Happy birthday to World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister!

By
Roy Nemer
-
121

A big happy birthday to the World Cup winner with Argentina, Alexis Mac Allister!

The man who provided an assist in the World Cup final turns 24 years old today. An absolute gem of a midfielder, Mac Allsiter found himself in the starting eleven due to injuries in the Argentina midfield but once in the eleven, he never lost his spot.

He was Argentina’s best player in the first half vs. Mexico and scored the opening goal of the match in the 2-0 win vs. Poland. In the knockout stages, he was instrumental in shielding the ball, moving it forward and connecting with the attack.

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121 Comments

  1. For us who have suffered so much for decades now, there isn’t a sweeter time to be a football fan. And while our beloved team needs all the rest and the much needed time with their families, I am itching to see Alexis out there with Brighton, or Enzo out there with Benfica, or our immortal Dibu with Villa….So many European strikers out there want a piece of Dibu, the experts literally want his head for celebrating in his own way. When that man gets back on the field, he would be back to his absolute best. Make no mistake about it. Belated Merry Christmas to all!!!

  3. Argentina are world champions… Yes we are world champions… Wow … Amazing feeling… Never ever had this winning experience in my life, so am feeling so thrilled… Wow … Can’t put into words as you all gave done here. Feeling surreal but realising it’s so real.
    .
    My long time prayers are answered… Thank you Lord.
    .
    Argentina are worthy winners every bit … Every bit after the first stumble… I don’t understand all these drama the whole one sided world are putting up in asking for a rematch of the final, screaming at Dibbu, at Messi etc.
    .
    What if we start asking for a rematch of the 1990 World Cup final where we were robbed clearly? What if we start asking for a rematch by including Maradona for the 1994 match Vs Romania? What about 2014 final match where higuain was purposely felled by that mad German goalie?
    .
    Why was Messi mocked after the previous world cup losses? Why do you target Dibbu now when he mocks those who mocked Messi years back
    .
    We will celebrate how we want? Because it’s pay back time.
    It’s clearly pay back time.
    .
    Back to the games, what a tournament we had, one of the best I have seen … We didn’t win 1-0 all games like Spain in 2010 even though they had a neat perfect team but we won nerve wrenching thrillers each match day … Our team was not perfect but it was a ‘new’ perfect team. No ‘solo’ stars but ‘all’ stars … Everybody did what they were asked to do apart from some hiccups here and there including the coach. But certainly no team matched Argentina.
    Had Di Maria been there on the pitch for another 5-10 mins our 3rd goal would have come automatically… Then on it would have been another goal for sure making it 4-0 … We would have turned on the style and won in style instead we won in a thrilling route to the final moments, to achieve a classic thriller.
    .
    Enzo & Julian & Alex & Christian have wrote themselves to history
    Emiliano Martinez is the goal keeper the world will not forget.
    Lionel Messi and Di Maria are legends
    .
    Lionel Messi and Argentina are the best in Football history

    • I would add more what ifs:
      – Cannigia played in the final WC90
      – What if the team didn’t loose the mentality in WC94 (Simeone repeatedly said we had a very strong team in WC94 — Redondo, Cannigia, Batistuta, ..)
      – What if Ortega didn’t get the red in WC98; and Passarella didn’t have his antics of calling only short hair players. Redondo and Cannigia were in their prime this time
      – What if the fake Owen penalty was not called in WC22. WC22 was the easiest WC ever for the champion Brazil (Turkey, South Korea, and one of the weakest Germany in the semi final)
      – 2006, what if the coach didn’t take out Requelme early. We had Requelme, Saviola, Messi, Aimar and Crespo on bench while we were loosing to Germany
      – 2010, what if Perkeman still stayed from 2006, lots of world-class players are available
      – 2014, what if one of Higuain, Messi, Placios converted the chances
      – 2018: what if Sabella was still with us
      – 2022: a lot of what ifs if things may go wrong with SA, Mexico, Australia, Netherlands, and France; but we are very strong and have the lady luck with thus!!

      Finally what if we have a coach like Sabella or Scaloni; and a president like Tapia since WC94

  4. And the Saltiest Football fans of the year award goes to France. Lol…Get over it, You cant win all World Cups, remember when France won World Cup they also made comments about Kante blocking Messi, Germany were mocking Argentine’s after winning in 2014. The World is round, It revolves, Now its Argentina time, Own it, Accept it or Cry till it floods in France.

    Emiliano is adding fuel to their burning hearts. And i have to say i love it. Good thing that he is not playing in France. No matter if the FIFA take back the Golden Glove, Emilano F***ed France 2 times(In his language 2 Timesssss)

  6. Recently, Mascherano had called up Mateo Cremaschi to the U20s. He is currently an US youth national. He was born in US to Argentine parents.
    We could have another one. Felipe Rodriguez Gentile is a 16 year old forward playing for Preston North End youth and is pursued by United and Arsenal. He is referred to as young Brazilian star Feliphino. very interesting case. He was born in Brazil to Argentine parents. They moved to England when he was young. He is eligible for all 3 nations. The kid however is very keen to represent Argentina and will wait for a call.

    • Maybe our World Cup win will influence some of these kids. Any chance the European based U20 players like Garnacho, Soule , Paz will make it for the Jan qualifiers. We have a tough group with Brazil & hosts Colombia. Cant afford a slip up from match1. Surprisingly didnt see Valentin Barco’s name also in Mashe’s list

  7. Bit of a rant and also a congratulations:

    Happy for all our players, and happy MacAllister got to bring home a World Cup before his birthday! All our guys deserved this win, after all we have been through! I love our team and I have been following this team for the past decade, and if it were not for the presence of other people while watching final, I surely would have cried!

    However, I am a bit worried we went overboard this World Cup.

    Don’t get me wrong, the Saudis, Dutch, and French all gave their fair share of bad mouthing against us. I remember Saudi fans going crazy after the match claiming we will get knocked in the GC and some even claiming that THEY will win the World Cup 🤣. Van Gaal… Mbappe… they both were very rude towards not just Argentina but towards all South American footballers.

    Am I the only one concerned about the potential sanctions against players like Dibu and Messi? Their behaviour has been picking up quite the ruckus. Personally I don’t think it was that bad(even Dibu’s gesture) and that we won’t be punished most likely, I think our boys need to keep in mind that we are only halfway through the season. We cannot afford to trash talk other players and then proceed to not put up numbers this remaining time.

    Dibu having beef with Mbappe(conceding 4 goals. consoling him on pitch, silence chant, throwing around Donatello figure), I think that is a bit much. They both play in Europe so I am worried about the conflicts they will have when they meet each other again.

    Messi’s comments on Van Gaal and referee were not a huge deal, and he did not do anything extra.

    I hope these are just passing tides and we remain strong.

    Regardless, I am glad our youngsters stayed humble.

  8. Some people complain that Argentine players are underrated at the biggest clubs in the world, but so are many members here. That looks really funny. When someone criticizes another, they have that fault and even worse. What I admire about Scaloni is that he doesn’t care which club a player plays for, as long as the player meets the criteria of his tactical system. No exaggeration but you can see how great Diego was at Napoli, not Juventus. MacAllister is the mainstay to help Brighton reach the top 7 PL must be a good player because he always has to fight against the top teams. If you understand that, you won’t be surprised that Scaloni chose him.

  9. Flipehino a 16 year old Brazilan talent who have Argentine parents is on radar of city,pool,Und.
    He currently playing Championship 2nd division..

  13. Emi Martinez may not have the biggest number of save but all his intervention were critical and made the team win, objectively he was the best goalkeeper of this competition.

    I ranked Molina above Hakimi as the best right fullback, he was very decisive in some key moments like the perfect cross against Poland, his goal against Netherlands and that crazy running for Alvarez’s goal against Croatia.

    Romero is the best right centre back of this competition, his game against Saudite Arabia was a disaster because he arrived out of form but the last 4 games was absolutely world class. I think Saiss did well too in this position.

    Enzo the best central midfielder, he changed everything since he played in the 2nd game. Argentina defend much higher and play more vertical with his capacity of projection. He played in a different role than in club but he handled the tempo very well. Rabiot was excellent too in this position.

    finally Julian Alvarez, he is no doubt the best forward of the competition. His running, counter pressing, his energy and his capacity to play in 1 touch made difference.

    Along with Leo, Argentina should have 6 players who are the best in their position during this world cup.

  14. I just watched the highlights to each game too. Wow! One thing that I noticed it that all the goals we conceded were on Martínez‘s left side!!!!

    So was that final beautiful save he did in the last minute of the final. Lucky he saved that one.

  15. I thought I was going a bit too far with my replays and re-watch of the final, Arg road to final in WC..and the. Road to the WC etc etc…but glad to hear I’m in good company in this group… still hadn’t sunk in fully… our family went on a vacation on the 19th and my wife was praying that Argentina WIN on the 18th because my son and I would have been very hard to live with for several weeks if we had lost LOL..
    Best Christmas/Holiday season ever!

    • I decided to postpone my vacation days until after the 18th. If Argentina won I would go on a vacation otherwise I would simply work from home while I sulked 🤣.

      My girlfriend was not happy but I made a firm decision. I’m glad it paid off 😭. Otherwise, like you, I would have ruined our time with my Argentina sadness.

  16. I generally dont post anthing on Social media platforms, only here i randomly posts something. Now, i have been posting in the Whatsapp status with different Argentine celeberation videos, Now the newer generation collegues of me are calling me mad. Feels like, i am from a different era Lol.. Old may be. 😭😭😭

    One thing i have to say Argentine fans are the most passionate i have ever seen. Anywhere. They are celeberating the 36 year waiting win in such a great fashion. Some of the videos are infact hillarious. Messis dog is a celebrity now.. 😂😂😂😂someone brought a real Goat with Messis jersey on. Its hilarious.

    One heart warming video is to see Alvarez sharing the win with Batigoal. And to see all our legends being part of out victory. This win belongs to everyone of them.Bati, Crespo, Sorin, Zanetti, Aimar, Riquelme, Ortega, Ayala, Samuel, Simeone, Cambiasso etc etc and ofcourse their collegue made it possible. All this, Lionel Scaloni…

  17. The Argentina Amazon Prime documentary just became available in India, watching it right now so others should check aswell it’s probably worldwide now

  18. Nice to hear Kampf..
    I’m actually seldom used to comment.. though I’m a die hard Argentina fan since 1994..
    My actual name is Dr Roshan Dhakal working as a consultant physician in greencity hospital Kathmandu..
    If possible can I get your number pls..so that we can have a contact
    Thank you

  19. One Week anniversary WC CHAMPS

    It is said that 250,000 Frenchy signed a petition to replay the Final LOL.
    Polish REF. showing the media his phone after some asked about how the Argentina bench got on the pitch after Messi’s 2nd goal……his phone showed Frenchy doing the same on two different occasions

    • Had it not been for our ace Defender Otamendi’s lapse of concentration for the first goal, French were heading to a humiliating defeat! We were the first team they faced that were stronger in every aspects of the match. Not taking anything away from Scaloni who outwitted Deschamps and forced him to sub out his two very successful attacking duo before the first half but he again missed the plot in the last 20+ mins. In hindsight had Licha been subbed for Dimaria or Dimaira had played another 15mins then French would not have scored a single goal!

      • Yup, the game would have been done and dusted but THANK GOD we came on top and Scaloni will learn for the future.
        Live and learn is what they say right, thankfully it wasn’t a painful 👍🙏

        • I’ve been watching the highlights for all the games played by ARG, PK shootouts included and reliving that experience and the feelings of euphoria and nervousness…….highly recommended.
          ARGENTINA IS WORLD CUP CHAMPS, I can’t stop saying that, Messi’s eyes right after the final PK was taken, I didn’t see that until I watched the highlights.
          The scene that I have fantasized about forever, Messi holding the trophy in the middle of his teammates. You can laugh at me But I have imagined that scene in my mind while eating, driving, before closing my eyes to sleep, in the shower, watching other games and pretending to hear the announcer say, “ARGENTINA Champions ARG Champions” and it came true

  20. KARMA it works in strange ways. It may work late but eventually what we do we will get it back. Sooner or later. This World Cup infact Karma after 36 years supported us whole hearteadly and allowed us to have erased everything bad which had happened to us in the last World Cups.

    France, Croatia, Brazil, CR7, Van Dyik, everything and everyone,who made us and Messi suffer or angry for the past years have been erased. Brazil ofcourse we had erased them last year when we beat them at their Home.😂😂😂

      • True that, he was salty after his 2021 BD loss. I forgot that. Modric is another one, who acts modest now, was complaining about why Messi was not attending his fluke BD winning ceremony. Karma dont forgets it remembers everything.

        I would have wished France had Kante and Pogba played too, so that they also could have faced the defeat.

    • In hindsight, the only other wish wld have been we meeting Germany in one of the knockout games in 2022. 1990,2006,2010,2014 pain needs a payback.
      But the way Germany is playing last 2 WCs , the only chance to avenge this is if we are in same group. They seem determined to not go beyond 1st round🤣🤣🤣

      • Just like Varzil , avoided to play Argentina at home cause they’re scared to get their ass kicked all over again… now they also avoided to face Argentina at WC!

  21. A man considered inexperienced has become the best coach in the world. A man with a growth hormone deficiency as a child who was deemed incapable of playing football has become the greatest soccer player of all time. A player like MacAllister, always considered useless to the team, has become one of the most popular players. Those who consider themselves better than others have failed. God always works miracles.

  22. Quotes of the week
    Piers Morgan can cry on Cristiano is goat as much as he wants but the truth is Messi and Argentina are world champion.
    I liked diego Simeone wearing Argentina shirt in the stand Argentina World cup win and wrote his IG how happy and beautiful it’s Argentina winning world Cup.
    Liked pochettino putted his IG story line scaloni and messi photos and thank them , love Julian Alvarez putting his winning medal to batistusta neck

    In case you don’t know Argentina are world champion and are here to dominate years to come what a beautiful moments for Argentina fans in worldwide

    • Since I watched football in 1990, Argentina, together Brazil are always very strong. The other nation came and go. France arose to a high status thanks to their youth system, as said by Beckenbauer back to 2006.

      It’s the coach and bad luck that prevented us from going further. I believe Brazil in 2010/14/18/22 are unlucky, they’re very strong. We mostly failed because of bad coaching

      • Same I watched football since Maradona in WC90, my uncle kept telling me how good is he, but I could not watch the match coz I need to wake up early in the morning to watch it. My uncle shared me the result in the morning after every Argentina’s match in WC90 before I went to school, I was so happy when ARG won, but so sad when they lost in the Final. Since then, my heart is always with Argentina, and always following all the clubs with argentina player. My long wait to see Argentina lift the trophy is paid off…

        WC94 ==> I started watching full match of Argentina…won against Greece, Nigeria, but unfortunately, afterward Diego’s drama ruin the team’s morale…
        WC98 ==> First match was vs Japan (1st in WC), only 1-0…vs England, almost similar game with Netherland in recent game. Lost vs Netherland in quarterfinal, after careless Ortega’s red card…
        WC02 ==> FIFA 1st rank, the best team in the world, failed to qualify from Group stages.
        WC06 ==> One of the best WC I guess, Packerman was doing his job well, one fatal mistake vs Germany, sub-off Riquelme/Messi (??) after leading 1-0…
        WC10 ==> two GOAT Maradona and messi in one team…..bad WC qualification (4th position), however they had good start, until Germany hammered us in quarter final….I felt soo bad….
        WC14 ==> small margin of goals every match was able to bring us to the Final, but it was very unlucky final game, we controlled the game….but we lost….
        WC18 ==> to me we were lucky to qualify from group stage and led 2-1 with France, before we lost 4-3….I didn’t expect Argentina will go far..
        WC22 ==> I believed with this team since before WC22 started, considering unbeaten for 36 games…but after Saudi shocked us, start losing of confidence to this team……the team improved after the loss and become the Champion of the world….Still I don’t believe it….am I dreaming??? Thank you Albiceleste!

  23. Its been almost a week since the WC win and I still can’t believe it, I was watching highlights of the France and Holland game and then just the Pk shootout and it feels out of body experience……I say this because its been for a long time this country or that winning the WC and I have never rewatched their victory after the fact.
    Messi scoring with confidence, Dibu stopping one PK after another and ARGENTINA celebrating and crying tears of joy not agony and defeat.

    I saw a friend of mine today that is a Huge Christina fan and for the 1st time I saw defeat in his eyes, poor guy refused to talk about football for the first 20mins and then he opened up. He told me that Messi deserved to win the WC and was HUGE On Dibu, telling me that he should have won the player of the tournament award.
    We’ve been going back and forth about this for years and he softened up a bit after the COPA win but told me France or Brazil will win it while ARG can only dream.
    I’m still making my rounds and I have a few more people to see ehehehe

  25. During the whole Lo Celso debacle I remember hoping inside that it was for a reason. Mac Allister, who replaced him did an extraordinary job and I have a feeling it was for a reason. I prefer Gio as a footballer but know knows, maybe some chance would have fallen to him that he missed or the difference in the phases of play with him would have been different and not led us to the victory. Who knows. It was such a fine margin win (the result, of course we dominated them) that I feel like an extra blade of grass could have messed things up. Maybe the same goes for Nico G as his injury was also a loss given his role. We know he can miss chances. And Tucu Correa, well that seemed like it was obviously for a reason from the start. Anyway, for the next Copa America we have a great headache in deciding our midfield. De Paul, Lo Celso, Enzo, Mac Allister, Paredes, Rodriguez, even Palacios if he picks up or Almada. And who knows who else can appear.

  26. Godin11 you’re absolutely right, I like otamendi but his failure to clear that ball at minute 79 then tripping the French player from behind in the box from that angel were two unforgettable mistakes in less than 5 seconds. Then to add insult to injury that crazy attempt to clear the ball in the dying second of extra time shows how vulnerable he can be sometimes, Licha is a better option for many reasons. Thank you otamendi but time to call it a day my friend.

  28. Incredible World Cup. Along with Enzo he was our most revelatory figure, with the difference being that Enzo didn’t surprise me but Mac Allister did. Who would have expected such a bashed figure to enter into a new midfield and play well every single game? I also like that he’s one of those that doesn’t get dwarfed by the moment (if it’s not obvious after Sunday’s performance). I remember reading a quote from him a couple of weeks ago and I’ll share:
    -“Antes de los partidos suelo estar ansioso y nervioso pero este Mundial hace algo que no sienta los nervios. Pasa por algo de disfrutar, es lo más importante”
    -“Before games I’m often anxious or nervous but this World Cup did something to me where I don’t feel nervous. It comes from enjoying it, which is the most important thing”

    I’ve talked a lot about the mental toughness, being able to lose a lead but still be the strongest team like if nothing happened. He’s certainly a part of that. This is the type of player you need for tournament football. There was also a concern about his style of play where it is really simple, but the truth is a team needs balance. We can’t have an entire midfield that is flashy, showboaty, risky, high risk high reward. You need someone that can do retention dribbling, only passes forward when it isn’t a gamble, can resist the press, can make simple passes, can defend, etc. I don’t think his style of play is a negative, everyone has their style, it is the manager’s job to link the pieces together and make it work. A player’s job should be to perform well within their style of play and what they are asked to do. This also makes me wonder just how truly good we are in penalties that even Mac Allister didn’t get a chance from the spot and he’s mentally collected and a good kicker.

    • > Along with Enzo he was our most revelatory figure

      It’s amazing the team core GLC – Paredes – RDP were replaced almost overnight and the new midfield grew into a formidable force during the actual tournament.

      > Enzo didn’t surprise me but Mac Allister did

      Agree with Enzo but Mac Allister didn’t surprise me because of his vocal support on mundo and he’s done well in league. During the qualifiers Mac Allister seemed very conservative and more defensive, especially when he paired with Guido…we looked terrible. With GLC out and RDP form looked off, Mac A wasn’t given too much slack. He did show glimpses of a more progressive player so the question for me at least, was never about his quality, it was whether we would see a more conservative or progressive player. Thankfully, the latter emerged and he stepped up big time

      • It’s interesting because for a while many expected Mac Allister to be more of a central 5 and Enzo to be on the left attacking more with his qualities, but Scaloni struck very good balance with Enzo replacing Paredes and Alexis pushing up into attack on the left (which I didn’t expect at all). Against France his forward positioning caused problems for their defense because a center back had to keep an eye on him thus leaving a lot of space for Di Maria. I think it is also a good lesson for us to be cautious when criticizing players or even thinking we always know more than the coach (a serious problem during the Scaloni era and probably the reason why many posters have strangely disappeared into the shadows this week), because on our tv screen all we saw (for Argentina at least) was Mac Allister’s average/uninspiring performances for Argentina while Scaloni sees training, has known and seen him develop for years, and has staff watching and tracking his club games. Scaloni didn’t get lucky with Mac Allister’s performances this WC, he selected him for a reason and he knew all along. I also think Armani was selected for a reason, it’s funny remembering the chaos that erupted with his inclusion because I’m sure most people forgot he was even in the squad. It’s be crazy for people to think Scaloni doesn’t know he’s at a lower level than Musso or Benitez, he obviously does but the inclusion is for some other reason. And then Montiel or Almada are other examples

  29. Good morning every Mundo members from Kathmandu Nepal..
    Before the world cup started everyone were bashing Alexis macalister.. scaloni on selection.. scaloni tactics.. scaloni though very young he is a good coach.we were in taters in 2018 he was appointed as a caretaker and see what he delivers..
    Definitely mission 2026 is already in his plans.
    It’s a day we all are waiting for..
    Lots of tears lot’s of agony pain sorrow ended.
    Messi hold World Cup in his hands..
    All the other players had a tango dance..
    From the street of buneos aires lots of Julian Alvarez
    Enzo Fernandez
    Alexis macalister will come…
    Messi can’t say .
    But even in the womb Argentina players know about football
    I have been crying since December 18..but this time tears of joy celebration..
    Walter Samuel Roberto ayala Pablo aimar they haven’t win anything
    As a player

    But they have win WC as a training staff.
    Kudos to scaloni and AFA they bring these diamonds of Argentina football integrated into coaching staff
    So let’s enjoy this beautiful time ..
    Vamos Argentina
    Tears bursting since 1994… when I began to know to watch football..
    Cannigia Redondo
    Simone Ortega batistuta crespo zanneti cambiasso
    Pablo aimar..
    Riquelme.. Walter Samuel Roberto ayala
    They weren’t able to win anything..
    Except batistuta in 1991 1993 copa

      • Hello again to you my friend Kampf..
        Im in this forum since 2018..but I’m Argentina die hard fan since the days of Redondo cannigia ortega chamot rugeri. Batistuta crespo..
        I’m from Kathmandu but born in rural area of Nepal. Kindly give me your address/cell number so I can chat or call with you..

      • Both are good options. Ten hag will likely stay for a while at United but I don’t know how long pep will stay for City.

        I wonder how it will be for Enzo at Real Madrid? Argentina has no representation at RM since Higuain left.

    • It is just time to go for players who play in small clubs. Enzo is worth €120 million. Anything less than that Benfica will say no. MU or Liverpool are perfect for him as he will surely start in both clubs. MacAllister to Arsenal or Inter.

    • Want Enzo to do do good with Benfica in the Champions League. Do something as brilliant as in World Cup. After that want to see him in a big team where he can be with more of his Argentine compatriots.

  34. I am not sure about this. But in 1986 there was some player who was had an Ireish backdrop. Same here for Macalister, he is is also having an Ireish backdrop isnt it?

    If thats the case take one player from Ireland at all cost for all our WCs 😂😂😂.

    Looking back at the world cup campain again, Emiliano Martinez brought us the WC as per me. What a finding he is. He could easily play for us in 2026. With Musso and Rulli as backup. Our Goalkeeping dept looks set. Emiliano may be the top 3 Goalkeeper Argentina ever produced. With all due respect to our previous WC winng Goalkeepers and finalists. We rarely produce such Goalkeepers historically speaking.

    • Sure, infact one of my favourite Goalkeepers we had in our last 2 decades.He had a great presence similar to Emiliano. I still remember in 2006 WC till he was knocked out Argentina was there in the hunt. But with he retired it was all downhill. Cant blame the substitute Goalkeeper too because he was suddenly thrown into a World Cup quarter final penalties. Rarely anyone succeeds in those situations.

  36. Happy Birthday Alexis !
    Easily my player of the tournament(among humans of course). He is a genius. For weird reasons some people I have seen seem to have an agenda against you , but then who cares.
    You shut everyone up with absolute peach after peach performances. You are a genius.
    Thank you !

  37. Cheers to our Irish Whisky, Alexis. What an unbelievable transformation. Someone who looked so extra ordinary in Olympics was incredibly brilliant in WC. The way he regularly fed DiMaria in finals is one of our best midfield performances in recent times. Every fan was confident of Enzo,Licha,ALvarez, Cuti & Dibu doing well when they finally got mainstreamed in NT. But Macallister & Molina have pleasantly surprised even an optimistic fan. Similarly, the resurgence of Otamendi in last 1+year has been another NT marvel.

    • Otamendi flopped vs France big time , couldn’t believe how he gave that penalty plus he miserable fail to clear which resulted big chance for France in last minute but thanks to emi who came up with save of the tournament.

          • Yes it was otamendi who failed to clear the ball too in the last minute of extra time, look at the video again people. Pezzella was near Martinez when he saved the shot, and otamendi was on his knees watching the whole thing.

          • Yes. In every match Otamendi was becoming slow in the last 20 mins. That was increasing pressure on entire defence which led to the tension built up in the games with Australia, Netherlands and France. Now he has another medal in his cupboard. It is time he goes to the bench and Licha be in the starting XI.

      • Every player wld have made a mistake in WC. I wouldnt ignore him for 1 bad moment. Look at Otamendi across Copa 21 , qualifiers & WC . He has been brilliant. Check his stats on tackles, interceptions, aerial duels during WC & compare with the so called best CBs & you will realize his value.

      • Otamendi penalty was very easy to deal with. I dunno why he reacted that slow and even when he was slow to react, he did not need to foul Thuram (was it Thuram?) because he was not even in dangerous spot at all (kinda side of the box). Really bad defending in 2 occasions.

        • It was Kolo Muani. Muani was sideways .. but he was 1:1 with Emi as all defenders were way behind, 2 steps & he wld have been in an easy goal scoring opportunity. Thats probably why Ota did the tackle which misfired & led to penalty.

    • Amit
      “Every player wld have made a mistake in WC. I wouldnt ignore him for 1 bad moment” yes I agree on that but the magnitude of that game had to be zero mistake otherwise all the hard work he has been doing last 4 years would had be pointless if we had lost that game because his mistake
      Yes I would have overlooked any other game but not the world cup final when we were so comfortable and he came with that nonsense Is unforgivable

      • Godin11 you’re absolutely right, I like otamendi but his failure to clear that ball at minute 79 then tripping the French player from behind in the box from that angel were two unforgettable mistakes in less than 5 seconds. Then to add insult to injury that crazy attempt to clear the ball in the dying second of extra time shows how vulnerable he can be sometimes, Licha is a better option for many reasons. Thank you otamendi but time to call it a day my friend.

      • @Godin11 , i dont base my opinion bcos of 1 moment. If that is the yardstick – we need to look at many more mistakes that happened in the finals. Coman stole the ball from Messi leading to Mbappe’s 2nd goal. Molina also didnt track back to block Mbappe leading to him have a free highway to our goal. Even Scaloni not having subs earlier wld have been complained if we had finally lost. The defense was tired by late 2nd half & he had only made 1 sub of Dimaria then. How about Dimaria’s skier in the 16th min or Lautaro’s header in the 120th when Lloris was at his mercy? There will be many more such moments. Now lets come to France’s 1st goal. No defense that it was not a mistake by Otamendi. But here is the scenario. Argentina was starting to push for another goal. Entire team was in a high line including defenders. Kolo Muani just beats a tired Otamendi for pace & once in box, Ota realized its Muani vs EMi 1:1 & he tried a tackle which misfired. But keep in mind all defenders were out of place.
        But lets talk stats at World Cup22 ( ref: Sofascore)
        1) Interceptions per game – 1.3 Ota , 0.6 CRom , 1.6 Gvardiol, 0.5 Saiss, 1.0 Varane, 0.4 Marquhs, 0.8 Vdijk
        2) Tackles per game – 1.4 Ota, 0.7 CRom , 1.3 Gvardiol , 0.8 Saiss , 0.2 Varane, 1.0 Marquhs,0.4 VDijk
        3) Total Duels won – 5.1(55%) Ota, 3.0 CRom (47%), 2.7 (51%) Gvardiol, 2.2 (62%) Saiss, 1.2(47%) Varane,2.4(67%) Marquhs,3.4(55%) VDijk
        4) Aerial Duels won – 3.0(60%) Ota , 1.7(60%), 0.4(38%) Gvardiol, 1.2 (100%) Saiss, 0.7 (47%) Varane , 0.8(50%) Marquhs),2.8(61%)
        5) Dribbled past per game – 0.3 Ota, 0.6 C Rom , 0.4 Gvardiol , 0.5 Saiss, 0.3 Varane, 0.2 Marquhs,0.2 VDijk
        6) Clearances per game – 3.4 Ota, 3.6 C Rom, 5.3 Gvardiol , 5.0 Saiss, 2.5 Varane, 1.2 Marquhs,4.2 VDijk

        Unfortunately Otamendi does not have a moment of magic ( like Licha block vs Australia or Emi’s Aus & France last min saves) for a fan’s instant memory. So his consistency tends to get forgotten. Also you need to look at the context in which I said. Otamendi was considered a liability 2 years back ( both NT & club) & see how he has reemerged for a final swansong. I strongly believe he deserves more respect & recognition & shouldn’t be jus remembered for the penalty.
        To rest my case , think of this . Tell me one player in our NT who played more minutes than Otamendi. So Scaloni & Samuels clearly saw value in the 34yr warhorse. Do you think Scaloni would have continued him post the 79th min penalty if he was a big time flop in that match.

        • Otamendi was good in the entire tournament but the 79th minute and beyond. He is a bit of Demichelis in that final. Demi was the same, he could be good for 90 minutes but then in injury time he committed a foul that resulted in PK.

          I agree with Licha-Cuti duo in the future however Scaloni might not want to start them against an European team. Scaloni needs to have a new project for the CB the same way he develops MacAllister. Maybe Nehuen Perez so in case in 2 years we want to play 3-5-2, we have the right players.

          • Agree on the fact that Scaloni will look beyond a 34yr Ota very soon. Romero- Licha with great backups like Perez,Medina, Senesi is the way forward.
            I am only reiterating we shouldnt crucify Otamendi for that moment. There were many mistakes there ( all defenders high up , Scaloni not bringing new subs against a pacy & tall Muani, Thuram ) . Look at the impact he has had on tournament when he was always considered faulty by experts & even lot of our fans. I wouldnt have the same thoughts for Pezella ( in Netherlands last min) as that was a foul that cld have been avoided & Weghorst was not in a goal scoring position & infact facing opposite side of goal

        • Nice points Amit. I’m having an internal struggle to understand the Otamendi dilemma. On one hand I’m so happy we won that I am dearly thankful for all of his consistency which you highlighted and I saw throughout the cup. He was a warrior and part of the reason we reached the final in the first place, even if he has no singular heroic moment. On the other hand, if we has lost on penalties, I feel like I would be fighting the urge to hound on him. Would I be right to? In games as important as finals it’s easy to hound on the person that seems most responsible for the bad result, and in this case it would be easy to hound on Otamendi who would be responsible for what made us lose – France’s goals. But like you mention, what about Lautaro’s four misses? His last minute header? Despite Dibu’s heroics, couldn’t he have gotten a hand on Mbappe’s second goal? What about the rest of the defense? I realized that a good amount of counter attacks we face start with Messi losing the ball, like against Australia before Dibu’s save. It’s natural too, in a sport of 11 people it’s possible for many actions to lead to a goal, but the fans only see the last thing that could possibly stop the goal – usually only the keeper or CB. Luckily we can breath a sigh of relief because we won, Scaloni did a great job in incorporating Licha this World Cup and he’s ready to make a long lasting solid partnership with Cuti. Now we need to find the third young center back that can allow us continue switching to a three at the back in the future like we did so successive this month. But don’t expect none of Lisandro or Cuti to make mistakes in their years to come. Just like Otamendi did, it’s football, and they will.

  42. What a world cup this man had!!! Easily our top 5 player!! The way he held on to possession and moved ball forward, I have seldom felt such security from our midfield in the past!! He managed to not only fill in for Locelso but also managed to cover the poor form of Paredes!!

  44. I still misses the World cup man. The Argentine fans noice which runs through the entire stadium is still in my head. I watch all the Argentine matches again and again apart from the Saudi one of course 😂😂.But looking back,I beleive that defeat is what made us the World Champions. We learn from defeat much more than we learn from victory.

    Finally i was thinking France deserved some sentiments. But No. No chance. They want the World Cup final to be replayed LOL. Cry more. That Ninja turtle is the second incarnation of his highness Benchwarmer.No wonder Emiliano is taunting him.I am all but team Haaland moving on. Unfortunately I dont see any Argentine in sight who can join the Best in the World conversation after Messi. Till Messi is there we have a representative. After that prepare for mediocrity. We will win collectively because we have talents all over the pitch. But individual magic will be less. May be Garnacho can prove me wrong, but chances are slim.

    • The petition thing is pathetic.. trying to void first 2 Argie goals. I’m glad though it’s making France look bad as sore losers.

      On the other side, Argentina has a counter petition
      Called “France stop crying” signed by hundreds of thousands lol

      • Even that match vs Saudi Arabia our performance wasn’t that bad, but luck wasn’t on our side, and some players had an off day. It was the best defeat ever happened to our beloved ‘La Albiceleste’ lol. Vamos Argentina!

    • Mbappe and France’s golden run in the world cup is over! People thinking this France can win another world cup, 4 years is a long time and by next world cup the narrative will totally change!! It will take something special and divine for Mbappe to continue the intensity for another few years. Remember he hasn’t gotten any serious injury yet!!! Our world cup victory has again ignited the fire in South Americans and with the abundance of talent we have even without the GOAT and his deputy Dimaria we can pose a serious challenge to the next world cup again!!

    • france won against England and Morocco by miracle, they didn’t show anything in final until that magical 1 minute from mbappe. Argentina was in crescendo mode and French team was the opposite during the competition. I think everyone realized that. To give some credit to this french team, they succeed to go far with half of the team injured and out of form but again they don’t deserve to win with this football

  45. I could see a glimpse of Magic in him. He is invicible in most of our matches. But he is there. Like Busqets. But he is Magic when we move forward. Lo Celso will find it tougher now. These 2 are gonna fight it out, good thing is one left footer other is right footed. So they can play together too. They are young too. Our midfiled looks set for the figure. Happy Birthday Macalister…

    He deserves to play in a bigger club.

    • I’m really excited to see how we play with Nico G and Lo Celso as well. Now that we have some great midfielders, we will be able to have substitutes and rotations in the team and not lose any quality. It’s an exciting time.

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