Emiliano Martínez half time speech in the tunnel during semi final of the World Cup

By
Roy Nemer
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216

Emiliano Martínez had a half time speech during the semi final of the World Cup.

Martínez gave a speech in the tunnel as the players were about to go out for the second half of the match. With Argentina leading 2-0, Martínez said the following:

“The goal is at zero, guys. They are going to have to kill me to score a goal. We don’t give anything away, we don’t give anything.”

Argentina would go on to score one more goal, an assist of the tournament by Lionel Messi with Julián Álvarez scoring.

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216 Comments

  2. Guys don’t be overconfident. I think we can beat them but it’s gonna be tougher then Brazil in Copa…
    Fast wingers always have been our cryptonite… And Griezman playing well and Girou is very dangerous for us..
    We need a once in a lifetime performance in Defense and we need a fully fit and awesome Messi and Alvarez. I think our Midfield with Mac Enzo RDP is better them France… Who thought I would say that😂 I really like those three in Midfield… Great link up so far

    It’s gonna be very rough but I’m confident we can do it vamos

  6. France is going to be a tough opponent. Thr players are talented in all positions. Although our team should focus on keeping Mbappe quiet in most of time.. Other players could’ be easily nuetralise. We need to block passes connecting mbappe.and never give space for him to play normal.in 2018 sampoli made tht mistake he completely let mbappe to run easily. The is no marking did against him.

    • oh it was molina?! what in the world was he doing there – making those dummy runs that had the defenders confused and wondering who should mark who…. LOL!

  8. Argentina will beat France on Sunday, my humble opinion the game is 50 to 45 Argentina will come on top
    France has weak links their back is realy shaky , thier midfielder no great just remember Argentina will beat France on Sunday insha Allah, that is me without been arrogant or baised, Argentina 2-0 France

  9. Everyone talking up France only need to look as far back as the knockouts.. England (yes England!) dominated the midfield (Rice, Henderson and Bellingham) vs. France. In fact all your favorite ‘pundits’ agreed that England were the better team.

    Yes France prevailed, but they definitely stumbled at the first real opponent showed up.. also they were gifted their winning goal by the one and only McGuire with a deflection off Giroud header…

    So France are asking for it, we just have to give it to them..just for a second imagine French players secretly going oh-shit! When Argentina scored their third.. I’m sure of it

  10. I was stressing alot against Australia and the Netherlands , that’s about it . I have such confidence now I’m not scared of either team, French is not unbeatable, if anybody watch the English vs France you would realize their midfield and defense don’t do well with pressure, England dominate the whole first half , but it was unfortunate for them

    • I think if Emiliano can keep the confidence and keep either a clean sheet or let 1 goal in max, then we have good chance.
      But I think I would have felt a little less stress with Morocco.

  11. I said earlier that Neymar’s Brazil and Mbappe’s France are 2 teams that I do not want to face early.

    We did have to face Brazil in Copa America finals. We managed a narrow win.
    Now, we have to face France in the World Cup finals. Hopefully, we can squeeze another narrow win.

    • After so many finals that Leo have been, these haters cannot just stop hating for a second. Men these people are “ruthless”, “heartless” and sick in the head. They keep on hating, I just hope our team would be able to deliver

  14. France presidenr says they already won. Many haters are so desperate to see us lose. They think it is wc2018 that they are going to demolish us again. I admit they are good indeed, but it is funny how they think we cannot beat them. The day will come and we would see who be beating who soon.

  15. I want 4-3-3. We were most dominant in the Poland game when we used 4-3-3. Sure 4-4-2 might have worked well against strong midfield oriented teams like Croatia, but France relies more on speed than midfield passing.

    And Di Maria is a must. If at all we go for 4-4-2, then Di Maria should drop to midfield and take some of the Molina load.

  16. I am very nervous to be honest about France. Simply because they do have some pacy players who can cause trouble us for sure. However my heart feels that they ain’t invincible. They are very beatable if we play right tactics. I have no doubt Scaloni and Co will come up with some brilliant plan as usual they did every game in world cup also I know our players will leave everything in the field. France will face a team they never meet before. Surely it won’t be like 2018 World Cup

    • As I pointed to my French colleague; the worst Argentina in history still put 3 goals past the best France in history (2018). This time it would be different… Just 1 year ago France couldn’t get past Switzerland in the Euro R16. In the Nations league group consisting of Austria, Denmark and Croatia, France lost 3 times and are ranked 3rd. This will be a tough fight, but we will prevail… I can sense it

  17. 🗣️ Theo Hernandez to RAI: “Messi doesn’t scare us, we know Argentina have an incredible team. We need to recover well to be at our best on Sunday.” 🇫🇷

    I think they may have plan to agitate Argentina players on the pitch. One of the ESPN pundit of France yesterday was saying that he would suggest french players to target Argentina team and mainly peredes, to force him to get a red card. Argentine players need to calm them down. The Netherlands match went almost out of the hand with last 20 minute madness.

    • France can be beaten. Midfield and backline are shaky. Their strength is their wings and RB. Giroud is an annoying player too.

      The battle is the midfield where we can flood it, cut off griezman’s passing lanes, and leave him with no time on the ball. Alvarez pressing is key. DiMaria can boss Hernandez.

      We can force France to make a ton of mistakes. Remember Lloris is prone to make mistakes. He will do it in the final.

      I really don’t see us losing this match. France, not 2018, and Argentina not 2018.

      • One thing that’s evident is that Giroud doesnt have the legs to press. France is very athletic, physical and direct with Mbappe and Dembele, that’s their only threat. In a controlled possession game like we play, they’ll be blown away.

    • What are u thinking. U always comment against Argentina.why 1 pecent chance. Arg has chance equal as france. We have 100% chance amd 100% faith in our players. They are not unbeatable. They have flaws in thier defense and in midfiled as well. Insha Allah we will wim comfortably.

  19. On Sunday, December 18, 2022, two teams with two stars on their jersey will battle it on the grand stage for a chance to stitch the third star.

    One #10 is a living legend looking to cement his name among champions by winning a trophy that has eluded his aging career. His 2nd WC final in 3 world cups, coming off a recent Copa America victory.

    The other #10, is a world-beater and a speedster who was given the keys at an early age to his NT. He is looking to cut in the way of Lionel Messi who is entering the golden isles of the greats. A hallway with Maradona, Pele, Zidane, etc.

    The Argentina crest carries the dreams of hundreds of millions of fans and the sorrow of those that have passed away before witnessing this hope of another World Cup final. This burden is implanted in the heart of Messi and that crest is shared with 10 more dream chasers, + 5 or so subs that will carry the load.

    What a time to be alive! In a world that experienced covid, war, famine, etc, who would have thought that a game would bring the world together to tune in? I guess that’s why they call it, “the beautiful game.”

    Pray for the NT.

    On Sunday, December 18, 2022, Those that dream will experience great jubilation.

    This is our time! Vamos Argentina!

    • WC90 final is also two teams with two stars but since then Germany has added to 4. If we won, we’ll equal to Brazil and other top nations, but now Brazil 5, Italy 4, Germany 4, France back then 0, now equal to us 2

      • Interesting perspective.. 1990 was a cheat, we got a phantom red card. The 2014 German goalie should have been red-carded and a penalty given.

        This time we correct the history and fix the timeline. Just pray my friend.

  20. As controversial as it may sound…. We need to go back to very similar plan as we had vs Croatia. Organized defense, flood the middle of field and take our chances that we receive even if they are few.

  21. Common sense dictates that Morocco would have been the easier opponent but nobody really knows in this world cup………. France it is and they are not invincible.

    There is ONE game left plain and simple, win and you’re a world champion and one must assume that MORE people than Less want MESSI to win.
    The Stadium is going to be rocking with ARGENTINA fans PLUS all the other ARG supporting fans especially since France beat an Arab country and its going to be a sea of sky-blue and white.
    Croatia came first and now its France’s turn

  22. If I’m scaloni i would play 4-4-2 formation with a tweak.
    Martinez
    Montiel/foyth Romero otamendi acuna
    Dimaria depaul enzo McAllister
    Messi Alvarez
    Yes i would play dimaria on midfield. No Molina because he can provide width but he is not that strong defensively. I would give the job of marking griezman to depaul and enzo can help him if needed. Dimaria is needed because messi will be marked out of the game just like maradona was in 1986 wc final. Dembele should be tightly marked by McAllister. Stop mbappe and griezman and Giroud will be completely out of the game.

  24. Damn! I wanted Morocco.
    It could have been a non-European final.

    But looking that the positive side, if we won by beating Morocco, critics would have said that they did not face a single previous world cup winner. And also, now we can have revenge.

    This France looks scary. I don’t care who scores or assists, I just hope we beat France.

  25. Key will be stopping Griezmann from moving easily between the lines. Mbappe gets the headlines but Griezmann is their biggest player right now. I don’t think France has played against pressure like Argentina who swarm and regain possession – but if we mistime any of these tackles there will be room for Griezmann and co to run at the defense. Honestly with the way France are playing I like Argentina’s odds. Take our chances early and often and we’re off

  26. I don’t think game plan should be centered around stopping a certain player, but I will say this:

    GRIEZMANN HAS TO BE NEUTRALIZED. The guy is France’s creative engine. He is always on the ball and looking to make through balls to Mbappe or crosses to Giroud.

    Paredes or De Paul or both will have to work extra hard to man mark him and cross his passing lanes.

  28. Basically Scaloni has 3 main tactics now and 10 starters. The 11th starter will depend on which tactic he will use. They are
    1. The main tactic the one vs Poland (4-3-3)
    Emi; Molina, Cuti, Otamendi, Acuna; Enzo, MacAllister, De Paul; Di Maria, Alvarez, Messi

    2. The one vs Netherlands (3-5-2)
    All of the above minus Di Maria, Lisandro Martinez instead

    3. The one vs Croatia (4-4-2)
    All of the above minus Lisandro Martinez, Paredes instead

    So against France one of these 3 will be used to start the match as all these 3 tactics have succeeded wonderfully in all 3 games.

    In my opinion Brazil would have been harder to face than France. At times Brazil look almost impossible to score on. France is possible.

    • ideally I think playing 4-3-3 is best for attacking and scoring goals with this team but because france has such a good attacking presence I think 4-4-2 will be safest.

      If we can cut griezmann and midfield control with our 4 like center then we can control the game.

    • He did not have anything to work with. Made good defensive press. Rarely lost possession or mis-placed passes. Nothing more can be expected at such a time from someone who was not allowed to play a single minute in any warm-up matches or group games to build any sort of understanding with team-mates.

      • + he created 1 (of 3) big chance for MacAllister and tried to go for goal several times. Defending well, attacking, and creating is exactly what he needed to do. Imagine what he would do in 90 min…

    • from the 15 minutes he played he didn’t do anything significant but what can a guy do with such little time?

      our guys were not attacking as much in those final minutes so not much opportunity to create chances. still he was able to get a shot in goal.

    • He was good in those minutes. That one run through the defence, which he could not pull off completely. Other than that he was combining well with others and playing a bit of tiki taka. Helped defence as well. Given the circumstance of the game, it was not spectacular, but it was a good run in. Kudos to Scaloni again to manage time for all the players.

    • For me he was pretty good maybe even one of the best in those last Minutes…
      Great defense work rate, should’ve had an Assist with the ball for Mac and an awesome solo run…
      I think when he would have gotten 25+Mins he would have assisted one or maybe even scored…

      Also great link up with Messi for a few times. I’m still sure those two CAN play together.

  30. Emi
    Molina romero otamendi Lisandro acuna
    De paul Enzo Mac alister
    Messi
    Alvarez

    I think Scaloni will play something like this with a 5 man backline in defense but a 3-5-2 in offense. We might even see Guido as a sub. Not the way I want us to play but I think scaloni will use this.

  31. In last year’s copa America, we were underdog too. So let’s just trust Scaloni, Messi and Angel Di Maria. My only worry is Giroud, as he is truly a mismatch for our defenders. The key to this game is how to keep Giroud and Griezmann quiet. I won’t worry about Mbappe because he won’t have too much space to run.

  32. Against France we can go like….

    ========(Martinez) ==========
    -Foyth-Romero-Otamendi– Acuna
    ——– – – Guido – – – ————
    Depaul — Enzo—-Macalister—–

    ———-Messi – -Alvarez — –

    France have girue,, he is one of the best header… So we need solid header and good tackler dembele and mbappe can destroy any defence so we need more careful and compact defense ever sunday final.

    Only Foyth and romero can stop mbappe at right side… So need experience defensive Midfielder like guide… He can block any attack..
    Either way to take it to planty is fine. Argentina will win comfortably in a shootout because emi martinez better than hugo loris…

  33. Guys, here is my advice; stay away from the Euro centric platforms like ESPN FC, Fox Soccer, BBC sports etc. leading up to the final on Sunday, no need to listen to any of these people pre World Cup final analysis because it’s all too predictive at this point. You know they’re going to be pro France. Stay on platforms where the coverage will be fair and balanced…Platforms like ESPN FC are going to say a lot of horrible things about this Argentina national team before Sunday’s final, so just stay away, don’t be worried about what they have to say leading up to the final on Sunday. Don’t let these “expert ” get your mood down, just spend time with your family, friends etc. while going back and forth on sites like Mundo, TYC etc. Moreover, they are really bad at ”predictions” anyways.

    • Stay away from Reddit as well in my personal experience. There’s a strong sentiment against Argentina there, and some crazy headscratching revisionism about how bang average the team is and how there’s no chance against France, and we’re riding our luck on penalties etc.

      How much lucky France have been? If Kane didn’t miss his penalty like Baggio or if the Moroccans were clinical, the story would have been different

  38. No way Scaloni hasn’t filled his notebook after seeing this match. The French defense is looking really shaky even with the mediocre Moroccan attack threatening them.

    This feels like Brazil vs Croatia again where Brazil were left to regret their missed chances. Hope Argentina can exploit and maintain calmness at the back, kind of like how Brazil was neutralized in the Copa final

    • I think we will end up playing them like we did holland with 5 in back to silence the wing play

      Its also a great game for dimaria to play on same wing as mbappe. Their left back is so so and mbappe leaves a ton of space not defending. Almost all the damger from morocco was on his wing.

      Molina ma mark mbappe he is our fastest. Romero behind him ready to pounce with depaul helping.

      Dimaria high up to give him isolation plays and force mbappe back.

  39. So many moroco player are injured.. Else they would have won 3rd place match… So it maybe 1st time 2 teams from each group playing 3rd place match

  42. Good to see Morocco press France for a bit. Morocco deserved everything they got this wc. Ref was really iffy this game. I don’t like this fifa rule where any minimum contact in the box (without intention) is a pk but I think there as a clear penalty for Morocco that wasn’t called. Overall, I think we can beat France. Gonna be a tight game but if we can prevent mistakes especially at the end of the games like we saw against Australia and Netherlands, we can win. My prediction is 2-0 Argentina.

    • Don’t be. Morocco had zero offense and got to LLoris plenty of times, just couldn’t finish. Our offense is certainly better. We need to score first, that’s the key. We scored 3 goals on them in 2018, with a crappy unorganized old team. Think of what we have now. We also have a reenergized Messi who’s only goal is to go out as World Cup Champion.

      • Not true. Morocco attacked quite a bit this game. They went out to play after the early France goal. France got lucky with some good saves and fortunate clearances but they couldn’t prevent the Moroccan attacks.

      • Don’t bring 2018 here. They were comfortably winning 4-2 only in injury time Aguero scored one and made the match interesting. This Argentina side is stronger but this France side is also stronger than the last time and they played us in 2nd round they improved slowly and peaked in final. We didn’t face their peak and this team of France is far stronger in attack and far stronger in defense. Giroud is much more dangerous now. Dembele didn’t play Matuidi did. Tchoumeni is better than kante. Mbappe is now in his peak and improved a lot. They have experience of playing in a wc. France is overwhelming favorite here

    • you are a coward, you don’t deserve to be here…. It’s a shame to believe that we can’t beat that team….!!!! I believe that we are a better team…. our best player is better than their best….. they don’t have anything more than us ….. We are going to be at them….Messi will be finally world champion!….

    • if odds r against us then its good coz since Saudi defeat we have been playing against all odds coz that’s what has motivated our players not carrying a favourites tag this tournament.

  47. If Morocco hadn’t conceded early chaotic goal then this match cud ve gone down the line. Anyways, Morocco reaching this far was more than expected so kudos to them for knocking out Portugal 😜

  48. I don’t think we will see Molina-Di Maria. They are too offensive minded for Scaloni to start against Mbappe. I think more likely we will see Montiel-Di Maria, the same as what we saw against Brazil in Copa final. Hope Scaloni will go with the best possible team instead of adjusting the team depending on the match up. It is the FINAL of the WORLD CUP. You play with your best warriors.

    • Playing safe will be the way to go. France is much stronger than us. We didn’t face any strong team yet. Molina against mbappe is suicidal. I want dimaria but with back 5 its tough to play dimaria

    • Holland didnt look better lol. Holland hardly even played the game. Not having Van Persie or Robben makes them look like an average team at best. They were lucky to leave the group stages. Ecuador and Senegal were way better and didn’t just depend on set pieces and headers. Lol France, Argentina, Spain, Morocco etc. Can take out netherlands any day

  52. I want to make prediction. This World Cup is a bit similar to WC 2002. At the time the host South Korea also made it to the semi final and they had to face Germany. Germany met Brazil in the final and Brazil won it.

    This is how I see it:
    South Korea 2002 is Marocco 2022
    Germany 2002 is France 2022
    Brazil 2002 is Argentina 2022
    Turkey 2002 is Croatia 2022

    Why? Because South Korea was a weak nation. They made it to the semis only because of being a host. The same as Marocco this year. They are actually “weak”. They are in the semis because they are the “host” being an Arab country.

    Turkey was the dark horse in 2002. The same as Croatia in 2022. Both are Europeans too and no one expected them to go that far.

    Germany will play France role this year as they both are the strongest from Europe.
    Brazil will play Argentina role this year as they both are the strongest from South America.

    The final score was Brazil-Germany 2-0
    I predict the same final score on Sunday Argentina 2 – France 0.

  55. France, a nation in the African continent. This is what happens when your entire culture is built on colonialism.

    Morocco, absolutely ZERO fire power. They couldn’t score if their lives counted on it.

        • Because they didn’t have fire power. They couldn’t shoot at our goal and also struggled against Japan. They were very fortunate to defeat Brazil.

          • No you said they didn’t deserve to be there. You didn’t say any of that other stuff. If you are going to make statements, own them. Your comment came across as a low knowledge troll to others, even if it wasn’t meant to.

        • Also Croatia didn’t beat Spain Morocco did. Morocco deserves everything they got, Croatia doesn’t. Neither did netherlands who were totally outclassed by Ecuador and Senegal.

        • I said Croatia not Morocco. Where are you pulling this “Croatia beat Spain” shit? Out your ass? Gtfo you uppidy douche bag you don’t know Jack shit you fucking pansy. Croatia and Netherlands were not good teams and all of a sudden you act like I was taking away from Argentina with your straw man’s. Piss off you bitch.

        • Your comment comes across as someone who is a little bitch that can’t handle another opinion about the game. Go coach little league with your arrogance you bitch.

        • Lmao here we go another person that doesn’t know Jack shit acting like he does. That is the way of the internet. Ándate a la puta que te parió culiado de mierda.

  58. France over relying on 4-2-3-1 even when leading they still use 4-2-3-1. Scaloni has a lot of back up tactics. France is like Brazil this year, no matter what, whatever the subs are, they stick to the same tactic.

  60. It is very easy for Marocco to enter the France penalty box. Do you remember how many times Croatia enter the Argentina penalty box last night? i dont really remember honestly. They had some shots from distance yes, but they could not enter our box.

    • Croatia was never a threat even when they had good possession coz De Paul, Paredes n Romero nullified their whatsoever creativity in midfield and the beast Otamendi was flying for every air balls battle.

  61. This WC referring has been really poor even tonite don’t understand why Boufal was yellow carded but not Mbaape when he slide onto Moroccan Keeper hitting him?

  62. Morocco going very hard on Mpappe we need to do the same in case of a win for france and if Morocco goes thru we need to protect Messi. Morocco would try to stop Messi on all costs

  64. I think France vs Argentina is an even match up, 50/50. Can go either way. Our defense and Dibu will have to do their absolute best, plus Alvarez and Messi magic upfront. I would not mind a repeat of the same 4-4-2 with congested midfield diamond. We can win it but have to play very smart. If we face Morocco though, our fan advantage might be negated by the crowd rooting for Morocco, vs France I think our fans will make it feel like an almost home game again.

    • > I would not mind a repeat of the same 4-4-2 with congested midfield diamond

      Me too. Tough call for sure because i also like the 3 man mid, where they move together maintaining the triangle shape for added passing and pressing (supported by fullbacks). We didn’t see as much as central triangle passing with the 4 man mid. I was very envious seeing the effectiveness of the Croatian trio. They moved together as a wolfpack (triangle), easily playing keep away from us. Their control and possession in the mid was great to see for the 1st 20 min or so.

  65. Anything can happen, but i do not think France matches up with us if they play this way and we will cause them problems. There is a lot of open space everywhere. Maybe they are not afraid of Morocco but it wasn’t much tighter against England either.

    • I agree and even in last world cup, their defense wasn’t strong. They rely on individual talent of griezmann, mbappe and giroud.

      They have a lot of weakness which we can exploit. France would be an easier openent than Morroco. However l, France can score at anytime.

  68. My worry is that France haven’t showed their best yet. For those of you who says France is not that strong, you need to know that France has been on cruising mode most of the time in this tournament. They are very confident that they can outscore the opponent, so they don’t have to put 10 men in defense and be rock solid. They are also very confident that their speed can beat the opponent, so they allow sloppy passes to open the game up.

    To beat France, we need to borrow Croatia’s game plan against Brazil. Be super organized in defense, and find opportunity to punish their sloppiness.

    • There is nothing we can do what France is capable of. What we can do is beat them. So enjoy the game and beleive in our strenght. They are also scared of us. We grew into the tournament as well. And we have what it takes to beat France. In Sha Allah we will win and be the Champion.

    • Karl what’s wrong with u.France is not that impressive. They have not seen our best even. They are not strong as 2018. I can see so many holes in their defense. Eventhogh France scored Morroco is out playing them in both halves. Arg defense is very strong and solid. I have full confidence that this arg team will beat this french side with ease.insha Allah. Mm y score is 3 nil for argentina

    • Spot on with the Croatia’s game against Brazil, that’s how you control an athletic and physical team, don’t counter them every moment but slow the game down until we have enough confidence. I noticed we had unusual nerves in the Croatia game early on, lot’s of misplaced passes, rushing to play one-twos. If we grow into the game on Sunday, we’ll blow France away. A confident Argentina is a different beast. Messi without pressure is equally a beast, all we wanted was to get to the final, now let’s dance.

  71. France have a hole on their left. Mbappe did not help to defend at all. It will be interesting Scaloni will expose that with Moline/Di Maria combination or will defend completely with 4 midfielders and Montiel.

  73. Now that France showed us how to break Morocco, all we need is for Morocco to level and then beat Fra in penalties lol …

    Either way if anyone is looking for ways to reduce their anxiety before the final, remember this..

    WERE HERE, IN THE RING. SOON SOMEONE ELSE WILL ARRIVE AND THE FIGHT WILL BEGIN. NOTHING WE OR THEY DID BEFORE WILL MATTER ANYMORE. NOT WHO HAS BEEN BETTER OR WORSE OR XG OR GOAL DIFF.. NOTHING MATTERS.

    WHAT MATTERS ON SUNDAY IS HERE, NOW AND HOW WE (NOT FRANCE) PLAY ON SUNDAY BECAUSE THAT IS ALL WE CAN CONTROL.

    Yes so, from that pov I don’t care who shows up on Sunday.. not cocky, just don’t care anymore..well play our game.

  74. What some of us have been saying is on clear display in this match.

    No matter how stacked your defense is, those French attackers will overwhelm you and get through. Parking the bus and letting France have 60% possession and control of the game is a recipe for disaster.

    The way to beat France is to attack them relentlessly, and out-score them. Their defense is vulnerable. Even Morocco’s less than stellar attackers have nearly gotten past them. Even during 2018 horror show, Argentina scored thrice against them. Messi, Di Maria and Alvarez (in his current form) can tear them to pieces.

  76. France is a combination of skill, speed, and physical strength. We are underdog, but can still beat them with good tactical plans and a bit of luck!

  77. If Morocco manage to level, I think they can take it. France is going to tire and get frustrated. There’s still a lot of football to played. I will say that France is worrisome, they have speed that we do not, if we do play France, we will be tested. We cannot fall behind with them.

  80. We can definitely surely beat France!! Just we need to remember that we are the pedigree of Alfredo Di Stéfano Maradona, Kempes, Buruchaga, Goycochea!!! Just play with your heart and beat those bastards!!

  85. Just a couple observations. I hope all Mundo members agree with me.
    First, I pray for Morocco to win because of one reason. That Europe is shut out of the World Cup final. Their leagues are made of all foreign players, and disguises their pedestrian football. Klinsmann today said England and France are the two best teams. He is a moron. Maybe he should concentrate on his pathetic German side that we can wipe our ass with right now, despite importing African and Arab players.
    Two football in America will never be anything as long as morons like Alexi Lalas has a microphone. The announcers in this country are ignorant and they suck. At least the English announcers are just bitter. The English side is weak mentally, and kind of slow. They just don’t know it.
    I hope everyone here can see my points.

  86. In some time from now we come to know who we face in the final. Whoever be the opponent, they would bring some unique strength. Morocco can bring in the grit of their defence and a brilliant midfield. They do not have a solid offence. They are a counter-attack based team. France can bring in Giroud-MBappe-Griezman-Dembele, a formiable offence and midfield combination. But their defence has some holes. So a bigger and more clinical performance would be needed in a desperate final.

  87. Just WOW:

    “11 of Argentina’s 12 goals scored have come with Julián Álvarez on the pitch and all 5 conceded came when he was off. Such an important player and has Argentina defending from the front.”

    • Acuna has similar stats I believe………good thing he did not play in the semi……now we will find him fresh in the final. Also, BTW Tag was phenomenal contrary to a lot of Mundo haters here in the semi……

    • Irony that you were criticizing ep_principe’s statistics but now using something very similar.

      This is very crude estimate, but yes, it tells how important Julian has been.

      It’s a joke that Real Madrid is spending 74 million for a Brazilian league teenager while Julian was sold for only 20 millions!!

    • According to my stats Julian Alvarez has the HIGHEST offensive rating among all players (better than Messi) and third best plus minus difference among all players. Acuna has the HIGHEST defensive rating among all players. I will update the stats tomorrow.

      Anyway as for my stats, I don’t care if no one enjoys it or not but I enjoy it for myself as it is related to my job anyway. It helps me to see things from different ways from most people do. I don’t need people to see things the same way how I see things. I will keep posting them after every match no matter what.

    • > 5 conceded came when he was off.

      Total stretch….mixing up cause and causation.

      2 Saudi goals were brain farts and I think everyone agrees the entire squad was off. SA were lucky af.

      1 Australian goal was a lucky deflection on a fast break. To suggest Alvarez prevents 100% of all breaks is silly.

      2 Netherlands goals were due to LVG genius tactical change when he had NO other solutions “Alright boys, time to PUNT THE BALL to our ENTS and LET THE DICE ROLL”. Alvarez obviously wouldn’t overcome the heading advantage and total disruption to our backline. Also, Emi kept kicking long balls which obviously favored the Ents.

        • 8 sample size is low for meaningful correlation and there are far more important factors (variables) at play than Alvarez when we conceded the 5. You want to talk correlation, bump up sample size and factor in all variables.

          • You know you can even publish with one sample (case study)? That means, information of even a single sample could be sometimes meaningful.

            8-10 sample can still be meaningful to derive an association. What you should rather debate on is how we interpret the findings.

          • > What you should rather debate on is how we interpret the findings

            now were talking in circles because i did debate how we interpret what Csabala said about conceding 5 goals without Alvarez.
            Example.. the 2 dutch goals, LVG had everyone long ball to giants pushing our defensive line. Both goals had ZILCH to do with Alvarez.

          • And, all I have been saying is that it’s not all bull**t. You can make some crude inference.

            As for this particular example, Alvarez may had nothing to do. But, had Alvarez not playing on that day, what other counterfactual scenarios could have arisen , leading to goal?

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