Argentina team from Monday training before semi final match of World Cup

By
Roy Nemer
-
172

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni held a training session on Monday before the team’s match vs. Croatia in the semi finals of the World Cup.

Lionel Scaloni will be without both Marcos Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel for the match as they are both suspended and were not part of the eleven in training. Nicolás Tagliafico spoke at a press conference before the training and he was the left back when the team trained on Monday.

Nahuel Molina, who scored vs. Netherlands in the penalty shootout win was the right back. It was Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister with Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez and Ángel Di María.

Scaloni also tried Leandro Paredes during training as he had substituted Ángel Di María. According to TyC Sports, this was the eleven from training:

Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Lionel Messi Julián Álvarez and Ángel Di María

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172 Comments

  1. Can’t sleep, can’t work, can’t even take a shit properly. Keep watching mundo almost every 1 hour to see how people are feeling about the Albiceleste tonight. For one last time tonight, I think this team has what it takes to win. All we can hope for is NO PANIC, AND NO SWITCHING OFF AFTER SCORING A GOAL OR TAKING A LEAD.

  3. I just rewatched the highlights of croatia game of 2018. It refreshed my memory of that game that had become hazy. Croatia and Argentina were otherwise equal teams. I think Argentina had little more chances. But we lost due to 2 mistakes from GK Caballero. The 1st and 3rd goals were clearly his fault. But the 2nd goal was Modric brilliance. As long as Modric isn’t given enough space to operate, I think we will probably be fine. Also I really hope Dybala gets a little of bit time at least. In the last few years I think he has learned to fit in.

  5. The newest update of the DEFENSIVE RATING Statistics:
    Here is the current new updated statistics. All the games are after Copa America 2021 (the last 17 games including the Netherlands last game).

    New ranking:
    1. Marcos Acuna
    (New 806 minutes/Conceding 0 goal
    without 304 minutes/Conceding 6 goals
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 18 goals and conceding 0 goal
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 5 goals and conceding 6 goals
    Defensive rating: Conceding 0 goal in 806 minutes so far.

    2. Giovani Lo Celso
    Lo Celso 603 minutes/ Conceding 0 goal
    Without him 119 minutes/Conceding 1 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 11 goals and conceding 0 goal
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 3 goals and conceding 1 goal
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 0 goal in 603 minutes so far.

    3. Guido Rodriguez
    (New: 428 minutes/Conceding 1 goal
    Without him 78 minutes/Conceding 0 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 6 goals and conceding 1 goal
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 14 goals and conceding 0 goal
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 428 minutes

    4. Gonzalo Montiel
    (New 396 minutes/Conceding 1 goal
    Without him 354 minutes/Conceding 3 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 5 goals and conceding 1 goal
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 15 goals and conceding 3 goals
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 396 minutes

    5. Alexis MacAllister
    (New 682 minutes/Conceding 2 goal
    Without him 248 minutes/Conceding 2 goals
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 17 goals and conceding 2 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 11 goals and conceding 2 goals
    Defensive Rating: conceding 1 goal every 341 minutes

    6. Rodrigo De Paul
    (New 1257 minutes/Conceding 5 goals
    Without him 213 minutes/Conceding 2 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 31 goals and conceding 5 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 6 goals and conceding 2 goal
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 251.4 minutes

    7. Cristian Romero
    (New 746 minutes/Conceding 3 goals
    Without him 184 minutes/Conceding 2 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 16 goals and conceding 3 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 1 goal and conceding 2 goal.
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 248. 67 minutes

    8. German Pezzella
    (New 475 minutes/Conceding 2 goal
    Without him 365 minutes/Conceding 0 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 12 goals and conceding 2 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 12 goals and conceding 0 goal
    Defensive Rating: conceding 1 goal every 237.5 minutes

    9. Nahuel Molina
    (New: 1152 minutes /Conceding 5 goals
    Without him 228 minutes/Conceding 1 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 29 goals and conceding 5 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 6 goals and conceding 1 goal
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 230.4 minutes

    10. Emi Martinez
    (New 1200 minutes/Conceding 6 goals
    Without him 0 minutes/Conceding 0 goal)
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 25 goals and conceding 6 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 0 goal and conceding 0 goal.
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 200 minutes

    11. Nicolas Otamendi
    (New 1245 minutes/Conceding 7 goals
    Without him 45 minutes/Conceding 0 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 27 goals and conceding 7 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 1 goal and conceding 0 goal
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 177.86 minutes

    12. Lisandro Martinez
    (New 842 minutes/Conceding 5 goals
    Without him 268 minutes/Conceding 2 goals
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 22 goals and conceding 5 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 4 goals and conceding 2 goals
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 168.4 minutes

    13. Papu Gomez
    Papu 458 minutes/Conceding 3 goals
    without him 172 minutes/Conceding 1 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 11 goals and conceding 3 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 4 goals and conceding 1 goal
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 152. 67 minutes

    14. Enzo Fernandez
    453 minutes/Conceding 3 goal
    297 minutes/Conceding 2 goals
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 12 goals and conceding 3 goal
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 8 goals and conceding 2 goals
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 151 minutes

    15. Leandro Paredes
    (New 657 minutes/Conceding 5 goals
    without him 273 mins/Conceding 0 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 17 goals and conceding 5 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 3 goals and conceding 0 goal
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 131.4 minutes

    16. Nicolas Tagliafico
    774 minutes/Conceding 7 goals
    Without him 156 minutes/Conceding 0 goal
    The team goal difference when on the pitch: 17 goals and conceding 7 goals
    The team goal difference when off the pitch: 5 goals and conceding 0 goal
    Defensive Rating: Conceding 1 goal every 110.57 minutes

    Notes:

    1. The numbers we conceded goals in the last 17 matches are 7 goals only (1 against Chile, 1 against Ecuador, 2 against Saudi, 1 against Australia. And 2 against Netherlands)

    2. Acuna is better both offensively and defensively than Tagliafico. Most people think that Tagliafico is a better defender than Acuna, but we conceded 0 goal with Acuna and we conceded 7 goals with Tagliafico on the pitch in similar minutes! Acuna has the BEST DEFENSIVE RATING out of all players. Tagliafico has the WORST DEFENSIVE rating out of all players. This is our major concern. Acuna is MUCH BETTER both defensively and offensive than Tagliafico.

    3. Acuna, Lo Celso, Guido, Montiel, and MacAllister are the top 5 defensive rating players we have.

    4. Cuti Romero has the BEST defensive rating out of all center backs we have. Better than Pezzella, Licha, or Otamendi as we conceded just 1 goal every 248.67 minutes he played.

    5. Offensively Molina is much better than Montiel but defensively Montiel is better as we have conceded 1 goal so far with him on the pitch compared to 5 goals we conceded with Molina on the pitch.

    6. Tagliafico number both offensively and defensively is really bad. We conceded the most with him on the pitch and we scored not that much with him on the pitch. And he has the lowest defensive rating too.

    Safe to say if Scaloni wants to go full defense, the best combinations are Emi; Montiel, Cuti, Otamendi, Acuna; Guido, De Paul, MacAllister, 3 attackers.

    Note: Lo Celso is not here but his defensive rating has been amazing as we conceded 0 goal when he was on the pitch. Only 2 players: Acuna and Lo Celso playing, we conceded 0 goal.

    • If then we are in for huge trouble. The safest option Scaloni can opt for back 3 which he used against Dutch and Aussies, Only issue Tagliafico don’t overlap much like Acuna so we don’t get width, or else can start Licha as a LB in a 4 man back but it will be asking too much of Licha. A.Correa may can do it. After playing all these years under Simeone he should be able to defend and overlap in wings. No guarantees, it will be suicidal to experiment now at the Damn WC Semi final.

  6. My team of the tournament from the semifinalists alone.
    Livotic (Croat GK)
    Juranovic Gvardiol Varane Acuna
    Amrabat
    Modric Rabiot
    Messi Mbabbe
    Giroud

    I’d rate Gvardiol as the best defender of the tournament and Croatian GK as the best in the tournament followed by Bono.

  7. Molina needs to stop Perisic the way Montiel stopped Brazil in the Copa final. Enzo and MacAllister should rush Modric into sending dangerous passes. Alvarez should snatch a few from the almost perfect defence and then pass on to Messi and Di Maria and leave it up to them for some good move. Then a Lautaro, growing in confidence, can come in to replace him at the 65th or 70th. But cannot think of how the left can be made stronger with Tagliafico being so off colour in this tournament.

  11. I’m going to rest, hope today’s game goes well for us.

    I don’t think speculating will do me much good so I think I will take my mind off the game until it starts.

  12. If any games where Dybala could be played as a super sub those are our next 2 games. Bring him on as super sub. Something for which none of our opponents are ready for. Surprise the tiring opponents like what the Dutch did to us. It caught us off guard and they nearly pulled off an upset.

    I respect Scaloni he is some one who has helped us achieve so much,Whatever decision he takes will be okey with me, any player selected to start doesn’t matter Argentina NT as a whole should win that’s it.. In my lifetime since i started watching the Argentina NT (1994 WC match against Greece was my first football match live on TV) none of other coaches were able to make us win anything till now apart from Scaloni. Saying that Dybala and A.Correa not getting a single minute till now at least against the Poland during the dying Minutes is criminal from Scaloni. Almada also played i mean come on man.. Dybala is a jewel. I mean from outside it looks bad. But Scaloni and his team may be doing it for a reason, May be both Dybala and A.Correa are nursing injuries but then again is int Lautaro carrying injury? He has been bad till now for us. I mean what worse could Dybala could have done?

  13. Enzo ferrnadaz, mac alister and molina have finishing skills as good as strikers also these 3 always get into good positions to score de paul too have the ability but these days more concentrated on defence and track back,but the playmaker in messi needs to step up again and utilize his teammates finshing skills in last match we could have eassily scored 3rd goal in a inccident were messi didnt pass the ball to macliater or enzo both were in good position instead he tried to drible inside the opposition box which is not good

  14. A few things about Croatia:
    Their entire midfield is good at passing, Kovacic is very press resistant and Modric of course is an artist. Brozovic is great too. They sometimes try to pack the left side of the field to create space for their RB who is a good crosser. When in space the RB often tries to find a cross into Perisic who is a good header and can bring the ball down in the box. When Croatian players rush into the box looking for a cross they try to have their players suddenly switch posts and positions instead of the left player going to the left post, middle player going to the middle, and on, which can make them hard to mark. I think we should be disciplined enough to handle it and we need to have someone take control of Perisic aerially. I watched their Morocco and Canada game today and I really like Gvardiol, very composed for his age in passing, very physical, and he looks like he’s in the top bracket of CBs even if he’s only 20. I don’t think their attack is scary as far as names go though of course we need to consider height and not end up getting caught like Brazil did. Anyway, it’ll be tough to sleep tonight. VAMOS 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷

    • They overload the left because their LB is defensively weak.

      Borna Sosa is very good with the ball and build up. But he is weak defensively. This is why Modric and Brozovic drift to left. In this way, they are also able to use Sosa’s strength better.

      Di Maria and Molina must make Sosa’a life difficult. I am waiting for a good game by Di Maria. He is yet to make a mark in this world cup.

    • Yes, Olive Gvardiol is allready even still quite young for CB a more than class also i think both their wingbacks are good at attacking and as Mafioso said Borna Sosa not so strong defensevly, but their mid trio is a really good one as Brozovic could had played allready for mostv Of team’sv in Europe, but has decided to stay at Inter so far as Perisic moved to Spurs because Of Conte as i think Conte may would had home also if Spurs did not sign Bentancur etc. Some may underestimate him and think only about Modric and Kovasic as both played in Real and one is still there as other one in Chelsea… so god willingly Arg will win if they will dominate and win middfield battle also this guys are very experienced and played so long together, though they are not the youngest, but in WC semi they will play and give their all so Arg has to give even more and run them tired

  16. I have complete trust on our team. If there won’t be any fast pressing surprise from Croatia (which I doubt they will do, they are better at keeping ball, tight defense and moving time) the match will be more or like system vs system, both sides careful means like the Netherlands match. I am 100% certain that we will outplay them there, just like we did with Netherlands. Completely controlling the game. Hopefully some chances will get and we Will score.

    My only worry is the mental strength of the team. If there’s no panic and the team plays with calm mind, Croatia cant beat us.

    Now the team is experienced with the panic and High pressure. Hope that will help and also the Bench learned it’s lessons.

  17. Win or lose I am always a proud Albiceleste Fan.
    Whatever happens I know if we play our natural game we will win In Sha Allah.

    I am definitely not scared of Croatia.

  18. youtu.be/VGIVkZHo850

    Watch this. Thus kid is growing a lot in a year. Nico Paz, the son of one of mg favorite defenders in 1990’s Pablo Paz.

    He can play anywhere in midfield and winger. His game is a mixed of: Lamela, Dejan Kulusevski, Di Maria. A left footed wizard. Definitely will lead Argentina u20 in the World Cup in 6 months. He can rival Soule for the right winger or play as De Paul/Lo Celso position. Not that speedy but very skillful and has a lot of confidence and technical ability. Still 18 like Garnacho. A Real Madrid youngster.

    He scored 5 goals in 5 games for Real Madrid u19.

    Other good MC prospects: Tiago Geralnik, Gino Infantino, Carlos Alcaraz.

    • Oh forgot Facundo Buanonotte too who will move to Brighton this January. Our midfield and attack pretty much stacked but our defense is bad for next year WC u20. Alcaraz won’t be in it though as he is one year too old.

      • Yeah I really like Buonanotte. He surprised me a lot when be played against River a couple of months ago. Brighton make really savvy business in South America so that is a good sign that he has potential. Looking at even younger, maybe not u20 kids there is Echeverri and Mastantuono at River and Prestianni who looked ridiculously good for Velez at 16

  19. As revealed by the media, perhaps Croatia will play fast pressing and not send players to follow Leo closely. Surely Scaloni reads this as a possibility. The first half will probably have little space. With the exception of Leo who can dribble more, our midfield had to move the ball quickly and avoid broken passes to escape the pressure and wear down the opponent’s fitness. The team must play as a team with good chemistry.

  20. I’m feeling sick and not able to concentrate on work today due to the stress, anxiety and nightmares consuming me before this match. It doesn’t help there is so much “hate” and villainization of the seleccion everywhere on the internet after the Dutch game, and there are so many people wanting for Croatia to continue their underdog story and their strengths in physicality and midfield.

    These are the longest hours of my life and I’m feeling a weird mix of excitement and tension like never before. Like somehow this game is harder than the final. Vamos, I hope we win and don’t make any stupid mistakes that will cost us the game.

    The team has already almost given me cardiac disorders twice in two knockout games already, I doubt I’d be even alive if we go to extra time again haha.

    • Same here. Can’t sleep for 2 hours straight. But I am hopeful that we would have learnt from our mistakes in the dutch game. Switching off in the middle of the game even when we have a 2 goal cushion, and then panicking is not going to help. This is very important. The other thing I am worried about is all the noise that’s happening around the match. The constant hate that we get as a team, and all the talk about Croatia being a better team than us and we being a one man team,rest is shit and all that…It is such a core digital age that its hard for the team to remain completely oblivious to all that’s happening around them. I would just hope that they are able to maintain the composure on the pitch and not start reacting like they did the other day. The other day, I think Paredes was just fuming in anger when he was subbed in and all that he had in his mind was to play a dirty game than focussing on his strengths. In the process we gave away two clumsy goals. We cannot lose our heads in a game like this, just cannot repeat those mistakes here. We have been speaking a lot about Tagliafico, and yes the left flank is weakened with the absence of Acuna, but we need to fight with the resources that we have. Every defender, midfielder and forward has to step up(and Dibu)… Just fight like we have done as brothers for all these matches. Vamos!!!

  21. Croatia is likely start Petkovic ahead of Kramaric.

    It is clear what they are tying to do. Petkovic is 1.93 meter tall. They will go for the long balls, which they have taken from Holland.

    I think this time we will be prepared.

    Petkovic scored the deflected goal vs Brazil. But if you consider his overall career, he is a below average striker who literally had 0 goals in different Serie A clubs he played for. Now he plays for Dinamo Zagreb. ( 34 goals in approx 80 matches)

    For Croatia, he has total 8 goals including goal against Brazil.

    • He scored 34 goals in 106 matches for current club Zagreb.

      For Croatia, he scored 7 goals in 27 matches.

      He played total 37 matches for Bologna and Verona, scoring 0 goals.

      I am not underestimating anyone. But will you select Petkovic for Argentina? If not, why we can’t deal with players like him when dealt with Lewa or Neymar?

      Many posters are paying too much respect to Croatia. We must be balanced in our approach.

      We win or loose but I am not afraid.

  22. Netherlands are better going forward, Croatia is better defensively, it’s really simple guys, keep things tight in the back, be patient, execute when you’re giving an opportunity. This is a semi final, things will be tight, scoring when we can is key.

    • I do not think Croatia is better defensively than Holland.

      Holland did not concede many goals before us. They had Timber, Van Dijk and Ake. Timber is a young phenomenon. Van Dijk performed to his reputation. And add Dumfries and Blind to wingback. Both of them had excellent tournament prior to us.

  23. One poster below said that Mac Allister and pressing does not go along.

    => That is not true. He won the ball 124 times this year in EPL. Above him is only Declan Rice with 139 times.

    His pressing is intelligent, he is in right place at right time. His pressing is effective.

  24. More I think of the game, more I think we have got this one. Croatia is coming off two back to ET while we are coming from one. I feel their mid field and defence is more suited for Messi to weave his magic. Having ADM would greatly enhance our chances. I think Lisandro Lopez should be preferred over Tag, but I will have to trust the coaching staff. I think up front it is a good problem to have with the choice between Alvarez and Lautaro, either of whom starting would bring something to offer. That would depend on the tactic that Scaloni. There can not be any easy let down. If the boys hold it up strong, dont make any errors or take useless risks around the goal area, Croatia does not seem to have any goals in them.

    Long story short – I have a good feeling about it. Let’s get them boys.

  25. Netherlands exposed out weakness in aerial battle. Exposed the height problem with out defence, which I have been talking about since the beginning. Scaloni did not try to solve that problem over the last three years. Foyth and Romero are the only tall ones. The second goal from Netherlands was because of short players failing to time their jump. Croatia has tall forwards and tall defence. They would try to send floaters into our box from the very beginning. Those floaters have to be nipped in the bud. Scaloni should have clear strategy to do so.

  28. I believe Argentina will have much better game than pervious matches in this world, tonight arg will bring thier a game and will beat Croatia God willing I’m not afraid of Croatia but I respect them they are horrible, stubborn team to play against but tbh lukaku should have score minimum 3 goals against them he missed unmissable chances vs Croatia In group stage

  29. I think Lautaro need to play in first 11. In last game his shots on goal looks evident tht he is in gud thirst for goal. He looks little sharp aswell. It is better to use him in right time.. Also if Guido gets a chance in.middle it will be a great use for our midfld. paredess unncessary divings results major threat for our progress in remaining..Today no Acuna our leftwing again going to dead.
    It is very sad and unlucky we r losing our key leftwingers continuously..

  30. Di Maria’s return is a guarantee of victory. He’s always been the key player right behind Leo. We will not let the opponent get close to the penalty area. We have to be careful with crosses because that’s always a problem.
    The most important thing is that the whole team continues to play as well as they have shown in their unbeaten run. Surely we always have many opportunities. The team learned to preserve the edge until the last minute. Midfielders and strikers will play defense from a distance by closing every space, holding the ball well, keeping the ball for a long time. It requires players to sweat a lot so it won’t be easy but it’s totally doable as long as the team is calm.

    Last time I made an approximate prediction but there are times when luck is not on our side. I continue to predict a 3-0 win. It is also a debt that the team will reclaim from 2018.

  31. Im tensed really tensed. They had beat us 3-0 4years ago. They are still unbeaten. Knocked out Brazil. This will be very tough match. Netherlands showed the whole world that where is our weakness lies. Croatia will try to control the midfield will try to cut the passing lanes to messi. Their defense is great. Their midfield is superb and maybe their midfield is better than ours. They have a super goalkeeper. We may struggle to break their defense and our defense is quite shaky we can’t even protect a 2 goal lead. Most probably our defense is the weakest defense among all quarter final sides.and without messi this side would have out in group leagues

    • Our defense is the strongest sky high from the remaining 4: expected goal against so far in the 5 matches combined, ARG 1,9 CRO 7,5. Only Lukaku should has scored 3 against Croatia.

    • Anuparno oh my friend again you are becoming negative in wrong time , I’m tensed too but I’m positive about the outcome of this game, not true Croatia hasn’t Got better midfielder than us it’s mainstream media Who keep saying Croatia will dominat in midfielder but I don’t agree with them Argentina midfielder are good definitely better Brazil ones cheers up man we will beat Croatia God willing ( insha Allah)

  32. We must stop the silly mistake of, of we are leading makes goal kicks high and eassyily giving up the ball.when the opposition is down on goal all they want is ball on their feet. I think last match we miss depaul since he subbed he along with messi is master of slowing the game arround the outline when opposition comes the bowl will go for throw i enjoy that more than taking long high ball kicks which eventually go to opposition.
    Ghee we did that alot vs netherlands just when the commentators were talking this Argentina team has put the best defencive performance so far in the tournament by any team. Then after depaul and sub and pezzala comes all went wrong
    We did this mistake in copa final also by giving ball to brazil eassily and quickly which makes my hear beat stop

  33. Croatia game won’t be an easy one. They are extremely tactical. Tagliafico replacing Acuna is what worrying me. Tagli is our weakest link, hope he plays the game of his life tomorrow. It would be a dream cup if we beat Croatia and France.

    Guyz, any new playmaker, defensive prospects for the future? Is there anyone who can fill the boots in the future? Argentina can produce strikers no doubt but we are lacking world class playmakers and defenders.

    Luca Romero, Garnacho any future big names?

  34. The team needs a fully fit Angel Di Maria, Croatia is not an easy game. No more errors or wrong subs at the last minute. Our probability to enter the final is wider. Keep aside the pressure and play comfortably.

  36. Beside our out of form subs my other concern is Lautaro. Last match Lautaro had a chance to pass it to Montiel who was behind him & open and in a much better opportunity to score but instead of passing to him he went for a goal from a relatively difficult angle which was saved. In his hunger and desperation to prove himself and get his starting spot back hopefully he won’t repeat that blunder again. This is not a club competition and even selfish Mbappe is supplying unselfish passes who will be marked by his bitch Hakimi. He will have to not only mark him but most likely commit foul in him too. 😁😁

  37. Croatia is not a team that takes the game, they let the game come to them. They don’t score a lot of goals but they are calculated and take advantage of their opportunities. We will have a chance to score as they sit back but they are like a snake and will strike unexpectedly. Play cautious, disciplined and patiently and we will win. Play loose and they will make you pay. Panic and they will make you pay. We must keep our heads and we will get a good result. This means no Paredes, but Guido.

  38. Since both Acuna and Montiel are out for this match, we won’t be seeing many defensive subs during the 2nd half so we might get to see the inclusion of Correa or Dybala. Palacios is also another player who hasn’t seen the pitch many times this tournament

  39. This is a tough tough game
    Got a feeling we gonna go penalties where Croatia never lose

    I’d play guido as number 5 to protect the defense
    I’m scared of modric kovacic and peresic
    0-0 or 1-1 then extra time

  40. It feels like our biggest opponent is going to be ourselves, not Croatia. We just need to keep calm and keep the lead, if we score first. We nearly paid for that sloppiness against the Dutch and the Aussies, and the Brazilians paid for that in full because they didn’t focus on protecting their extra time opener at all.

    If and when we concede a goal, the team should stop being such frantic and vulnerable.

    We need to be focused and not do silly mistakes like giving away that freekick or slacking off in defense like in the previous knockout games, because Croatia is known for brutally punishing that.

    I know this is a different Argentina to Sampbaldy’s 2018 team but it was exactly a defensive error from Willy that started the engines for a Croatian bloodbath.

  41. Guys caution please. Just be humble. Croats are very good. They now all the tricks, they are experienced, cheaky and tactical wizards of the game. We have to be very careful about out performance and try to do best in converting chances in the goals. Their results speak for.them self. Come on, dont repeat mistakes from last encounter. Humble croat with arg hearth. Vamos!

  44. I see Croatia as a good team but jeez Holland were a real challenge..I can’t see the Croatian defence/structure being as much of a battle as what we’ve just faced. Maybe in midfield they will be more combative. But imo the Dutch gave us a valuable lesson, a level up if you like. I feel there will be no defence as strong as theirs from now..

  45. When Scaloni took over in 2018, he had a project. He called up a bunch of new players. In 2018, nobody/very few heard the names of Emi Martinez, Cuti Romero, Licha, Molina, Guido, Foyth, Montiel, Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Nico Gonzales, Lautaro, MacAllister, Almada, Palacios. Half of the squad were pretty much nobodies/too young/unknown 4 years ago.

    When you look at these 14 players or so. 4 years ago in 2018 almost all of them still played in Argentina league. So it is important for the local league to keep producing talents that eventually will represent Argentina. NOT all local league players will end up good though, but

    I am convinced that Scaloni will continue until 2026, with the same coach it is unlikely Scaloni will do project part 2: calling up all new players. But is is very likely he will add some additions to replace these group of people who won’t be at the World Cup for sure next year: Armani, Otamendi, Pezzella, Tagli, Acuna, Papu, Di Maria.

    I am sure in 2026 some new players, probably players like Molina or Licha or Cuti who we completely never heard of 4 years ago will emerge.

    • I was also thinking today about a year ago when two call ups included a ton of youngsters — one of them for local league and the other for exterior players. Some of those players since then have gone a bit downhill (Avila, Simon, Medina) but others like Enzo Fernandez and Almada ended up in the World Cup. Scaloni’s wise scouting and decision to call up youngsters to train with the squad when they weren’t in first team consideration certainly must have helped these two in particular when it comes to experience and readiness. He also unearthed Garnacho of course and I can see that decision paying off post World Cup. He also called up Alvarez to the Copa America when he was promising but certainly before he had exploded in form. Again, I’m sure it helped that he gave him trust when he did and it’s paying off in the most important competition.

    • I truly hope so as they must look for the future and truly hope if Scaloni will continue that he will seriously start adding those that we allraedy know and are playing in Europe as some obviously more than others, but as u said the most important part will be to find those new players from Arg’s very own local leagues as like Tocalli and Pekerman were working once with AFA and also i belive Menotti did this also back at 70’s etc..,

  46. Thousands of Argentine supporters gathered today in the heart of Doha City with Argentine flags, Messi and Maradona images. I couldn’t join, as I was in office.

  48. In my view, back four with Lisandro would give more strength in defense as well as in Midfield.
    My 11 would be:

    Molina Romero Otamendi Lisandro
    De Paul Enzo McAlister
    Messi
    Di Maria Lautaro/Alvarez

  49. So many of these haters think they can paint us bad. All of a sudden we became the “Cheater”, “bully” and “lack respect.” They saying we are being favored when we too have had more than enough bullshit thrown on us – saudi madness, the crazy schedules between group stage and round of 16 when others had more than 2 days to play their match, they gave us 2, just 2 and this Lahoz nonsense. They want Croatia to teach us a lesson, when the dutch have been disrespecting us. They think they are playing us brain game. We would see who would be teach who a lesson soon. I just hope our boys would be able to do it.

    • Jealousy always rears its ugly head …….that’s a fact and now that Her majesty was humiliated in front of the whole world to see when she didn’t do shit the whole time she was there aside from acting like the imbecile she is on that 1 pk and trying to take credit for her teammates’ goal LOL and honestly I HOPE FIFA IS TRYING TO ENSURE MESSI A WC WIN, nothing will please me more and if there was ever any player in history that deserved to win it and had it not been for shitty circumstances, its MESSI

    • It’s just a double standard. The Europeans are focussing in singularly on Argentina’s behavior and not the Netherlands, to the point of being bizarre.

  50. Ronaldo ‘R9’ on Argentina “Argentina has a big chance of winning the world cup, not only they play well, but they play with desire. They ran all the 90 minutes and play with aggression, and on top of that they have Messi”.

    Philip Lahm just before the start of Argentina vs Holland

    “The quarter-finals are starting – Argentina is my favorite for this @fifaworldcup. In 2014 his teammates seemed to be waiting for @leomessi to solve everything on his own against us – in 2022 they play for him”.

    • Aside from the many ARG and Messi haters, there are just as many who want them to win and for MESSI to get that Monkey off the whole country’s back.
      We all saw what the Dutch stooped to during the game and at the PK shootout but Van Dijk stood out by shielding Messi from his teammate’s abuse and for that I salute him…..class doesn’t come and go, its always a constant.

      • Haters arent as many as it appears to be, they’re just vocal. Why do you think Argentina has the most fans throughout this WC? its almost to the point where it looks like the WC its taking place in Argentina soil.

    • Its pretty interesting some of these German legends including Klinsmann wanted Argentina to win. In fact he even claimed Argentina should have won multiple WC since 1990. Lother Matthaus is another big Messi fan, that even in German TV show after WC 2014 , he claimed he’s still prefers Messi over Gotze lol

  51. People keep talking about how Croatia is a great team………there is nothing great about them last WC, got victories against Nigeria, Iceland, and a Johnny Sins, Sampa and AFA fucked Argentina team, but draws against the likes of Denmark and Russia but through by PK, then defeated England but maybe England in world cups are not always great teams before finally getting hammered by France. This time in the group stage won only against Canada. Since then again it is a soap opera of draws, good luck and going through PKs. Are they a good team? Yes, sure. Are the great? Never. Is it fair if they win against Argentina?Never.

  52. Croatia is the most disgusting and luckiest team in WC history. They just played for extra time and PK shootout. Their good luck will end tomorrow.

    • Nothing lucky about them. They always perform in every cup. They remind me of Uruguay, small population, main sport is futball, and they have very uniquely skilled players. Everyone needs a little luck to get thru, but u need skill first and foremost. Also they have a great defense that is organized and is very familiar with one another.

    • > Croatia is the most disgusting

      No need to trash talk. Croatia are well drilled team, compact def and great chem. Making it to Semis in 2 worlds cups is very difficult and they deserve more respect.

      • Yes, this trash talk will not help no one really as obviously media in Europe specially making their usual comments and trash talking about Arg as that is nothing new since 1966, so let them talk and rather stay focus and let Arg show it to them on the pitch as fans we can’t really AFFECT the outcome of the match as we can only support and hope and pray and work our own whatever spritual or non spritiual magic to wish that Arg wil win Croatia !

    • Disgusting? They recognize their limitations and plan accordingly. They are mentally strong, which was clearly seen against the Brazilians. They aren’t afraid to go behind. They play with pride. Luck is always a factor but it’s not just luck that got them here.

    • Their secret for years is their functional midfield, that’s how they control games and take the sting out of the most dangerous teams. Own their midfield and you have them.

  53. Time to revenge guys last WC those hyena croatian and french took advantage cause we were wounded with this fool of sampaoli. Now we could say that we have a TEAM and messi is mentally fit surrounded by 10 lieutenants we could do it this time after all that bad luck which haunted us codesal 90 fifa 94 ortega red card 98 overconfidence 02 pekerman fault 06 focus 10 higuian palacio 14 sampaoli craziness 18
    This time it s our time i hope God will be with us

    • Yes, i truly hope so too ! As all that u said and most importantly after all that u said, this time should be more than Arg’s time and every lieutnant or player, warrior will be needed to turn their final warrior mood on and play as team together and win as team together !

  54. So far as an argentine fan we suffered too much in all the matches.

    – Against Saudi – lost
    – Against Mexico – 65th minutes goal.
    – Against Poland – Messi missed penalty still suffered less as scored 2 early 2nd half goals.
    – Against Australia – Easy match but suffered in last 10 minutes.
    – Against Holland – easy match till 80th minutes and then suffered like hell.

    I want relatively easier match tomorrow.

    • Also we suffered but but we are not lucky like Croats. Croats are lucky enough to reached in Semi – Just remember Lukaku misses… on other day he would have scored 3 goals. Hope tomorrow they will run our of their luck and we will win

    • Looking at Croatia’s record it is not a team that is easy to cruise by. They play for extra time and penalties. They are mentality monsters. I hope it’s easy but if there’s a team that makes the opposition suffer it’s Croatia

  55. We must not leave spaces for Croatia to brake into, nor invite pressure. I would like to see us with a 4-4-2 for much longer than we have done previously. If Paredes is subbed in again he better be much calmer than he was in the previous game, he should just stick to being a good distributor like he is capable of doing.

    What sets us apart is a combination of flair and aggressive counter pressing, we have Messi and we have Romero and Otamendi, playing both sides of our game would be crucial for the ultimate success.

    • Dutch players were easily able to get under Paredes’s skin. It was quite obvious that Val-Gal’s had everyone instructed to try get under our skin and it almost worked! We can’t afford that against Croatia who haven’t started the mind games yet! Also, We have to keep it extremely tight in the back without getting anyone booked or sent off. No making errors near our box or theirs!! They are good in counters and we have shown that we panic a lot when pressed!! Just don’t let them score at any cost!! As long as we can keep Croatia at zero goals then we will find a way to score atleast one within 90mins!

    • I really hope that he won’t play again, he almost cost us the qualifications. He put the team in danger and woke up the opponents with his intimidation. I miss the Paredes who used to be creative player. Guido is completely out of form, can only expect something from Palacios if De Paul cannot play the entire 90 minutes

  56. Even if we play poorly in the Semi, Croatia does not deserve to go through……so far they have come this far based on pure luck………luck against Lukaku, luck against Brazil with that deflected goal

    • Yes at least they were lucky against Belgium for sure as i did not see their other group games, but Still they beat Japan and even more so as Brazil, well everyteam at WC will needcluck as some obviously may have more than another, but all i wanting the end the luck being this time on Arg side as so many times against in the past, so Yes i do belive that who ever team will win the WC will need luck and hopefully all that luck will be this time only morecthan rightly deserved as Arg’s !

  57. xG Difference at the World Cup:

    🇦🇷 Argentina: +7.80
    🇫🇷 France: +3.37
    🇭🇷 Croatia: -1.07
    🇲🇦 Morocco: -1.74

    Croatia will give you chance to score. It is a myth that they are defensively astute. Gvardiol is praised for some of his last ditch tackles. When do you need to make last ditch tackle?

    In a good day, Brazil would have won 2-0 or 3-0. Paqueta missed several chances, one from point blank range. Brazil had tactics wrong + Croatia was very lucky.

    Brazil did not push through middle. So Croatian midfield did have a free pass to do anything. That won’t be case with us.

    Alvarez is relentless with pressing. Combine that with MacAllister’s. I don’t think Croatian RB will have much space to run at.

    Croatia is confident they can win. I think they will see a different beast.

    Penalty win against Colombia made us believe in ourselves, which helped us in final. I think roller coster ride with Holland has changed us for better. We will see it in coming 2 matches.

  58. Good to see Di Maria and De Paul. Anybody in the left but Tagliafico. He mistimes his tackles, he mistimes his leaps during set-pieces, he misses seaters, he cannot dribble into the opponent box like Acuna, which earned us the penalty against Netherlands. Did Scaloni have 3 right backs but 2 left backs in his original team? Is he running out of options for the left now?

    • The truth is we are short of left back options after the World Cup. Acuna and Tagli both are 30 and both likely won’t be available in the next World Cup. Medina is more of a defensive minded left back. We have talents but they are still too raw and young: Bernabei (attacking left back of Celtic), Franco Carboni, Valentin Barco, and Julian Aude. This is the position that I hope we will start producing talents. Other positions should be fine for the next 5 years or so but this.

      • Wow, that is not sounding good as i was hoping obviously for more than 4 name’s, which in fact is quite shocking to hear, well hopefully they can do and work about this subject in Arg as i truly hope for other wingbacks to arrive as it is more than obvious that Tagli and Acuna will most propably be too old to play as wingbacks in the next WC….

      • This is where Mascherano has an important role to play to bring up the next Acuna and Tagliafico for us. It is unfortunate that Tagliafico is struggling in this world cup. Otherwise he had few excellent matches on the road to the world cup. Is he hiding some injury or mental struggle?

      • Yep, LB and DM give me some concerns for 2026. Enzo isn’t exactly a pure DM though maybe we can get by well by using him like we used Paredes and like he’s been used in this WC with high pressing hustlers like Mac Allister and De Paul alongside. Still, we may need to use a destroyer at times and there’s no one obvious in that position. The LB names you mentioned are promising but raw, which is concerning, though I’ll throw out a couple of extra names — Fernandez Mercau (who is on the WC backup list) and Lautaro Blanco, who are both in Elche and were some of the best left backs in the local league last year. Neither of them strike me as a superstar or anything but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them matures slowly into a trustworthy player like Acuña did. Mercau is good in long balls and switching the play and Blanco is a good crosser, his style of play reminds me of Acuña. I’ll throw them out there as “maybe” options, if none of the youngsters mature like Alvarez or Fernandez did maybe one of these could become reliable

    • There’s nobody to play LB other than Tagliafico. That’s why they’re trying a 4-3-3.

      The other alternative is to play a 3-4-3 with Romero-Otamendi-Lisandro backline, Depaul-Paredes-Enzo-MacAllister midfield and DiMaria-Alvarez-Messi forward. Double pivot withe Pareses and Enzo. Very defense leaning formation and not much creativity in the wings though.

    • I don’t know why this keeps coming up again and again. Dybala plays where Messi plays. Dybala hasn’t shown he could play any other position. He’s there in the squad purely to backup Messi in case of an injury.

      • Dybala can play as a Rw. He has played with Messi before. Why not play him as a substitute. I don’t buy to this argument that he plays same position as Messi, he is versatile. And if that’s the case, why not play Angel Correa. Those dybala cheap politics don’t add up, but yet he gives chances to 34 years old Papu Gomez.

    • Not true. He’s done it before. The only problem is Dybala consistently got injured throughout the years and Scaloni hasn’t seen many chances where it makes tactical sense to do it. But he has shown he can

    • Actually looks like there is some prblm between dybala and coaching staffs or maybe messi. At this rate he should give up Argentina citizenship and play for another country he has no future in Argentina national team.

  62. Fernando Sarney, Brazil football president is right on the ball, and I assume the majority of Brazilian people want to see Argentina win as well with the exception of the fringe who are probably supporters of the former president who lost recently in the Brazil presidential election.

    Mbappe arrogantly disrespected South American football so I get where Fernando is coming from..All South American nations (even Chile quietly) are rooting for Argentina to win..A lot of Brazilians respect Messi, Maradona and other former Argentine international legends. If Europe were to win a 5th consecutive World Cup at this point it’s fair to say football outside of Europe is dead, national team wise. And with Messi retiring at some point in the future the SA continent won’t have a player of his caliber anytime soon..BDOR at this point will just go from one Euro player to another every season.

    Brazilian football knows about branding, for them it’s best to have Argentina as WC champion because for Brazil and the other SA nations they get to play against the World Cup champion who is from their own continent. Like how many times did the 2018 champion France play against a South American nation since facing off with Peru during the WC group stage? …So Argentina winning the WC not only motivates the Argentinean people and the younger players coming up, it also motivates the other South American nations to believe that yes, a South American team can win future World Cups. It also dismisses this notion that CONMEBOL football is weak. So yes, for all this I want Argentina to win…The problem with Brazil today is that the national team has turned into a corporate national team. Today, Argentina is a national team of the people and for the people, everything is connected, it’s like a hive mind.

    I’ve said critical things about Scaloni in the past but I take it all back..This man is anointed and so humble…I respect him a lot now…He has the right to make the substitutions he so desired because he has earned it as a coach..This all comes behind the backdrop of the whole of Europe hating on Argentina, like why?

    I am not going to make a prediction but I’m feeling good about Argentina’s chances..

    • Without Acuna, Argentina is sacrificing quality in two positions now (no Lisandro and lesser playmaking skill in Tagliafico). But this is the only way to play DiMaria.

      One option is a 3-5-2 with Romero-Otamendi-Lisandri backfield, Molina-MacAllister-Enzo-DePaul-Tagliafico MF and Messi-Alvarez forward. Which leaves DiMaria in the bench.

      If they have to bring in Di Maria, then one option is a 3-4-3. Which means Paredes and Enzo plays a double pivot. Too much experimentation for a semifinals game though.

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