Video: Ángel Di María’s performance in the World Cup final

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Roy Nemer
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Ángel Di María’s performance for Argentina in the World Cup final has been compiled into a video.

Di María was one of Argentina’s best players in the World Cup final. Scoring, drawing a penalty and constantly dribbling around the French players, Di María got his redemption.

After having missed the 2014 World Cup final, the ultimate big game player once more showed why he is the player for the finals with his performance.

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83 Comments

  3. Replacing Di Maria with Acuna did not click. Di Maria should have been replaced by Dybala and a slowing down Otamendi by Licha. Going ahead Scaloni needs to think of how to leverage on pitch times of Messi, Di Maria and Otamendi. He also needs to start scouting new talent. It is perhaps not yet clear whether Garnacho would go for Argentina or Spain. If he decides for Argentina there needs to be a clear plan to induct him to a “family”. We cannot afford to have an “MBappe” in our team, however, talended that individual might be.

  4. That di maria finish reminded me of the Ozil bounce
    …… Surely it wouldn’t have been possible without fideo constantly making runs on the wing
    Thank you fideo you are a gem
    The most underrated player.💥🌟🌟🌟

  7. Best of luck to some player who was part of this amazing group. Guido and angle correa arr under used in my opinion. Di maria EMI messi are super stars. Lautaro was flop of the tournament.

    • Not sure how people find it so easy to label someone as flop. Lautaro might have missed few not clear opportunities. But he did help a lot as well. His penalty kick in Netherlands was critical. Dont forget he created the 3rd goal for Argentina in ET, which Messi put in. He kicked the ball with great connection to force Lloris to spill out the ball which Messi scored off.

      • he didn’t create it, he screwed it, Messi only scored from a kind rebound.
        In another occassion, He should have cut it back to Messi for an easy goal instead he went for a delayed shot before Upemecano slid in to block it. At least 5 chances including that pathetic header. Had Argentina not won he would have been crucified. Worst performance of this tournament even beating Lakaku’s against Croatia.

  9. @ san-isidro
    @ mmh007
    @ ricky-villa

    Regarding FIFA Ranking #2 for Argentina – they do not grant points to teams that win in Penalties. Our wins against Ned and France are not counted favorably so we’re right behind Brazil by maybe 1-2 wins.

    • Yes my friend, I read that also. The only question I would ask is, they tied against Croatia in regular time and lost in penalty, but they also lost against Cameroon and against Argentina in Copa. Not exactly a stellar showing. Meanwhile, we have lost one game in almost 3 years and won Copa, finalissima, and World Cup. So what else do we have to do to be number one in FIFA’s eyes?

      • Lol ! Exactly how can this be even possible, even i do understand their more idiotic way of counting as everything allways more than idiotic from FIFA ! As honestly with FIFA, i think until the whole stucture will be erased and rebuild as i would even suggest a new name as everyone willing to vote for their favoured names or maybe they just need to be hammered down for good….anyhow good and very valuable point as morecthan preffered @Choripan

    • ha ha ha ha ha let them and fifa name No 1 whoever they want. Can you tell me this small fucking gold thing with weight around 6 kilos who have it? Guess what my friend.
      THIS IS NOW IN ONE AIRPLANE UP TO THE SKY OF BRASIL BUT IT IS NOT LANDING THERE!!! IT IS GOING SOUTH !!!
      They can look up to the sky if they want to see the champions with the cup. But the bad is that now it is night and they can t see the sky blue plane crossing their sky ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

      • Lol ! That is truly good one my friend as i can’t stop laughing as i’m trying imagine this scene u described so well, lol ! Well, they may see it in their radar, but that is about it !, lol !

  10. From Michael Cox, The Athletic (formerly of Zonal Marking blog):

    “Lionel Scaloni didn’t have a Plan A at this competition. He used a 4-4-2 against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, before moving to 4-3-3 against Poland. He then reverted to 4-4-2 against Australia — and after switching to 5-3-2 at the start of the second half in that game, stuck with the 5-3-2 against the Netherlands. He switched to 4-4-2 again against Croatia, and then to 4-3-3 against France. No other World Cup winning side has been this FLEXIBLE.

    Scaloni’s plan for the final was his most attack-minded, and his most effective from the outset.

    It wasn’t a huge surprise that Di Maria returned for the final, in place of Paredes. But it was a surprise to see him deployed on the left.

    Di Maria had played from the right in this tournament, and it was from the right that he was the match-winner in last year’s Copa America final victory against Brazil. It seemed most likely Di Maria would come into the side to help block up the flank occupied by Kylian Mbappe and Theo Hernandez. For all Di Maria’s attacking qualities, he’s always been a worker, accustomed to playing balancing roles to help Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mbappe shine for Argentina, Real Madrid and PSG respectively over the years.

    Instead, Di Maria played from the left of a 4-3-3, with Messi playing from the right. This was a significant gamble, leaving Hernandez free to fly forward and combine with Mbappe.

    They combined dangerously just before Argentina’s opener, winning a free-kick by the byline, which Olivier Giroud headed over. De Paul, playing to the right of Argentina’s midfield trio, was overworked.

    But there were two benefits to this approach. First, Messi — given freedom from defensive duties, as ever — was left free to wander into space behind Hernandez, and was regularly involved. Secondly, and more significantly, Di Maria had a stormer down the left. Scaloni’s precise logic for using him down that flank is a little unclear. France’s makeshift right-back Jules Kounde hadn’t struggled defensively in this tournament, whereas Hernandez on the other flank certainly had. Perhaps Scaloni, a former right-back himself, sensed that a regular centre-back playing out wide wouldn’t relish playing against speed and trickery.

    If so he was right. Di Maria won the penalty for the opener, from Ousmane Dembele’s foul.
    He then popped up to round off a brilliant move for the second, which stemmed from Argentina breaking into the space behind Hernandez again.

    He was outstanding throughout the first half, whether going down the outside of Kounde or looking to combine with Messi. It brought to mind his strong performance in the 2014 Champions League final down the left.

    The curious thing about Scaloni’s approach in the second half was that, having shown a determination to switch to a five-man defence earlier in the competition, he didn’t opt to do so here. Maybe he considered that his switch against Australia was too cautious, and invited too much pressure. There had, in truth, been minimal sign that France were set to launch a comeback, so you can understand why he opted to stick with his initial shape, and when Di Maria inevitably ran out of steam after 64 minutes, Scaloni brought on left-back Marcos Acuna to play in tandem with Nicolas Tagliafico. That was what Scaloni did at a similar point in last year’s Copa America final, albeit it made more sense in that match after Brazil’s change of formation.

    Argentina continued to play in a 4-4-2, simply with a left-back on the left of midfield. And with Didier Deschamps having essentially switched to a front four boasting bags of pace — Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani, Marcus Thuram and Kingsley Coman — it was surprising that Scaloni didn’t do what he did against Australia, bringing on Lisandro Martinez to provide a spare man at the back.

    Suddenly, Argentina looked ragged.

    The thrilling extra-time period felt like tactical anarchy. Whereas some have suggested that the increased number of substitutions available hands managers too much control, maybe it’s the opposite. By the end of extra-time, Argentina had made six substitutions and France seven, as Adrien Rabiot’s departure was as a concussion substitution. The more changes, the more fresh legs, the less managers seem able to control the game. After Messi put Argentina ahead, this time Scaloni did change to a back five for the last few minutes, although Argentina conceded another penalty when trying to see out the game.

    To what extent do Argentina feel similar to recent World Cup winners? Six common themes from the last World Cup winners:

    The first: you don’t need to impress in the group stage. Argentina lost their first game, and at half-time of their second game against Mexico, were only a goal away from elimination.

    The second: managers tend to stick with tried-and-tested star players. Scaloni changed more players than most World Cup-winning managers, although in the final he was rewarded for showing faith in Di Maria, when others might have stuck with those who played well — or played at all – in the knockout stage.

    The third: there’s often a major system change along the way. That box was very much ticked.

    The fourth: knockout clean sheets are vital. This wasn’t the case here — Argentina only kept one in their four matches.

    The fifth: you don’t need a prolific No 9. That largely applies here. Argentina’s strikers, Lauturo Martinez and Alvarez, managed only three goals. Funnily enough, the only game where Messi started as the central attacker, against Poland, was the only game he didn’t score in.

    And finally: you generally need extra-time and/or penalties. Argentina needed two shootouts to win this World Cup, just as Italy needed two shootouts to win last year’s European Championship.

    Still, you won’t find many who will suggest Argentina didn’t deserve it. They were the better side in all four knockout games. They ‘won’ in expected goals terms in all seven matches. Their boldness created possibly the greatest World Cup final, and their captain is surely the greatest footballer the game has seen. They will be remembered fondly”.

    • You know I used to like his post before 2014 World Cup even after 2015 Copa. Post one of those Copa he gone different path then some of us here 😅

      • Tbf last few posts he shared was spot on from the Netherlands to Croatia matches and gave good tips to avoid mainstream media before finals which I agree

  14. Campeones del Mundo!! Feels good after 32 years of personally waiting!!

    I knew we would win if we played a 4-4-2 formation and would overwhelm the French midfield . DiMaria was the key as he was in midfield like at Real Madrid with Mourinho. Both tracking back and pushing forward like an overlapping left back! Genius by scaloni as it made Dembele defend.
    As always, Argentina made us suffer a little as we were not composed after the first penalty. Much like against Saudi Arabia, Australia or the Netherlands.
    I want to breakdown the game more by watching it with a “clear mind” as I was stressed to the max from the 83rd minute. But I feel like another midfielder not Acuña should have come in for DiMaria. Acuna attempted to be Angel, moving up and down the left flank but unsuccessfully compared to Fídeo.
    France had 7 substitutes!! Which was crazy that fifa didn’t notice!
    Lautaro has multiple chances again especially when his 6 yard shot was blocked because he took an extra touch! Yet, his trap, pass and onside run was key on our 3rd goal.

    I would critique the game more but who fuc%in cares!!! We are once again Champions of the world ! Undefeated in 42 of 43 games ! And ready for the next FIFA tournament in 2 years !! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ Enjoy my brothers … no one can ever take this from us!!

  15. Montiel is completely the opposite of Zidane in 2006 WC. In the final Zizou was a hero until he decided to turn into a villain, and Montiel was a villain until he took the last penalty and turned into a HERO lol

      • People said he should be glued to the bench, wished injuries on him, said they wouldn’t pick him, would have chosen Garnacho over him, just proves how much less we know than the coaches, and the lack of authority we have to criticize their decisions, it’s almost sweeter that Montiel scored that last penalty, just to rub it in their face THAT SCALONI IS A GOOD COACH!!!!

  16. I love all of @el_principe points.

    WE ARE CHAMPIONS GUYS!!!!!! ****MISSION ACCOMPLISHED****

    Now on a real subject: let’s talk about kit #’s because these are the worst kit # selection I’ve ever seen on a team. Yes, after a world cup after 36 years. I bring slight negativity lol 🙂 love you all!

    1. Acuna needs give Enzo his #8 shirt, otherwise Enzo is #5 or #6

    2. Acuna can have #19. That doesn’t look great on a defender plus Otamendi needs to retire after almost gifting France. He aged after the 70th minute before our eyes. That is a sign it’s time to hang up the cleats. Emi saved us at the 120th minute. Dreams almost shattered.

    3. Alvarez is #7 (I rather Garnacho with #7) or #11 after DiMaria retires

    4. Lautaro will be given a last chance next Copa to shake off Higuain allergy for #9 (jokes, I’m one of the few who feel bad for Higuain, but let’s face it, El Toro missed a clear header that made my 15-year-old sister-in-law say “it was easier to hit the target, how’d he do that”). Let’s see Simeone for a change. I was so sure EL Toro would score 4 goals in this world cup, but it was Alvarez who did it. Shout out to all of you who saw Alvarez as a gem!

    5. DePaul needs #6. #7 should be for a winger or attacker.

  18. One Indian actress together with Casillas bring the trophy in the pitch before final begin.
    She bring the positive energy and aura of the Indian friends here i am sure 🙂 🙂 🙂
    very nice 🙂 🙂 🙂

  19. Just to get your mouth watering… Maradonas best football year was the year after he won the world cup. Now I know Messi is older when winning the title in ratio to Diego… But I think Messi still has another 3-5 years if he doesn’t get injured

    • Messi still on fire. It was crazy to read some people calling for his end. Now that he has accomplished and dominated in EVERYTHING and I mean ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING the sport has to offer, it will be fascinating to see how Messi plays with complete mental freedom.

  20. Did Scaloni get his subs wrong? Maybe or is it possible that some of his subs, e.g. Acuna underperformed? If Acuna played well we would be praising Scaloni’s acumen even more. Sometimes it’s just like that, subs don’t work because they don’t play well. Acuna was a former left wide midfielder and we saw both Tagliafico and Acuna vs Brazil in the final albeit for a much shorter time and it worked very well defensively.

    • > we saw both Tagliafico and Acuna vs Brazil in the final albeit for a much shorter time and it worked very well defensively

      I remember now and checked..Tag subbed in for GLC at 63′ so makes sense what Scaloni was trying to do.

      Personally, i think he got 3 subs wrong –

      1) Di Maria 64′- Licha instead of Acuna. Obvious game change given history but understandable Scaloni wanted to maintain 433 shape and tactics. I personally would have picked Dybala instead, Alvarez out wide left, Dybala and Messi interchanging center and right.
      2) Alvarez 103′ – Dybala instead of Toro. We saw how poor Toro was performing and again, he was poor in the final. We will never forget that amazing decisive Pen against Ned though!! When Dybala replaced Alvarez at 74′ against Croatia, he created 1 or 3 big chances, defended well, 1 tackle i think, and kept Croatia more conservative.
      3) Mac A 116′ – Licha over Pezz any day.

      • @chorpian spot on this what exactly i was thinking of all 3 subbs unbelievable our minds working same
        I was so eager if di marria get replaced it must be dyabala we saw how french defence step back the momment dybala arrived
        I think dyabala is our future 10
        And i wish we find a better LB than accuna and tagi before 2026 because theire cross are very bad so does montial needs to improve his crossing

  23. I rewatched the match. This is my 2 cents:
    – I agree with someone who says Scaloni was lucky. He is a very good coach, but he is not perfect yet. After Di Maria was taken out, we had a huge hole in the right, but Scaloni did not do anything to fix it. I was surprised that no substitution was made until the extra time but Acuna who happened to be a really bad substitution. We were lucky because the atmosphere had shifted 100% to France.

    France second goal was due to that huge hole in our right. De Paul was too tired to track back. Only Molina and Cuti facing Thuram and Mbappe. That could not happen when we needed to defend the lead.

    I dont understand why he did not play Licha Martinez if he decided to take out Di Maria. Acuna is not the same offensive threat as Di Maria was. Against Croatia, 3-5-2 was very safe against their attack with Licha.

    But Scaloni redeemed himself when he made 3 great subs in the extra time: Paredes instead of the exhausted De Paul, Lautaro instead of Julian, and Dybala for penalty reason instead of Tagli.

    – Enzo is really really good. Please rewatch the match and just watch this guy. He had so many great key interceptions. It was him who sent that pass to Lautaro too in our third goal. MacAllister was good until the second half. In extra time, he got a bit tired, that’s why Pezzella replacing him. Enzo carried a yellow card since 45th minutes but he made amazing interceptions after that moment like 4 times. Remember Thuram diving, it was against Enzo too. Remember Mbappe dribbling that got past Cuti and Paredes in the 124th minute? It was Enzo again who stopped that. He totally deserves the young player of the tournament award.

    – Lautaro actually made more impact than Julian. Julian has been phenomenal, but in 2 games, Lautaro actually outplayed him. Against Netherlands and the final vs France. Yes Lautaro wasted 3 golden chances, but when Lautaro was in, France stopped looking dangerous and we started create chances against them, something that we did not do in the second half and first half of extra time with Julian. Maybe Lautaro has better instinct as a striker and his positioning was good. That’s why we created more chances with him.

    I agree Lautaro has a really poor WC for his standard, but he was the reason why the third goal was happening. I am sure he will perform better for us after the WC. I expect a good battle between him and Julian for the number 9, not an automatic starting spot for Julian.

    • Agree 100%, they added several athletes around Mbappe but we didn’t react fast enough. We conceded in last minutes in all three knockout games except against Croatia where they have really bad strikers! Australia almost equalized too, yes it’s Australia, the team barely made to WC through penalties.

      This pattern is repeating for a very long time since pre-copa, and it hasn’t been fixed till now. But we have to admit Scaloni’s pre-game tactics are second to none; but in-game not so well specially after the leads!

    • Good observation and correct analysis. I also was surprised it took Scaloni that long to make these subs, and yes the game needed Licha, 8 love Acuna but he didn’t have a good game. Also, I was happy for Lautaro, I wanted him to score but his contribution in the 3rd goal is undisputed.

    • > I don’t understand why he did not play Licha Martinez if he decided to take out Di Maria. Acuna is not the same offensive threat as Di Maria was. Against Croatia, 3-5-2 was very safe against their attack with Licha.

      Nailed it. I was shocked. i don’t think i remember him using Acuna – Tag together but all of sudden we see the pair in the final? I understand he wanted to keep the shape and tactics but rather see Dybala in center with Julian left wing and Messi right interchanging with Dybala.
      Or the more obvious play would have been LICHA for added defensive stability, which we all expected.

    • Yeah. He shocked me with his sub too. I thought he was gonna take Di Maria off and put Licha on but he didn’t. Anyway it would have been maybe an expensive mistakes but it didn’t and now he is more experienced with one more star. Although he did way way better then others. Our team was only team who tactically so adaptable. So full credit goes to him. Hopefully we can win next copa too

    • > Yes Lautaro wasted 3 golden chances,

      Come on. he was poor. 3 missed chances is horrible for a striker. Full stop. He looked slow and lacked confidence. Love his pen against Ned and goals again SA but otherwise, he was poor overall.

      Imagine if Emi didn’t save miracle play in dying minutes or we lost on pens, Toro would be crucified. Toro 3 chances were GAME ENDING. 1st miss = horrible, 2nd miss isnt that bad given angle but thankfully messi was there to score. 3rd miss was called offside but still the way he hit the ball was very poor and he also did time the run correctly.

    • Your comment on Lautaro is spot on mate. Although I wont go as far as Lautaro being clearly better than Alvarez as Alvarez played the pressing forward role. But Lautaro was absolutely instrumental in the win despite missing few chances which were not that simple. The third goal does not happen without his great connection with the ball and a striker’s shoot to Hugo. Also, Netherlands critical penalty. How hurtful it must be for these players when they see fans are calling him choker despite contributing to obviously critical game changing moments leading to the WC.

    • Yes , very good points indeed again @el_principe as i think Arg may have a great future ahead as having morecthan good options up front after all fuss for who was going to be Toro’s back up more as no 9, well even myself was wondering that, but Julian did hit his game at most right time as also Haaland’s injury gave ir made Pep to give him more time as obviously allways a super talentic player who is willing to grow and TaKe those right steps at the very right time as what come’s to Enzo, well again even watching him since pre-season with Benfica at the beginning i highly doubted that Scaloni will bring him even he was called twice before he got selected as that selection from Scaloni with Mac who i was allways against and preffering Palacios or even Almada, Dominquez etc…after GLC’s injury, well hat’s off once again to Scaloni to aelecting him too, but back to Enzo who for me was even more awesome as both as Mac and even Enzo surprised me, but more than any as Mac as with Enzo i knew how good player he allready was with pre-season from Benfica as obviously he must had been great in Gallardo’s River too as Alvarez obviously according to his amazing stats from River was and that is why i would like to give special thanx to MARCELO GALLARDO AND RIVER TOO AS GIVING ARG THE 2 MORE THAN AMAZING PLAYERS AS ENZO AND ALVAREZ ARE MORE THAN DESERVEDLY AA BOTH WERE OUTSTANDING WITH MAC TOO ! AS THIS QUITE RARE TO HAVE 3 PLAYERS TO PEAK EVEN MORE THAN TNEY ALKREADY ARE AT WC WHERE THE PRESSURE IS ALLWAYS AT PRESENT AND TRYING TO SURROUND ANY PLAYER AND PREVENT THEM FROM PERFORMING AS BEING IN THEIR FIRST WC, OK NOW WE COULD SAY THAT MANY OR MOST OF FROM TEAM WERE ETC. STILL OTHERS MAY HAD HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE FROM CERTAIN LEVEL, BUT AS AS WE SAW HOW QUICKLY ENZO STARTED TO PERFORM FROM THE DAY ONE AT BENFICA WITH CONSTANTLY GROWING AND BECOMMING AMONGST THEIR MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS FOR BENFICA’S WISE, WELL SO DID ALVAREZ TOO SOON AS HE WAS GIVEN A PROPER TIME WITH PEP, BUT STILL IT IS MORE THAN AWESOME HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO PERFORM LIKE THIS IN WC ! AS SAME WITH MAC TOO ! THIS IS WAY BEYOND AND THEREFORE, WELL IF ARG HAS PLENTY OF OPTIONS AT UP FRONT SO DO THEY HAVE ON MIDDFIELD TOO AS I COULD SEE THIS MIDDFIELD COMING EVEN SO MUCH BETTER AS WITH MANY OPTIONS TOO AS ALSO WITH LICHA AND CUTI ROMERO ARG HAS SUCH A GOOD CB’s THAT IS HARD TO ARGUE ABOUT IT, THOUGH THEY WHO PREFER MAY STILL CALL LICHA AS MIDGET, AS OBVIOUSLY HEVIS NOT SO TALL, BUT CAN JUMP UP QUITE HIGH IN THE AIR AND I THINK HE MAY BE EVEN TO IMPROVE THIS ASPECT OF HIS GAME AS THAT COULD THE ONLY ASPECT HE REALKY NEEDS TO IMPROVE AS WE KNOW HOW GOOD HE CAN BE WITH THE BALL, BUT ALSO HE CLEARLY KNOWS HOW TO DEFEND TOO AS ANY SHORT CB WILL STRUGGLE NO MATTER HOW GOOD THEY ARE AGAINST REAL TALL PLAYERS AS THAT IS MORE THAN OBVIOUS, BUT LICHA HAS SO MANY OTHER ABBILITYS THAT MAKE HIM LOOK SO GOOD AS CUTI IS THE ”REAL RUFF N’ TUFF DEAL”, BUT ALSO A VERY GOOD AND CALM WITH THE BALL TOO AS HE ALSO MAY HAVE SOME WORK TO DO LIKE WE SEE THAT EVEN MESSI CAN GET BETTER WITH BEING FAIRLY OLD ALLREADY, BUT OBVIOYSLY NOT WILLING TO QUIT AS CUTI WITH DIBU AND RDP ARE TRUE WARRIORS INDEED AS MOLINA MAY HAVE SOME DEFFENSIVE WORK TO DO AS I’M SURE HE CAN IMPROVE ALSO VICEVERSUS TOO AND NOT ONLY DEFFENSEVILY AS OR WHICH RIGHT NOW MAY BE HIS WEAKEST PART, BUT I DON’T THINK HE HAS IMPOSSIBLE JOB TO SO AS I SEE IT MORE THAN EASY THING FOR HIM ACOMPLISH AS SCALONI WILL ONLY GET BETTER TOO, SO I THINK WVEN ACUNA AND TAGLI BOTH STILL WILL CONTINUE AS DESERVEDLY AS WORLD CHAMPIONS, STIL ARG WILL NEED TO LOOK FOR LB’S AND WINGBACKS WHO MAY BE ABLE TO PLAY ON BOTH SIDES OR AT LEAST ON THE LEFT FOR THE FUTURE,WHICH IS MORE THAN LOOKING GOOD !

  24. As far as I remember in the last 40 years of futbol history there are only 3 countries that successfully built a dynasty. A dynasty means if you are that successful that you win a lot of major trophies in consecutive years.

    They are:
    1. Brazil Joga Bonito in 1999-2004. They won 3 major trophies: 2 Copa in 1999 and 2004 and a World Cup in 2002

    2. Spain Tiki Taka in 2008-2012. They won 4 major trophies: an insane 2 Euro in 2008 and 2012 and 1 World Cup in 2010.

    3. France in 1998-2000. They won a World Cup in 1998 and a Euro in 2000.

    Other than them, I don’t remember any country is as good as to be considered a “dynasty”.

    Guess what? We have a chance to be the 4th one by winning one more tournament: Copa America 2024. If we win that one then we are one of the all time best. As we win Copa 2021, finalissima 2021, World Cup 2022, and Copa 2024. That’s a dynasty.

  25. Di Maria! Fideo! Messi 2.0…..Where would we be without this guy?? Does anyone remember the Argentian sportscaster (I can’t recall his name) on his hands and knees begging Scaloni to not include DiMaria on the team? What a fool….. Di Maria should not have been taken out, it was clear France had no idea how to contain that threat from the left, once he was out the game changed and they were able to breath. We had our foot on their neck and were not able to break it.

  26. Everyone talks about Leo but don’t forget Di Maria is the player who brings luck to win the game. Had he been to the 2014 final we would have had four stars on the shirt.

  27. Please don’t tell me he’s tired at 60 mins, running like a machine. He has been well rested. I am pissed the we didn’t win 3-0.
    What a legend! Barca players feared him most not CR7

  28. We will never have another Di Maria for years. He is the second player to carry Argentina whenever Messi is stacked between the defender.

    I will be missing him for sure.

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