Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni press conference after 3-2 win vs. Cabo Verde

1. No team can play full dominating football… main thing is win…I might sound weird but we have to salute the boys that despite all of those events they are not emotionally drained… they find a way to win..yes there are lots of areas and lots of things that need improvement but lot’s of matches like this happened..
   Brazil 1994 vs USA
   France vs Paraguay 1998
   Brazil vs turkey 2002
   Italy vs USA/ Australia 2006
   Spain vs Paraguay again in 2010
   Germany vs Ghana 2-2 Germany vs Algeria 2014
   So these things happen in football
   .
   Draw with Spain 0-0
   Draw with Uruguay 2-2
   Draw with Saudi Arabia 0-0 isn’t a fluke…
   But Thier second goal is a lucky goal which reminds me Saudi’s second goal vs us in last wc..
   In any point of the game I didn’t feel that we are loosing…
   We are not sure weather if France Brazil Spain England will do the same vs Cape Verde or not??
   Problem I figured as once we scored we get sedated… very slow..no intention of doubling up the lead..
   Anyway hopefully scaloni might see the problem and will try to get it fixed..
   Vamos Argentina

2. Everything he has said is nonsense.

   “There are no easy opponents. Congratulations to Cabo Verde”
   Cabo Verde was most definitely an easy opponent. Apart from some good saves from their goalkeeper, Cabo Verde did not play well. Their two goals were a mixture of fluke and extremely casual defending. An awful performance from Argentina made them look good.

   “We got hit at specific moments but we always went out to fight for the game.”
   You barely fought. Passing side to side is not fighting. There were barely any memorable attacking sequences from Argentina. There were very few defense splitting passes. There were very few runs along the wing or into the box. And worst of all, after they equalized, you subbed in another defensive midfielder – truly mind boggling.

   “You can always improve but it’s important that the team responded in tough moments.”
   The team did not respond. That is the whole problem. You did not change your gameplan. You made the same subs you make every match. You got lucky. A heroic center back and a lucky own goal got you through.

   “We always aim for the opponent’s goal. We play with heart.”
   You did not. You barely attacked. Passing side to side is not playing with heart.

   “Everyone thought it was going to be a walk in the park but we knew very well it wasn’t.”
   Your lack of tactical flexibility made it so.

   “Even when you win well, there are things to correct. We can debate whether we played well or poorly but this team isn’t weighed down by taking charge of the match.”
   Argentina “won well” in the group games, but the shortcomings of the first team were clear to everyone with a functional understanding of football – lack of width, useless fullbacks, lack of creativity, lack of forward movement, over-reliance on a 39 year old Messi. Yet you did nothing to correct them. Lo Celso, Paz, Simeone played so well against Jordan, and yet you went back to your favorite out of form players. That is not “correction”.

   “Always look on the bright side, this team never gives up. Today, they showed they’re a great team.”
   The team gave up and stopped trying every time they got ahead by a single goal.

3. ❌My summary of what went wrong:

   · Over-reliance on Messi – No secondary creator when he was double-marked.
   · No width – Full-backs didn’t overlap, so Cape Verde’s narrow block never got stretched.
   · Too slow in possession – Sideways passing gave the defense time to reset every time.
   · Lost second balls – Midfield was slow to react to clearances, fueling Cape Verde counters.
   · Defensive line too high – Caught out on transitions; both regulation goals came from quick breaks.
   · Sloppy set-piece defending – Nervy in their own box despite scoring from one.
   · No Plan B – When the low block worked, Argentina had no tactical adjustment.

   ✅What Scaloni must do against Egypt:
   · Add a 2nd creator – Start Lo Celso; don’t leave Messi isolated.
   · Use full-backs aggressively – Overlap constantly to stretch Egypt’s narrow block.
   · Increase passing tempo – One-touch, quick switches; no sideways slow play.
   · Win second balls – Midfield must crash every clearance, not wait.
   · Drop defensive line 5–10 yards – Protect against Egypt’s pace on counters.
   · Press with triggers – Only press when Egypt’s back is to goal; otherwise stay compact.

   Without natural wingers, Argentina’s attack must flow through full-back overlaps, midfield runners, and Messi dropping deep…while staying disciplined defensively to handle Egypt’s transitions.

   • Dude we couldn’t win the first DAMB ball let alone the second

   • Argentinas attack should flow through passing and dribbling

     THERE ARGENTINA !!!!!!

   • Lo celso must start to bring some creativity
     Can use semione in right back position.

     • Anyone other than Molina actually. He and Almada need to do what they do at Atléti: Sit on the bench and watch good players perform.

   • Valid points, I second them! There need to be changes on personnel and playing style. This is the WC not some friendly where the guys can try and give Messi scoring opportunities on every attack. Any decent team with 1st-Division players would have kicked their ass. A lot of physical resources and nerves were needlessy spent in a game that should have been over after 60 minutes or so. Luckily no one got injured.

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