherlands vs Qatar but I did watch their other three encounters. Against Senegal, they were not comfortable at all. Nerves and quality in the final third of Senegal cost them the match but Senegal dominated the whole match. Against Ecuador, Dutch were outplayed. If Ecuador had better finishers off the bench they would have convincingly defeated them. US learning from the Ecuador game approached the match with attacking strategy and both teams were counter attacking each other but again lack of quality in front cost US the match. Don’t get fooled by the 3-1 score line. Many US former players and analyst not the ESPN pundits are saying the same thing US approached the match being too offensive. Had they did the same thing like Mexico and Australia did to us that is defend will all 11 players and tight defending then they could have taken Holland down but US coach was too smart for himself. ESPN pundits only rate the team high if they attack continuously and non stop like Brazil leaving the back vulnerable. Brazil’s strength is their chink in the armor too. A team with better forwards will defeat them!
Van-Gal is a sleazy MF!! He has seen how we have been unable to create chances whatsoever when opposition park the bus and Australia took it up the notch by not giving us possession by passing ball in their own half and disrupting the flow by not giving Argentina ball makes our forwards and midfield toothless! The only negative in the last match was the zero chances we created until Messi scored. After that we controlled the match until the unlucky goal! With Dimaria back in the lineup , Dutch can’t have their wingers run freely like they did against the US. Even their counter attacks won’t be full-fledged. We have fast players like Alvarez-MacAllister-Enzo to help move the ball forward and into the goal. Not conceding early and not-conceding at all again will be Scaloni’s approach and it has worked so far and if we can score early then Dutch will leak a lot of goals.
I think apart from the qualification, the most important thing is to understand why the team was in trouble against Australia. To me, Australians play exactly the same style as Saudi Arabia. Very tense pressing in the middle, almost 7 players to contain the 3 midfielders and Messi in a very compact way and leave our fullbacks free because they know that’s our weakness. I think that really matters. Netherlands will probably play the same, but maybe with less intensity, Scaloni need to find a way to fix that. Yesterday it was ok because we had a De Paul exceptional in every physical challenge and Messi in a good day. But it was not a win collectively.
Australia defeated Denmark and Tunisia by playing similar strategy. ESPN pundits were not slow to blame their opponents that they played bad but Australia outplayed them and their coach! They have tall strong players and their defense is the best we have faced so far. Denmark and Tunisia were forced into playing bad by the Socceroos. They approached France with attacking mindset, even scored the first goal, created numerous chances too exposing gaps in the French midfield and defense but after that match they changed their strategy to high defensive line and advanced to the knockout stage. ESPN pundits are not giving credits to small teams instead they cherry pick the errors made by the big teams totally disregarding the fact that those errors were forced by the smaller teams.
352
####messi
#########dimaria
##ALVAREZ#DEPAUL
ACUNA#ENZO####MOLINA
#LICHA#OTAMENDI#ROMERO
Then turn into 433
#alvarez
#####messi##dimaria
##acuna##depaul
#####Enzo
licha # Otamendi #romero#molina
or 442
###Alvarez#messi
acuna#enzo#depaul#dimaria
licha#otamendi#romero#molina
or4141
####Alvarez
acuna#messi#depaul#dimaria
########enzo
licha # Otamendi #romero#molina
sometimes no striker at all
1,acuna ,licha ,otamendi mark drumfries and gakpo.
2,enzo depaul ,dimaria connect the whole team .
3,with Alvarez being a striker or left central midfield .he is good at highline pressing definitely more useful than mcallister.
4, when we lead 1 goal ,perhaps put messi in front.as striker .with dimaria ,depaul ,Alvarez support him .
to start with 433 ,then defense at 352. the main point is alvarez
the problem is Molina will be attacked by dutch forwards and midfielders as he tends to lose possession under high press. sort this issue and we are good to go. They have players from Atlanta who can press high. can correa replace molina.
352 definitely deserves a try but replace mcallister with Alvarez.
####Messi
#########Dimaria
##Alvarez#depaul
Acuna##Enzo####molina
##licha#Otamedi#Romero
I think Alvarez can be left central midfield, he is good at defense also .we need to play counter attack.
Holland play 3412 ,they play simple direct football with attack from two sides .drunfires and gakpo is dangerous. their weakest link is their left side .with 352 we can easily turn into 433 .I don’t suggest we play 352 without Alvarez. since mcallister, Enzo, de Paul combination is not good enough .
totally agreed and I think Scaloni will switch to this formation during the match if he doesn’t start with it. The most important thing is to let Enzo play in his real position and not too deep between the CBs and this 3 men defense fix that. I worry also about Otamendi and so need absolutely Lisandro.
Argentina is miles ahead of the Dutch. Argentina will beat holland. Support whatever team Scaloni put on the field. Australia didn’t do anything in yesterdays game before the lucky goal. Football is about momentum and Australia got some after their goal. However had we put away one or two of our many chances the score would be more reflective of Argentina’s dominance. In the last two games Argentina went up against two opponents with tall physical game and they nullified them.
3-5-2 probably the best way to go.
Remember reading in angels with dirty faces, billardo went 3-5-2 from the quarters in 86. It was to sure up the middle of the park. I firmly believe that set up when we went 1 nil up v Poland was a ploy for the rest of the world cup. 4-3-3 to get the first goal, then go to a back 3.
It’s almost telling the opposition “now you come at us, and we’ll hit you on the counter ” besides it sures up the midfield.
Now to the business end, this is going to be the true test against the Dutch. Memories of Bergkamp 98 still haunts me
Van Gaal: “The further we get in the tournament, the less adjusting we will face from our opponents. I don’t expect Spain, France, Argentina.. to adjust to us. So we will have a big chance.”
I said earlier LVG needs good humbling.
messi should come out with his 3 best performance of his life, it’s now or never
8 years ago Belgium coach and Van Gaal said the same thing when meeting Argentina. They said “we know their weakness. You will see in the match tomorrow”.
I am sure Scaloni will take precaution. The truth is Holland’s approach is good for us. We struggled against high pressing side. If they give up possession and do not press our defense, good for us.
Interestingly, Ecuador changed their formation to back 3 in group stage where they went toe to toe with Netherlands. May be back 3 is worth considering and hopefully, Scaloni is as pragmatic as Sabella otherwise dutch counterattack is lethal.
I would like to request everyone to get behind the team and coaches. team selection never satisfies everyone.
We are on the right path..
Vamos Argentina
From Bangladesh
Just read all the posts since the victory. Many interesting posts and a few impulsive ones 😉
One remark was excellent. Someone pointed out that Scaloni used all 5 subs before the 90 minutes were up. If we had to go to extra time, there would be no possibility to bring Correa or Dybala. That is in retrospective a huge mistake.
There’s +1 sub in extra time.
Only in case of a head injury?
No. We can do a 6th in extratime and one more in case of Head Injury
Richard, Dybala & A. Correa are just numbers that made up or make up the 26; Scaloni does not have any plans to play them both. Foyth is finished aswell for NT, he will never get selected for the next Copa. Anyways it’s too risky to bring these untested players and play them in KO stage of a world cup. A wise coach would have given them mins during group stage.
.
If at all he had an option to sub someone, he would have brought in his Parades or Pezella.
.
Scaloni is riding on Grace nothing else.
I am afraid you are correct, Chalz.
After the WC probably 6 players will retire from the NT. Maybe Dybala will finally get his chance. The rebuild will most likely include Garnacho, Soule and Zeballos. N. Perez will most likely come in for Otamendi.
Vs Holland 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 ARG need to play with 3-4-1-2 imo. Emi Romero Ota Lisandro Acuna Enzo De Paul Molina Messi Julian Di Maria. Drop the possession to be not vulnerable against the counters after ball losses. The difference of the players qualities have to decide in a conservative gameplan.
Scaloni think that Montiel is better defender than Molina and Foyth, but it the complete opposite. Foyth is error prone but he is still miles ahead of Montiel.
Players with the most first goals in WC history:
Messi 6 (from 9 goals)
Vieri 6 (9)
Villa 6 (9)
Thomas Müller 5 (10)
Paolo Rossi 5 (9)
Luis Suárez 5 (7)
Schillaci 5 (6)
Klose 4 (16)
Ronaldo 4 (15)
Pelé 4 (12)
Batistuta 4 (10)
Ademir 4 (9)
Careca 4 (7)
Matthäus 4 (6)
Romário 4 (5)
Players with at least 10 WC goals:
Klinsmann 3 (11)
Lineker 3 (10)
Lato 3 (10)
Gerd Müller 2 (14)
Fontaine 1 (13)
Kocsis 1 (11)
Rahn 1 (10)
Cubillas 1 (10)
Seeler 0 (9)
Messi will be around 10-12 goals after the WC
Klinsmann 3 (11) –> What is 3 here?
From his overall 11 WC goals only 3 were first/open/most important goal in a match.
I once remarked that I wasn’t a fan of Lautaro but I was mocked by someone here. I wasn’t surprised by his miss yesterday.
Great for you. Be happy. Cheers. What a great predictor you are.
Before the world cup start no one think even in dream lautaro miss this type of chances. We should easily won 4-1/3-1. But what is what!
Under pressure lica,emi save boost our defensive mentality. Knockout game never gonna easy whoever opponent is..
Defence, mid, attack we have better player than nederland. Anyday We are better team than them.but in football always better team not win. But i think we win against nederland in regular time.
Btw i just saw again the game, lautaro last shot wast not bad at all, Australia defender block it and there keeper somehow save it😂
Never play lautaro again. He is completely out of form right now. He missed like 4 sitters so far in this tournament. Dybala deserved to get his chance more than lautaro. Scaloni favoritism is killing this team.
Scaloni favouritism has definitely killed Argentina team.
When we could have brought the best 26 to this world cup, we brought unfit, injured, out of form players and clowns.
Scaloni has also proved that Argentine coach curse is big and engulfed anyone who took over NT.
Who do you have in mind .other than these current squad? Garnacho may be but he doesn’t have much senior team appearance with him to be considered ,all other youngsters playing in elite teams proved in their respective league. Apart from this I can’t see better options available outside our squad.
Individual brilliance is a must to get us through in each game as we don’t have creativity as a team apart from few bright spots here and there.
.
It’s drama every game … No outright crushing wins against any teams … Have to be on the edge of the seat in every Argentina game. Win big and easy guys, give us a breather, otherwise we fear every opponent move or delays in breaking deadlocks. The longer it’s gets for us to score goals, we live in fear.
.
Papu Gomez has no more business into the playing 11 in the reminder of the world cup games (what a rubbish game he had today). He has to retire from NT after this world cup, pure stupidity to bring him when we had speed merchants like Garnacho. Garnacho is a missing link in this team, we are really struggling without a speed merchant. Scaloni is a moron to not bring in a fast, fresh young man who would run and terrorise defenders.
.
I’m not a big fan of Macalister, he is a lazy player but does his job as instructed by the coach (for me he is a liability). But I would be happy if he is a workaholic like De Paul. He is going to start the next game too, hope he ups his game and shares burden more.
.
Dybala had a chance to come in today after the 2-0 but it changed after Australia pulled back 1. Now I don’t think Dybala will get a chance anymore in this world cup, as it is very risky to try a player in KO stages with no prior match practice and he has not gelled into this team as yet… It could back fire. Not sure why he was selected to the world cup then, atleast Scaloni should have brought in a workaholic midfielder instead.
.
Lautaro, goodness me… Wanted to slap him. Don’t want to write more as everyone has commented here about him, we don’t need him anymore for the remaining matches. It’s sad we don’t have a pure striker nowadays as the breed of Batistuta, Creso during the days of Messi. Hope we can find a pure poacher / forward soon.
Have to be on the edge of the seat in every Argentina game. Win big and easy guys, give us a breather, otherwise we fear every opponent move or delays in breaking deadlocks. The longer it’s gets for us to score goals, we live in fear. -> so so true… every game, we fear seeing the Argentina we dread reappear. and we are at that point still where things can easily tip either side. cue KSA match. always must be so dramatic for us. sigh.
I don’t want to spoil our victory party, nor want to spread negativity. We are playing well and developing as the tournament progresses. However, I have few concerns on Scaloni’s tactics.
1. Scaloni is a good coach with usually good pre-match game planning. But I am concerned about his in-match tactics. He seems to fail responding opponents changing tactics during the match. For example, he failed to come up with a good plan after Saudi Arabia surprised him with a high line. Wing backs are usually more useful in beating high line offside traps, as they run from deep and can escape the notice of centre backs who usually commands the position and alignment of back line. We didn’t take that path although arguably our fastest player is Molina.
2. Even today in the second half, when Australia started pressing with 3 forwards upfront, Scaloni’s understandably changed his formation to 5-3-2 but that did not match his substitutions. Our midfield became too thin. This was partly because DePaul and Enzo were too tired to cover the field (all attacks came from right side), and partly because Lautaro did not fall back to make it 5-4-1 while defending (I think A Correa could have been a better sub instead of Lautaro for a defensive 5-3-2). Palacios was running, but he couldn’t fit himself into the formation.
3. Substitutions were made without any contingency plan. After 80 mins mark, We exhausted our all five subs with 8 defensive-minded players, and 2 forwards on field. What would happen had the game gone into extra time? Who would take penalties in tie-breaker? Messi, Lautaro, probably DePaul , then?
4. Scaloni is still working to find the rhythm in the team. We no longer see any creativity, one touch passing and one-to-one passing with Messi. I don’t fully blame Scaloni for this. Suddenly Messi is surrounded by a bunch of new players- Alvarez, Mac A, Enzo and out of touch De Paul. I’m not surprised that we had exactly two shots on goal up until the point we scored two goals.
5. Good thing is our boys are playing with high spirits. They had celebrated today’s win with fans through one hour after the match before security people intervened. Moving forward, I hope we will be able to keep our defense tight, and someone will show up when Messi will be having an off-day.
If it was went to penalties thn our penalty takers would be
1.messi
2.lautaro
3.depaul
4.otamendi or Romero
5.enzo
Netherlands game won’t be easy at all. If we can score an early goal (like against Belgium 2014) then we would be fine but if not then we have to prepare to win in the ugliest way.
Last night Scaloni took out some of his PK takers. If the game had gone to PK shootout, who would take the PK? Messi, De Paul, Enzo, Lautaro for sure. Against Netherlands, we have to prepare for the PK shootout too in case their defense is too hard to break.
Guys against Netherlands, I don’t think we can afford to be pretty and dominate and still win. We have to be very cautious because they are letting us to attack them. I know this because Van Gaal uses Conte’s tactic (or Conte uses Van Gaal tactic). Like Conte Spurs, they rely 100% on the quick counter attack. I remember Sabella Argentina is the only coach who wasn’t falling into this trap. Everybody else fell into their trap and lost big time including: Spain in group stage and Brazil in the bronze medal game. They both suffered a huge loss against Netherlands.
If you remember why Costa Rica managed to take them the PK shootout in 2014? Because Costa Rica did not attack them. They were not an offensive team.
Sabella was cautious. He did not want to attack them that much. Netherlands also doing the same. So the game became boring but we won anyway. Conte’s 3-4-3/Lous Van Gaal 3-4-3 won’t work if you don’t attack them with all force. So expect an ugly game vs Netherlands (again UNLESS we score a goal in the first half) because that’s the only way to win against them.
The Dutch right side is dangerous. Tagli is always being viewed as the one who is better defensively compared to Acuna but Tagli defense was poor last night. Not sure who to start here. The same goes to the right side. Molina or Montiel for Scaloni. I agree Montiel has been bad but Scaloni would tell his fullback to defend mostly anyway.
would it make sense to use Correa instead of Molina and play 3-4-3
Scaloni has been cautious. In first half, Enzo was operating from between 2 CB. This is to maintain numerical superiority in counter attacks.
We had won ugly before. Copa America final.
I would say, dropping defensive midfielder between CBs is not necessarily to preclude counter attacks. Teams employ this tactics when 2/3 opponent forwards start pressing defenders. In such cases, DM drops down to provide numerical advantage and helps bring the ball out of the defense. Enzo moved up when ball moved up to the attacking third.
@el principe
what do you reckon Lisandro Martinez as a Left back?
just like us most of their attacks comes from their right side, Tagliafico cannot be trusted, Acuna is on the Yellow Card
I think from quarter finals yellow cards r reset so its okay
Licha can play left back but Scaloni never tried him before. I doubt if he will. He tried Licha as DM for few minutes though but never left back. I think Scaloni is pretty satisfied with Acuna/Tagli. It is just I don’t know which one he would choose against Netherlands.
Of course he takes notes that the Dutch right side is very strong.
Against Netherland we have to play back 3 with lisandro ota Romero…we can’t take those risks becoz of Holland fast wingers…3-4-1-2 with Molina and Acuna play the full back, mid de paul and Enzo with di Maria and Alvarez at front…..let’s see wat Scaloni do 🇦🇷🤙
About McAllister
Let me start by saying that I’m not a McAllister hater. I often comment on him because I think he is a weak link in the midfield and hasn’t been justified himself for numerous starring roles by Scaloni except for the Poland game.
I know that many of you are fans of McAllister. Someone even went as far as hoping Mac to fill Messi’s shoes after the GOAT retires. I had been utterly unimpressed by Mac and lately start questioning myself – if I am watching the same game as you are.
I decided to do my third doctoral degree, this time on McAllister. El_principe and Insider already beat me earning PhDs on the same topic though 😆
Over the last few games, I specifically focused on McAllister’s play and I found one clue why many people actually like him. That is, when we watch the game, we follow the ball and not follow an individual player. Well, follow McAllister and You will develop a different opinion. Mac has his brilliant moments- 1/2 key passes/runs and people tend to judge his whole game by those few brilliant moments. Mac also positions himself near the opposition box in most times, that’s why you see him when we come to score a goal. I wouldn’t disagree that he sometimes gets into good position to make a simple but good pass. But this should not be all to judge McAllister.
As MaxiLopez also pointed out, Mac by moving further up on the field leaves a huge hole in the midfield- widening the gap between Enzo and him. This forces Messi to drop deep and sometimes Acuna to move more centrally. Needless to say that it puts extra stress on Enzo and DePaul to cover the space.
Against Poland, it’s wasn’t a big issue as Poland was parking the bus and the game was more centered around Poland’s D box. But, against teams who don’t play ultra defensive, this is a big problem. Our midfield becomes isolated for Enzo/parades and DePaul. Our formation becomes something like 4-2-4. Messi drops deep.
Could Scaloni have instructed McAllister to play like that? Possible. But, I wonder how on earth Scaloni would advice McAllister to play as a second striker role (as Insider rightly noticed) leaving the Right midfield space empty when we already have 3 forwards in a 4-3-3? Does Mac has made a name for himself scoring a lot of goals from open play? Moreover, why would Scaloni allow Messi to drop deep?
Now, set aside tactical reasons, McAllister is the laziest player on the pitch. If you don’t trust me, follow him during the game or check his statistics. He has the lowest touches/passes among the midfielders. His work rate is only better than Emi Martinez.
Let’s look into his statistics against Australia today:
Number of touches:
McAllister 55
Enzo 114
DePaul 102
Messi 75
Passes (completed) accuracy
McAllister 42(38) 90%
Enzo 100(92) 92%
DePaul 87(73) 84%
Messi 58(51) 88%
Lost possession
McAllister 8
Enzo 10
DePaul 18
Messi 14
Note that McAllister played 80 mins whereas the rest from the list played the full match. But, this is a trend that is consistent dissing the first 45 mins and across all games McAllister played with us.
If you think I am biased against McAllister, please follow him every minute during the game, while you follow the ball.
The truth is even though he is not as bad as when he first was introduced as a project but he has flaws too that a lot of people don’t see. For me he is more like Tagliafico/J Correa type of player. Scaloni love them, they are useful tactically, but they are originally quite limited in some ways.
Against Poland, it was MacAllister best game of his life without doubt. But I am not sure if there is any player in the history of futbol can change from being a limited weapon offensively to be a deadly weapon offensively in only 24 hours. Maybe it is not a fluke what he did against Poland. It was just his good days but he still IS very limited offensively.
Take the game last night. Anytime he was in one of one situation, 99% of them he would just play is safe and did back pass. It is the opposite of direct wingers such as Garnacho or Di Maria for example, they would always take their man and tried to deliver killer balls or cross or shoot.
Also another reason why he got fewer touches than his teammates, yes also because he moved up too high, but also because his teammates doesnt really trust him that much when it comes to giving him a one on one situation. I watched many times in the WC where De Paul and Acuna especially these two reluctant to give the ball to MacAllister when MacAllister was isolated in left. I think that’s because deep inside his teammates know that Mac is not a one on one player.
I think Scaloni will still start him against Netherlands because he needs his defensive capabilities. That’s where he is supposed to be good at. Stay there, be good at what you are doing and just don’t be someone you are not.
well said.then the next question would be is there not anyone, outside of the 26, or even with the 26, that that do his role. scaloni should know best we’ll just have to take it as that.
totally agree
Yes I found him neutral, maybe too much. What annoyed me the most is his position but I think it’s more due to Scaloni’s tactics. He didn’t give much support to Acuna and not much playing with the defenders and forced Enzo to play too deep.
Thi forums turns to Dybala fans page negativity in here is insane because thier loved one didn’t play I don’t understand what Dybala did in Argentina shirt for last 5 years warranty him to start.
Let me tell you , football isn’t as is used be in 20 years ago , where is European champion who knock them out
Macedonia at all people, before the deflect goal arg were in total control after that we were little panicked but Characters and team fight/ spirits counts two martinez showed when we need most I really believe the Netherlands will suited to play than physical nothing to lose team like Australia. I don’t care your negativity I will watch next R16 matchs with smile on my face know Messi and Co are here to be world champion.
I agree with you
Insha allah I agree
What utter load of garbage.
People want Dybala to play because he is one of the best ARGENTINE players, not the other way around. I have followed Dybala’s career for the same reason as everyone’s from Lautaro’s to Pezzela’s – because they are Argentine, and I love Argentine football. We want Argentina to succeed. To do that, the best Argentine players need to be involved.
What chances did Dybala get in the past five years to prove anything? In the last 450 minutes he has played, he scored 2 goals and got 3 assists, including the winner for the Copa 2019 3rd place. That is pretty damn great for a player who has never been allowed to build chemistry with his international teammates.
World cup football now is more dependent than ever on pieces of individual brilliance. Argentina in this world cup so far have continuously been rescued by individual brilliance, from Messi, from Lisandro, Emi or Enzo. Only deranged fanboys will fail to see that the team game of Argentina has struggled. They have struggled with creativity. Struggled with finesse. There is no excuse today to prefer out-of-form Lautaro and Gomez over a creative goal-scoring in-form phenomenal talent like Dybala today.
Not even in the team for the warmup games. Not a single minute during group games. Even reserve player Almalda got to play, but not one of the most premium forwards in Europe. It is a failure of team selection, and a disservice to Dybala, to Argentina, to the art of Football, and it may hurt the team cometh the hour. It is not matter of opinion or fandom. It is an objective fact.
PREACH!
There were several good points that we can take from this game. But the list of worries might be longer considering the fact that next match is with an European giant which is truly big and they virtually outplayed USA strategically. Of the good points the topper would be the young guns Enzo, Alvarez and MacAllister who are taking pride in the blue-white stripes. Then comes Messi’s form in alternate games. Third would be how the defence looked fairly solid till we had to consume an accidental goal. Fourth was how we played our heart out just after 48 hrs of playing a critical match with Poland. De Paul, Alvarez led the tireless effort and inspired everyone including Messi. But what would leave the fans extremely worried is how the same defence looked very shaky after the goal. That is a pleasant sight for the Dutch. Before Messi’s magic we were clueless to create any chance whatsoever because the Australians were putting up a high-up defence and quickly taking positions to crowd the box. Lautaro’s form is at the rock bottom. But I don’t think that is the issue. The issue with Lautaro was how he approached the game. He did not press upfront like Alvarez and that helped Australia build up the pressure and quickly penetrate into our half. That attitude of Lautaro is of bigger concern than his form because, anyway, he is not starting. Alvarez would start and then be replaced by him. The moment that happens any upline pressure would vaporize. Third big worry is there is no special connect of anyone with Messi. Unlike Lo Celso, Paredes and De Paul, who connect with Messi so well, in the current starting lineup there is no one other than De Paul. I am leaving aside Di Maria for the time being. The next big worry is that Dybala, Correa and Foyth are not getting any game time. Easily Dybala could have been in the starting lineup instead of Papu Gomez. Anyway, lack of any proper strategy from Scaloni remains an issue and he believes individuals like Messi and Emi would always come to save his job.
totally agree with your points and I too echo on most of these when I reflect post match.
Lautaro – adopts a different approach. so fresh in the game when most from both teams might be tired out but still not even pressing and harressing the opposition goalie and backline. while Julian having played so much was still full of pressing. obvious different form and confidence. couldn’t even stretch the goalie and put the ball on target when open on the left. sigh… if julian was injured, who is his replacement? is the replacement even current and active and trusted?
ADM – obvious the penetration on the wing (and link up play with Messi) was missing if he was not playing. not sure how the team would be need to be training and improving on their link up play with Messi. Then again, might be good if we want to reduce our reliance,m dependency and key man risk.
Enzo, RDP, Mac were stable, constantly passing well and working hard and effective but didn’t seem to be offering any creativity… perhaps AUS was just packing and closing really well…
yeah, not sure why the defence was struggling to keep AUS at bay. yes, I understand it’s all guns balzing as they chase for the equaliser, all their big guys have stayed up and they were going to pump the balls into our box but it shouldn’t have been so unnerving and unnerving. Our 3 CBs were solid and putting their bodies on the line, wingbacks were running (please don’t bring up Tagliafico) and midfield was getting a bit overrun. so was wondering why Scaloni brought on Palacios instead of Guido or Parades to beef up the midfield. both of them are taller and should be able to help Enzo. Perhaps Scaloni also had thought AUS would equalise and had extra timr on his mind in which case cannot be all out defensive? not sure but it was perplexing to me. I can understand no Dybala as we can’t have yet another walking around without pressing but why not sub out and rest Messi and play Dybala? yes Dybala is no Messi but should still be good?
Foyth is miles better Montiel and Molina.
Only Scaloni could give mins to finished player like papu and farmer player like Montiel over foyth and Dybala.
Match thoughts:
CONS
-We have a habit of passing TOO much in the back, I pray that it won’t come to bite us in the rear one day(literally)
-Scaloni should give Paulo a chance; I frankly don’t believe this “Paulo and Messi can’t play together” crap. 90% of these comments are written by lazy couch coaches that haven’t played football a day in their life. If a player truly has that much trouble adapting with specific attacking position in a match they arguably wouldn’t have even made it to a professional level to begin with
-Papu and De Paul should not see 90 minutes, De Paul is probably the least impressive player on the team besides our fullbacks. The guy can be good at holding the ball but he does not connect well with ANYONE but Messi.
-We need faster wingers, DiMaria can start over Correa but at some point in the game they should be swapped, I notice DiMaria gets sloppier after 60th minute.
PROS:
-Our youngsters are all solid and contributing. Mac, Enzo(own goal was a bit sad), and Alvarez have been in form mostly
-Defense line are shaky
-We are managing to score and our pressing is getting better
-Not getting too many fouls, I am surprised Ota hasn’t racked up yellows
Poor analysis
Good analysis
“Defence line are shaky” in pros wot ever he meant.
De Paul is getting better day by day and do we really want him to be benched lol
Why not try Paulo Dybala? Is he injured? Don’t try Pappu Gomez plz.
He is killing the game and building up. Even Angel Correa would have done better with his pressing.
Mr Scaloni, plz for God Sake don’t do silly mistakes this time.
Dybala stole Scaloni’s lunch.
Seriously though, as this is not the first time Dybala has been inexplicably excluded despite being in stellar form (in fact it has happened time and time again in the past 10 years), I daresay the reason has to do with something other than football, like his Italian-Polish ethnicity. AFA is notorious for this nonsense, and it has cost the national team many times in the past.
May be Dybala is the secret weapon in Scalonis arsenal
😅
It does not work like that. You can not suddenly bring out a player for the world cup semifinal after totally excluding them in all warm up and group games and expect them to succeed.
It is beyond the point of no return for Dybala. I hope he resigns from the national team after this.
Important thing was to win. I never had doubt before the match or during. But, not satisfied. We struggled more than expected.
It was a difficult match, just like KSA game. But we have done better. Australia also have just 2 shots on goal similar to KSA. Unlucky for us again as 1 goal and almost goal in those shots. Total 3 times Australia came very close to score.
First they were making it very difficult. After we were up by 2-0, they tried. We had our chances also after that space opened. But somehow Lautaro missed those. Dybala almost never miss those chances. Lautaro going through one of his worst form ever that’s when we need him most..!
All the teams played against us were using different tactics than they normally use and they were very defensive.
Next game will be different. We will have to stop quick counters. Same time utilise our chances. Defense should be little more organized. Last minutes of Australian game, sometimes we were shattered by their attack.
Hopefully, this game will make us more concious against Netherlands.
australia was also playing the high line of defence against us. they compact the midfield area then our midfield was struggling. Scaloni has to find a counter to this strategy. also need height against holland. it makes sense to drop mac-Allister and add height in midfield.
I would say the main concern for me is Mcallister.
our formation is 433 .as a left central midfield you should help Enzo and depaul connected the whole team. Enzo did a great job except the own goal .depaul cover lots of ground contribute both in attack and defense though he isn’t at his best form.
However Mcallister didn’t know how to play . Always go forwards when Australia is pressing our midfield that is dangerous. the gap between Enzo and mcallister is very large . Suppose it is a triangle midfield sometimes it becomes 4231or 4141 with Mcallister and depaul go forwards at the same time .
Scaloni need to solve this problem. perhaps using Paredes partner Enzo and depaul is better .
Without the instructions of Scaloni, Mac Allister will never play higher up the pitch. May be he’s instructed to press higher and connect with Acuna and Messi mainly. He tried to do that even though space was very tight there.
perhaps that is scaloni s decision. But it is really dangerous versus Holland. especially they are very good at their right side .
You need to inform this to Scaloni. Don’t use him higer up the pitch against Holland.
Many here said, Mac Allister is just DM and offense is zero. Now you want him to sit back..! So, all the 3 midfielders sit back when Australia clearly made it difficult to pass..! Somebody should go near the forwards. Scaloni put him. When Australia went forward in numbers..he was dropping back. All the Australian attack were last minutes and Ma Allister was not there on the pitch that time. Anybody saw his replacement Palacios..?
Among many McAllister fans, I have been questioning myself whether I was watching the wrong game of Mac. Good to know that someone else caught the issue where McAllister.
And, insider will come up anything to protest, not a surprise
You are now always write only Mac Allister negative things.
Mac Allister last 4 matches for Argentina.
Goal -1
Assist – 1
Key passes- 6
Big chances created – 2
Tackle – 6
Ground duel won – 13 out of 16
Possession lost – Just 18
Passing accuracy – 90%+
Passing accuracy in opposition area – 90%+
You know honestly this place has been quite a toxic now. Seriously it has what I call “Outlaw syndrome”.
Back then Outlaw (gonzalo..) was doing the same to the whole forum. What he did was he targeted the senior players especially Di Maria, Aguero, and Higuain and no matter what they did, he would always criticize them. And he always promoted all the shitty unknown bla bla bla from the local league and no matter what those nobodies did, he always praised them like the next Mbappe is coming to town. Thats so ugly and it makes the forum very unhealthy.
Now it is the same thing. Di Maria not the target anymore. Now Papu… SMH.
It any of your favorite player would do 100% of what Papu did last night, I know what you guys would do. You guys would praise him like crazy because:
1. He did not misplace any pass at all I think (i don’t remember at least).
2. He was the one winning the FK that finally resulted in goal
3. He never got dispossessed
4. He had some mazy dribbling that was quite effective breaking the defense of The Aussies
5. He only got substituted NOT because he was that bad but because he injured his ankle!
Think if the one doing all 5 of the above is your favorite player. You would be like… wow we are so lucky to have “ur fave player”. He had an amazing performance for us. The same thing as Papu vs Saudi. if any of ur favorite player should have had 2 assist from split defense passes, u guys would praise him like crazy.
It seriously reminds me of the Outlaw day. He did that to the whole forum. I think I was inactive from this forum for 3 years because I got tired of how Outlaw had changed this place into: from a wonderful place of Albiceleste fans to a biased place where there is a new world of “all youngsters are godlike and all seniors are demons”. It is like the right becomes wrong and the wrong becomes right.
As for MacAllister, he played Average at best. AVERAGE! Without him contributing to that first goal, he would have had a below average performance. So stop hailing him yet as if he deserves the number 10 shirt from Messi once Messi retires (one poster said that). That’s the most ridiculous thing ever.
The truth is we might need him vs Netherlands because Scaloni uses him as a left midfielder and Dutch right wing is dangerous, but he was average in the match. Stop being biased ala Outlaw please. Stop spreading the outlaw syndrome.
Is he still around? Remember “Memphis Depay to be better than Messi” call from him?
I left because I couldn’t take anymore Maximiliano Meza props from him lmao.
@istiaque
Outlaw not here anymore, although I know he is still lurking. But this forum is slowly becoming like when it was in his era again. I mean u said that Outlaw said that Memphis Depay is better than Messi. What’s the different with now? Someone also says that MacAllister should wear the number 10 jersey when Messi retires?
I know ppl are entitled to their opinion, but such things are comical.
el_ principe you are 100% right, for me papu played well….He is the biggest messi hater then, He also criticise messi even after messi hattrik against Ecuador let Argentina to Russia world cup…He was the biggest fan of Maxi Meza…
Yeah I remember that. When Messi scored a hattrick against Ecuador in a must win game. Outlaw said “we have to change, we are so dependent on Messi”. That moron is super biased. When Messi and Di Maria won Copa, he is completely gone.
How are we gonna disect Netherlands they are not a team which is possession based. Infact they allow the opponent to have all the possession and suddenly if gets an opening will score out of it.
Means we will have plenty of possession but wont be much useful. Virjil Van Dyk is a calm defender who never panics. No idea how we are gonna score. Also any hope of seeing Dybala is over now. If Scaloni wont field Dybala against the likes of smaller teams. Now no way he will field him against the bigger opponents.
As of now Dybala is an enigma, the dream of seeing Messi and him interchanging positions and playing are never gonna be seen again.
We’ll see Dybala when we’re desperate, like against Crotia last WC, when there’s nothing for him to do. It’s totally unfair.
there are several problems need to be addressed
1, MCALLISTER
Mcallister is the main point ,supposed it is 433 and a triangle midfield with Enzo protects the 4 backs and de Paul, Mcallister connected with messi. However Mcallister always move forward ,sometimes he is behind Alvarez. That is unacceptable which make the formation into 4231 .He didn’t contribute too much in midfield control nor defense except a score last match ,he isn’t impressive at all . He should strike a balance and know how to play as a left central midfield.
2,MISSING DIMARIA
Papu can’t replace di Maria. that s all nor benefit in defending.
3, substitute
It is dangerous to substitue at such an early stage in second half. Licha is OK since Mcallister can’t benefit the midfield, licha can turn the formation into 343,with acuna moving forward benefit the midfield. the main problem is Mcallister go far too forward . substitute off Alvarez and acuna was the worst decision. Lautaro is unfit ,tagliafico is moderate .also montiel didn’t help in defense.especially they are too short.
4,Mcallister, Enzo, depaul combination doesn’t work
if you specifically look at Mcallister the whole match you will find he is the one always go forwards didn’t go back to connected our midfield. actually he didn’t offer key pass nor long shot nor benefit in defense .absolutely useless .
In conclusion :
1,Mcallister should be benched
2,Acuna is far more better than tagliafico
3,Enzo Paredes depaul is a better choice
4, Papu can’t replace di maria
holland weakness is their goalkeeper with respect to experience. Nathan ake and timber, are great ball carriers but their defensive capabilities are suspect. with respect to Argentina, our only suspect area is Molina and Montiel. we have leaked all the 3 goals from the right side. Argentina would be better with 3-4-3. the only question mark is who will be the midfielder or wingback. I am thinking
emi
cuti-otamendi-lisandro
correa-RDP-Enzo-acuna
di maria -messi-alvarez
if acuna need to be replaced , move paredes in
actually holland isn’t strong but very good at team works and tactics.
they play 352 ,most of the attack come from the right side .they didn’t attack from middle .always use right back or left back as two wingers .Their counter attack is fast all in all versus Holland is a difficult match. we should pay more attention in our two sides especially our left side
Great analysis, we need Paredes back for Midfield to click!
Versus Holland, Argentina play 433 should be careful, especially our left side .Mcallister should focus on defense .Holland ‘s Gakpo,or right back dumfries are very dangerous .Their weakest link is central midfield and left side. So dimaria is the main point.
Argentina should heavily attack their left side and focus on their counter attack on right side .I think both teams will be more conservative in fist half .perhaps Holland may not press our midfield so heavily in first half .But if Holland do so ,our central midfield should be dangerous .so I would use Paredes replace Mcallister.
Exactly what my reading of the game says about McAllister. Alas, it’s only a few of us who need to schedule a visit with an ophthalmologist!!
Lionel Scaloni should stop making memorized substitutes. 1-2 goals lead and then go into full defensive mode ? If Dybala was in place of Lautaro Martinez, Dybala would have scored at least three goals in two matches.nice tactical battle will coming vaan gaal vs scaloni.
I wish we had granacho too in the squad, he could have played worldcup like messi and mbappe in his teens, 20s, 30s if selected,
Cant see any other teen sensation breaking into worldcup squad next edition for argentina
Also just checked his instagram there is not even a story of us reaching quarter 😌
I hope he will start loving albiceleste irrespective of selection
I am not a huge fan of dybala but he can’t do worse than papu. Papu was nowhere even if he was trying to defend and was closing the space but he was too slow. At least dybala can give us some quality in the final third.
I miss gonzalez.
I m struggling to see how we are going to score goals. We neither have runners nor we have midfielders who can make run from the midfield.
Messi dependecia won’t win us wc.
Better play back 3 because we do have good wingbacks in the form of acuna and molina.
And that macallister guy is ghost sometimes nowhere to be found.
🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷
I am completely positive that we have the team to lift the world cup…VAMOS ALBICELESTEEEEE
People here commenting that match was very close… No it was not.. We control the mactch till own goal… Lautaro should score atleast 1 for his own good also for team…
One question I have is what will be our PK shootout order? They need to be the ones played 120 mins or regular substitutes. In 2014, we had Messi, Garay and Arguero who are excellent at PK. This year I can’t think of anyone other than Lautaro and Messi. Paredes? Otamendi?
Messi macA. Parades enzo lautaro
Yes, MacAllister is good at penalty kick! But I am afraid that he would be subbed off by 120 minutes.
Angel DiMaria wasn’t able to play against Netherlands in 2014. Now he gets the chance to knock out one of our biggest rivals at WC. He will be very important to us.
We have 6 days to rest and take special trainings. I wish everyone come back stronger than ever.
Agree.
While I am very happy with the win, I am also a bit confused as to why Dybala was not given an opportunity even as a substitute. I thought today was a golden opportunity. And I don’t buy this Dybala and Messi can’t play together thing. The few times they played together Argentina did well. I think Dybala will prove himself if he gets decent opportunity.
Also wanted to say that I was impressed with Alvarez. I think he should start and Lautaro can come in as sub. Also hoping that Di Maria will be back fully recovered next game.
Also, Messi played like Messi today. He was good against Poland too, but I think today was just awesome. Lisandro made some great tackles and Emiliano was good despite the goal conceded due to deflection.
Yes you’re right Messi and dybala both can play together….
for me, if Dybala is fit, Alvarez should be replaced by Dybala and he should be asked to press Nathan ake. dybala can score from outside the penalty box and holland’s biggest weakness is their goalkeeper’s aerial ability.
Congratulations on Argentina’s third win. I had predicted 3-0 but the result was a little different. Australia shows how the Asian teams have progressed. In the first half we didn’t find much space. Leo is the difference. MacAllister still plays smart, holds the ball well and is also the one who sparks Leo to score. Julian proved he deserved to start when he and De Paul put pressure and took advantage of opportunities very well. A goal conceded in the opponent’s survival position. They also have better fitness. It was not Enzo’s personal fault. Emi made a spectacular save. Otamendi is still the leader. Cuti, Lisandro is still a monster. Lautaro rarely misses like that. In general, the whole team played well, although there were times when it was distracting when the opponent put pressure on. I believe the team will do even better in the remaining three matches
I normally don’t follow or try to listen other pundits on TV or online however I try to hear what are they saying today about Argentina vs Netherlands. Just realised all of the pundits in Espn already giving the victory to Netherlands. The reason because of their coach also apparently they are better 🙄🙄🙄. I still believe that Netherlands are exactly same team as Italy we played. However we were tired today as clearly seen because our pressing wasn’t as normally as we do. So hopefully 6 days rest could do better and we play game like we played against Italy.
espn and fox know nothing about soccer. I always mute them during half time show. Americans have absolutely zero soccer knowledge. Just look at their Major Junkyard League – pure disgrace. That’s why I don’t like our MLS fraud.
atleast he is playing in a WC…if we are not talented enough, it’s better to shut our mouths and support a 21 yr old kid rather than call him a fraud
The good things I saw are:
messi 2nd half was insane, best individual performance of this wc
de paul was very helpful, the warrior which stabilize the team
Enzo was excellent despite his unlucky goal, very important in defense and in attack
good call from scaloni to switch to 343, it gave more freedom to Messi and the 2 fullbacks, most opportunities were created, the team played more compact.
Lisandro and Acuna, you can always rely on them in any shit situation
Alvarez, this kids altitude is just great, he is a warrior with lot of talent.
Guardiola did us a favor. Alvarez has improved a lot. Now i hope we will see dybala. We don’t want to see such a big superstar become a passenger specially seeing our struggles in front of the goal. Atleast play dybala in last 20-30 minutes as dimaria or Alvarez sub. He is one of our better penalty takers anyway
Licha also improved a lot at MU. Players absolutely need to go to best eropean clubs for trainings and developments. Our MLS fraud will never grow.
All English premier league argentine player like lisandro Martinez, EMI. Martinez, Romero, Macclaster are playing very well. This is the advantage of playing for big league…
Cry more troll.
Scaloni used to sub 5 players in every game, the 2 fullbacks by Tagliafico and Montiel, the attacking midfielder by Lisandro, Mac Allister by Paredes or Palacios and alavarez by lautaro. All those choices made sense because Acuna, Molina and Alvarez are those who sprint the most, Lisandro allowed the 2 fullbacks and Enzo to press higher. But unfortunately except Lisandro, the other subs are just making worse.By the end of the match I have feeling that we played with 10 players as Lautaro made no effort and Palacios was just transparent, Tagliafico was about to give the goal to the Australian striker, Montiel gave away 2 opportunities to the Australians with his poor passing. Lauraro is even worse than Higuain.
the other problem is other subs non used so far may be lack of fitness. you cannot expect foyth and dybala to make the difference now as they were off for so long. So overall Scaloni can only rely on Lisandro over all the subs. Wtf.
Otamendi gave 2 huge opportunities to the Australians, Papu couldn’t make any progressive pass. It’s really a lot. over the 11, 2 players are deficit.
So important for scal to give lautaro private practise shoot ball to empty net..as long as possible for make him realise that he is striker..or special psycis treatment…
I’m totally stunned by the negativity of some mundo posters here. The USA owned Netherlands in the first half. Second, DiMaria did not play today, he is our second best offensive player behind Messi and leap years ahead of Papu. Third, that’s our 4th game in 11 days guys.
Not every player is going to be unbelievable in every game. People ripping on Lautaro are insane. This guy gets hot at the right time and he will score 5 or 6 for us in 2 games.
I am very critical of our team as many of you know but Australia is a far stronger side than most people think. Netherlands has a very strong defense but they sit back and counter attack. I think it will be a difficult game as all of them are once you are out of the group stage but we will win that game.
I agree with everything u said
This is world cup. That too knock out matches. Lautaro can’t score 5-6 goals in 2 matches.
Why can’t he scored 5? I know it’s a bit of a far reach… But it’s possible. 😎
San Isidro is just enthusiastic and staying ultra optimistic which leads to exaggerations…. But you get his point.
I too am a big fan of Toro. He missed an easy shot and he is definitely out of it mentally. But he has the capability as he lead us in scoring for some time I believe.
I am happy that we have Alvarez and he steps up and delivers in the right moments we need him to start. I think he should keep his start over toro for now
The case of Lautaro isn’t just that he couldn’t score but he seemed unfit. Couldn’t run, perhaps one of the slowest runners of the team and couldn’t press, which he used to do a lot.
If Lautaro can’t run and press, how he is an advantage over Dybala?
I like Lautaro and I’m sure that he will come back. But, I think our time for another practice match for Lautaro is over.
I am not sure if we can trust out-of-form players again. I am really worried about Laurato. Higuain was not out form in the WC or Copa, he just missed in the finals. Laurato needs some psycho treatment.
💯
it’s not only a problem of Lautaro, the bench doesn’t provide enough solution, Tagliafico and Montiel were disaster, Palacios was totally transparent. Let’s ignore the wasted opportunities of Lautaro, I have problems with his altitude, he was very static, not even made any effort to press or to run, you cannot walk while the 35y Goat kept running and pressing on the opponents during the last 15 minutes, totally unprofessional. If we add up the goals he missed, it’s just impossible at this level. We cannot afford to have a new Higuain again.
Well put. Dybala will def provide solutions.
Palacios won so many tackles. What match were you watching.?
Tagliafico and lautaro were the worst substitutes.
where the fuck did you see Palacios’s tackles? and what match were you watching?
6 days to try out Angel or dybala upfront. No more lataro plz. I’m gonna start a petition to no more minutes for lataro. He is out of form badly. I’m.not being harsh I’m. Just being realistic. Higuain 2.0 is in the making. He was out of form for inter and he continues at this world cup.
holland play 3412 or 352,actually they only have 2 central midfield. mostly counter attack from 2sides especially their right side. sometimes corners and free kicks. Gakpo and drumfries are the most dangerous . depay is moderate definitely not at his best form yet . their left side is weakest link .
holland didn’t play possession football but their attack is simple and direct from two sides counter attack .since they don’t play possession football which make you feel holland isn’t that strong .I would say holland tactically is typically against Spain or any team who play possession football .
to defeat holland ,Argentina only play counter attack also .focus on their left side ,drumfries and gakpo should be closely marked .actually our left side must focus on defense that is enough pls don’t attack on their right side .our attack should concentrate on dimaria ,Messi and our right side .
Yes, we are in QF, The oldest and youngest coach will meet and Scaloni should really evaluate the tactics and bring more calm to the players. Not to get panicked and lost confidence after conceding a goal. The players look exhausted in the second half. l really hopeful Lautoro will be back, anyhow thanks to Alvarez who can replace him and perform well. Enzo and Parades are interchanging. Paul is not playing at his natural position but still can contribute in 45 minutes. Agree that the lead by 2-0 Scaloni would give chance to Dybala or A Correa. They would kill the game better.
With the more fit ADM , Arg can pass the Netherlands. Van Gaal is a master on the scheme and playing formation. He is enjoying his 3-4-1-2
Papu Gomez not Paul
Kudos to Argentina, despite not showing the real argentina, the important thing is we won. They didn’t have much time to rest up and recovered from previous much, and vs Ausie was very physical game.
Attention to ARG now, we have to shift to our WC quarter final against Netherlands on Dec 9th. Hopefully we will have better recovery.
Vamos Albiceleste!
Nicolas Otamendi’s jump against World Cup’s tallest player (Australia’s H. Souttar – 1.98m)
reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/zbwdgp/nicolas_otamendis_jump_against_world_cups_tallest/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Such a great pic. The height obsessed posters especially need see it
Hey, they took the pic down. You got another link?
Sorry dude!! I don’t!
Here you go. Otamendi jumping way over the tallest player at the WC Harry Souttar – 6′ 6″
imgur.com/a/jizac7B
Thanks 🙏
Please stop anyof our fans talking shit about our brilliant coach. I support Scaloni from the biginning of his carrear in NT. I wrote that in this forum several times ..Only thing I desired when Alvarez substituted.. I think Dyblla will come in for Julian. Bcz Martinez looks outof foam. I loved crucial saves of Lisandro and EMI.overall huge gap felt in midfld..
Comments are closed.