Lisandro Martínez spoke about Argentina’s 3-2 win against Cabo Verde at the World Cup.
Martínez had one goal and one assist in the Argentina national team’s 3-2 win against Cabo Verde. The Argentine assisted Lionel Messi on the first goal and he scored the second goal of the game. Speaking to the media after the match, here is what he had to say:
“We fought until the end and we never dropped our arms down. These knockout games are like this, you can’t get complacent.
“There were two teams that left it all but we are rightful winners. I’m very happy and proud of this team.
“I always worry about not letting them score on me but fortunately today, I’m happy with mine. They played an excellent match but this team never gives up.
“There’s a beautiful energy in this team and that grows even bigger in the details. Sometimes, you have to suffer.”
Mexico conceded 2 goals in the span of 1 min
They had pushed England to ropes, but made very stupid misstakes! Good, that they scored 1 before the break and hopefully they will score 1-2 more or at least 1 to take the game to extra time….
This world cup is full of surprises. Brazil going out so early is not good for South American Football..
It is definitely a wake up call for Argentina..Scaloni definitely knows this..
My concern is not how Argentina played against Cape Verde, it is more on form and fitness of the players..
Medina’s legs couldn’t move and had to be subbed..Molina, Montiel, Almada, Lautaro, Enzo are totally out of form and rhythm..
To win this worldcup, argentina need to be tactical and counter attack with intensity and not static…We know Argentine players are not physical like France, Colombia or other african nations (They have the speed..and argentine players cannot run – we need some one like Barco or Alvarez fully fit)
Dont take any team lightly. It only takes two kicks from Haaland. What a giant of a striker he is! Feeling chills in my spine. Dont know what to say.
What on earth, Brazil? As an Argentina fan, I shouldn’t be feeling this, but Brazil’s samba journey is over for this World Cup. Sad for Neymar. I really thought Brazil really had this in their pocket, now the path is much easier for England. Wholly shit, Brazil was required to take out England. Brazil, Germany, Netherlands the giants are beeing hunted.
I had to choose one of the two early morning matches here in the part of the world where I’m living, so I picked England vs. Mexico. (Now that’s delayed too!) I should have watched the other match.
What makes think Brazil would beat Norway? Brazil hasn’t beaten any European team in knockout stages since 2002:
2006 – France
2010 – Netherlands
2014 – Germany 7up
2018 – Belgium
2022 – aging Croatia
2026 – Norway
Even hiring supposedly one of the best tactical coaches in Europe doesn’t seem to solve the issue Brazil has with beating European teams in WC.
A very happy day. Good riddance of cocky Brazil
Beautiful wonderful feeling 👏👏👏👏✌️👌
Oh best day of the year. I don’t care we win or not but they didn’t specifically that Vini guy ffs
We ALL want ARG to win the WC again but GOD forbid if that doesn’t happen then there are the obvious teams that I don’t want to sniff the semifinals nm the Final.
One went down and tomorrow the 2nd will fall
I want Mexico to knock England out today. Another Argentina’s well known foe in the world cups! They also have the firepower and a squad that could hurt our chances of progressing! I am fully confident we should be able to take care of Colombia! We have a psychological advantage over them. If Mexico knocks England out today nothing is stopping Norway from advancing to semis because after round of 16 all games are taking place in the US.
Do you believe England can defeat Norway ? I don’t think so,it will be Norway vs Argentina in the semis if everything goes well on our side.
I mean is anyone here really, actually shocked that Brazil bowed out of this tournament this early? We’ve seen how they played, losing 4-1 to Argentina, even under Ancelotti’s leadership, their prospects for contending in the World Cup did not appear promising. Bringing in Neymar last second was a big joke as well as sacrificing one of the Premier Leagues top scorer for him.
We shouldn’t celebrate Brazil’s elimination. Instead, we should be concerned about the overall decline of South American football.
Brazil’s exit isn’t just a Brazilian problem. it reflects a broader trend across the continent. Several traditional powers have struggled to regenerate world class talent.
Chile has failed to rebuild since the generations of Ivan Zamorano, Marcelo Salas, and later Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal.
Uruguay has yet to find attackers capable of replacing the impact of Diego Forlán, Luis Suarez, and Edinson Cavani.
Argentina is the exception today, but even they face a difficult transition. Replacing Lionel Messi won’t happen overnight, and the post-Messi era will be the biggest test of Argentina’s football structure in decades.
The decline of Brazil also diminishes the Copa América. One of the tournament’s greatest attractions has always been the rivalry between Argentina and Brazil. Defeating the Brazil of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano, or Neymar meant overcoming one of the strongest teams in the world. Winning the Copa America doesn’t feel quite the same when Brazil is no longer at that level.
At the same time, African football is on an upward trajectory. More African nations are producing elite players, competing tactically with Europe’s best, and making deeper runs in major tournaments. If South America cannot reverse its current trend, it risks being overtaken by Africa as the world’s second-strongest footballing continent.
South America has long been the definition of world class football. That reputation can’t be taken for granted. Every great football nation eventually faces a generational transition, but rebuilding is becoming harder and slower across the continent.
As an ARGENTINA fan seeing Brazil lose and has been LOSING since blatantly cheating us in 2020 Copa America, nm the bullshit WC qualifier that happened on their turf, stopping the game because of so-called Covid BS and then FIFA blaming ARG and Fine too when it should have been an easy straight forward 3 points awarded….no no no F them and don’t give a damn about their decline.
This loss will only harden ARG ‘S will not to lose and do everything they can to advance
Or their police beating up on Argentine fans…..please
TBH, major European teams are all African Europeans. Italy is suffering because they refuse Africans to represent them.
It ain’t decreased at all . South America did better in first phase of World Cup ten. Europe
To ALL ARGENTINA HATERS all over the world and there are MANY of you STICK IT, C’MON SPAIN, C’MON KId, you wanna be the best in the world SHOW US LET’S GO
ARGENTINA watching tonight just gave THEMSELVES A boost not to mess around🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷✊️✊️✊️✊️
This neymar and endrick sub was dumb. Brazil had it under control until these lazy fks came in. They didn’t press well. Didn’t help the defense and Brazil lost the defensive structure. Bad subs from ancelotti.
Why you so upset about it? You should be happy
I wanted a Brazil Vs Argentina semis. Ancelotti said ” Argentina doesn’t play with intensity”. I wanted to show them what Argentina’s intensity looks like
I see. Don’t worry my friend He doesn’t deserve to play against us . They don’t have same quality anymore.
Hmmmmmm interesting 🤔
I don’t know how all the so called pundits predicted this Brazil team will win the tournament when they don’t have midfield or even a decent striker 😂. They called Brazil In semi if they had played with Argentina 😂
We as Argentina fans seeing what became of Brazil KNEW BETTER…the rest of the world wannabe blind
Those pundits simply don’t know enough about football, though without, that penalty miss from Guimares and Norway’s keeper Nyland game could had gone otherway, but GLADLY IT DID NOT!
Really hope for Mexico to win and Spain to beat Portugal and if Morocco could win over France it will be so good!
GOD WILLING
I’m always happy for Brazil to lose. At least until Argentina has more copas than them!
I didn’t think Norway had enough quality. But I think the fact that Brazil was too front loaded and Haaland is so good, it made the difference.
I’m excited to see if Mexico can beat England. I have high hopes for them.
Vamos Mexico!
Norway’s starting xi is full of players who regularly start in the Premier league, serie A, and La Liga clubs not just backups or subs but regular starters. They are way more than just Haaland, Solorth or Olegard. Italy didn’t qualify because Norway were way stronger. Brazil needed to be at their very best to progress today but then their defense just couldn’t contain the best no9 in the world. Last time Brazil was out in the round of 16 , we made to the finals.
Agreed about Norway are much more, than just Haaland, Sorloth or Odegaard. They have good team and could be in SF’s…..Italy had also second chance against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their national football team has been in crisis since they won the Euro’s in England 2021.
Yes, so am i and maybe Brazil went very attacking, because they did not wanted game to go extra time. Also Norway’s team might be in better physical shape, than Brazil and pressure was on for Ancelotti to play Neymar, which did not clearly worked at all! This team of Norway could very well end up in SF as they have no pressure on them like England or Mexico…..hopefully Mexico win over England!
All I want this Christmas to France go out next and Portugal. Brazil out wish came true 😂
FUCK OFF BRAZIL
I don’t see any comments here 😂
They’re in shock LOL
My goooaaal went off the screen LMAO
Well you was writing two goals my friend that’s why it went off screen
Karma reminded Varzil again! Hopefully at Azteca El Diego’s magic will help Mexico to win!
Let’s go Mexico!
😂 oh yeah! Sweet sweet sweet . Nothing better than this
PAYBACK mofos for cheating us in 2020 Copa america lolololololololo
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
LOL everybody is on pins and needles waiting for any sort of news about our Beloved team. On a different note, last time Spain met Portugal was in that bullshit league of nations final and the Spaniards laid an egg, lamine didn’t do diddly. He never took anybody on, kept passing back and looked completely flat.
As a self-proclaimed biggest CRYnaldo hater ever, I am sick and tired of seeing his mug on the screen or hearing his lackey coach suck ’em up
That’s a friendly tournament i don’t think spain will play that way this is do or die
Any news about team training today
Parades coming in for Macca. Almada definitely getting sub so it would be Nico or Macca playing in that position and Tagla coming in for Medina also Alvarez might come in for Toro. It’s all rumours not confirmed but there will be change for sure. Would say give Enzo and Macca rest if games goes well coz I’m sure Barco and Celso can fullfill the void in the end to close off the match or Pala can do it too.
Drop maca and Enzo we will win shit with that midfield
After my evaluation..I think 3 players are must go…
Almada-> Nico Gonzalez
Lautaro-> Alvarez
Medinq -> Tagliafico
May be a 4th change required in midfield if anyone injured or exhausted.
Medina is good but one of the trio midfielders must be benched
Medina is weak defensively..it was evident against Algeria and Cabo Verde
This 3 is must go?? First 2 should be maca and Enzo
Let’s discuss about midfielders..
Enzo: He’s trying as Box to box. But less effective in both attacking and defense.
Scaloni used him as DM last time. But he wanted to play box to box and little freedom..!
I think this is the main problem of Argentina right now. He seems tired also.
Let Enzo go back to DM position. Anyway he’s not a creative player and don’t have good chemistry with Messi. He even tried to take ball from Messi for the last Austria goal..!
He’s performing below expexted level. Immediately move to DM position.
Mac Allister: Playing DM for club and NT. This is a position he doesn’t like and not suitable to him. Let him move to his previous LCM position. He’s very good in attacking third. He can easily connect with forwards and good in 1-2 passes. He has good chemistry with Messi. Immediately after he moved up..we created opportunities. He also seemed tired and exhausted.
He’s performing below expexted level. Immediately move to LCM position.
De Paul: He seems almost finished product. But still we don’t have a better option in RCM. I don’t think other player will do anything better. We need him for his dirty works.
Performing below expexted level. Engine? Yes..but maintenance required.
Lo Celso: Great goal. Good debut. He’s the best creative midfielder of Argentina. Excellent chemistry with Messi. They played together in this world cup? No..! Hes good defensively also but not as intelligent as Mac Allister. First player to start if any changes required in midfield.
Can be an option for both LCM and RCM role.
Performing at expexted level.
Paredes: Many ask to start him as DM. It was tested and failed. He’s not fast for that lone DM position. Best option there is Enzo. Paredes will earn yellow in first 30 minutes..and in anytime after he will be out with second yellow..! Hes best in closing time. He will die for you.
He’s performing at the expexted level. I don’t think, we need to start him unless our above 4 midfielders are injured or exhausted.
Palacios: After his repeated injury and form out..I never trusted him. He can be good sub in different role.
Barco: The most energetic and pacy option. Can be good in both offense and defense. I really love him to be included in starting X1 but not now..only after world cup. We are late introduce him. Risky in later KO stages. He can earn yellow any time..with experience he will manage that.
Noco Paz: Same like Barco. I wanted him to start but after the world cup. Scaloni see him as midfielder? or a backup option for Messi?
Simeone: Whats his role? I thought he will be used in Di Maria’s role. But he was used in RB. Then further up. Hopefully he will be used in Di Maria’s role in closing stage of some matches.
Best midfielders..? Lo Celso can be an option to start..! Depends up on the situation and other players playing in RB/LB positions.
Lo Celso\Mac – Enzo – De Paul\Lo Celso
Even with awful performance in the midfield in all 4 games you think there is no need for personnel change in midfield just positional change will make them world beater then you are the most delusional guy i have ever come across.that midfield ffs dominated by austria and algeria.
Are we criticizing Lautaro Martinez littile too much when the mid field didnt provide him most chances??
🔵 Mbappé
6 goals
21 shots
13 on target
🔴 Haaland
5 goals
14 shots
9 on target
⚪️ Kane
5 goals
18 shots
9 on target
🔵 Messi
7 goals
24 shots
15 on target
🟢 Lautaro Martínez
4 shots
2 on target
How can a striker be criticized when the ball barely reaches him over four matches?
Thiago almada also the sams?? Is that they are not shooting enf bcz of the love for messi they trying to pass the ball to him always to score or genuinely the lacked big chances bcz of lack of creation from mid??
Cause he doesn’t add anything of value other than goals and if he doesn’t score. Its like 1 man down. His pressing is also very lazy and even less than Messi…. ALVAREZ on the other hand. Even if he doesn’t score. He will help in pressing, building up an attack and can provide assists
Opportunity created by midfielders are less and most opportunity came to Messi..no he used that opportunity with his intelligence and movements. Lautaro always struggled against defensive team/big teams.
Exactly. Our striker hardly got any service bcoz of our play . We play without wingers also our fullbacks does not provide much service either
What I dont like about the Arg fans is that, we are either over excited or depressed. Nothing is consistent in this world and so is Arg. As long as we win, nothing matters . If we loose , either doesn’t matter because we have already won the wc last year. If you ask about my experience That was after waiting 30+ Years , we were finally able to win Wc. So Now I don’t want to blame anyone but I hope, we will win this year wc too……
So we won last year so by your logic argentina should have given the wc spot to another country.what kind of logic is that because we won in 2022 we can’t expect our team to play like a champion.past is past we are not in 2022 ffs
And one last thing, I hope England and Brazil lose in their next games.
Mexico are playing well, and they will be in their home ground of Azteca which is high altitude and Mexico have a very good record there. But I also heard that England are planning to take viagra(which is not banned as PED), for greater oxygen utilization.
And Norway are also playing very well.
I think both Mexico and Norway have a very realistic chance of winning.
And the next day I hope Spain beats Portugal.
And BTW, I would definitely play Almada in the next game at least because the venue is Atlanta. Atlanta is the former home ground of Almada and some of his best performances came there. The venue might have a psychological effect on Almada and bring out his best.
As long as Argentina wins ,i dont have issue with anybody starting.
I quite like the Argentina under Scaloni, but there are a few things I want to say.
Scaloni’s substitutions are quite predictable to me now.
2 of them will be attacking subs:
Lautaro -> Alvarez
Almada -> Gonzalez
1 sub will be in the midfield:
De Paul -> Paredes
1 sub will be in the defence:
usually either Medina->Tagliafico or Molina->Montiel
1 sub will be situation based like noting injury or card.
The midfield sub doesn’t make sense to me. Because even if this is mostly oversimplification, it also somewhat gives us the picture:
De Paul = Work Horse
Macallister = Linker
Enzo = Tempo Setter
The most natural replacement for De Paul is Barco and not Paredes. Paredes is a more natural replacement for Enzo. Lo Celso is the most similar replacement for Maca, but I am sure even Paz can do it. Indeed, I think bringing Paz for Maca or even for Enzo might change the dynamic of the game slightly making us a bit more unpredictable which could be advantageous. Paz, although primarily an attacking player, can also make brilliant tackles and help out defensively.
What worries me is that Scaloni gives me the impression that he thinks there is no replacement for Enzo and Maca. During the Cabo Verde match I saw Enzo holding his legs with a cramp. Maca seemed fatigued and was looking towards the bench, but Scaloni did not substitute any of them. Surely, even if I concede that they should be out first choices, a half-fit Enzo or Maca cannot be better than all those fully fit promising players sitting on the bench?
To those who don’t want to hear any constructive criticism of this team and believe Scaloni and his staff can do no wrong, these are some of the things messi himself said after the match.
“Argentina struggled to control the game.”
“The pressing and defensive organization were poor.”
“Set pieces made the difference.”
“We also have to fix what went wrong, which was a lot too.”
Hopefully, nobody is going to suggest dropping messi from the squad simply because he pointed out the team’s shortcomings. Supporting your team doesn’t mean pretending everything is perfect. Sometimes the most supportive thing fans can do is recognize the problems early and hope the coaching staff fixes them before stronger opponents take advantage.
Constructive criticism isn’t “HATING” the team,it’s acknowledging problems that are clearly there. When the captain and greatest player in our history identifies the same issues many supporters have been talking about, perhaps those concerns deserve to be taken seriously instead of being dismissed as negativity.
The last match brought back uncomfortable memories of 2018. The positive is that they’ve been exposed now rather than in a semifinal or final before they become fatal.
Yes, Cape verde exposed almost all of Argentina’s weaknesses to the rest of the tournament, but this squad still has enough quality, experience, and leadership to get past egypt, which is a more cohesive side collectively and offer a stronger attacking threat, so the margin for error will be even smaller.
Yes, It was never going to be easy against a defensively compact team with nothing to lose, especially in humid conditions and temperatures in the mid-30s. Hopefully, scaloni does what made him so successful in 2022, be smart with his decisions, make the necessary adjustments to the starting XI, use his substitutions more effectively, and adapt his game plan based on what the opposition is giving him.
I have been following this blog since 2025(Name was different). One thing that hurt me is that we do not appreciate enough the Team that gave us so much joy in last 6-7 years. Even after winning World Cup i noticed lot of us disappeared. Now may are flooding here since our Game against Cape Verde did not go as expected.
This Team and the Coaching Staff deserves all the RESPECT of the world.
I agree a 100%, I’ve been a member since 2011-12 maybe Roy has the exact year but it’s always been the same issue around here. The Highs are too high and lows are too low, what have you done for me lately is the theme. ARG would not have won a damn thing had it not been for Scaloni, Messi, Debu and everybody else on this team currently. One might say well, DiMaria contributed a lot to the team’s success and indeed he did BUT we, I called him a headless chicken, running around, missing shots, passes., opportunities…..etc just like Kun, Tevez, Higuian before him and was only when Scaloni made it a proper team that he started shinning when his impact prior to that was nothing special.
This team is older, slower but it can win another trophy if they pull it together and it should start right now but GOD forbid if it doesn’t happen then the mission was accomplished and getting that 2nd Copa America was the cherry on top of the cherry.
2022 was a success because everybody chipped in on the attack and that is the missing factor right now which will also help on alleviating pressure on defense.
Have faith and hopefully everybody stays healthy.
Scaloni used to try 2 different formations during training in the past.Any news regarding that in this world cup? In 2022,i remember a lot related to 2 teams with not similar formations being competing in the practice sessions.
The rumor is that Scaloni will start all four midfielders (Enzo, Mac Allister, Paredes, and De Paul) together and bench Almada. This is the same system he used in the 4-1 win over Brazil, with Messi replacing Almada in that lineup.
Double pivot of paredes and enzo ?
Scolani seriously a fucking coach if he try this….
Paz /lo celso must
Enzo pardes de Paul MacAlister
All of these four are defensive minded midfielder just know back pass no creativity
No final pass
These four are not attacking midfielder
So without Paz/lo celso our striker didn’t get a final pass
The way Molina and Montiel have been playing, Simeone could honestly do a better job in that position. He’d run more, press harder, and offer much more with his overlapping runs. It might be worth trying.
One thing I like about Pep guardiola is that he’s always open to experimenting with players in different positions. He turned Messi from a winger into a false 9, converted Mascherano into a center back, used Lahm as a defensive midfielder, and moved Kimmich to right back. All of those decisions worked brilliantly.
Pep also isn’t afraid to make bold decisions before important matches, and he has always trusted young players in high pressure Champions League games. He’s far more successful than Scaloni, yet some people here act like these kinds of changes are ridiculous simply because Scaloni is too cautious to try them. Better coaches than him experiment all the time.
Scaloni had no problem trying Simeone on the left wing which was a ridiculous decision and gave Medina three games at left back even though it clearly backfired. But suggesting Simeone at right back, a position that actually suits many of his strengths, is somehow considered too outrageous. I just don’t understand the logic.
thats what i have been saying 3-5-2 is the solution for now. Medina lisa romero / or maybe include otamendi . and nico at the LW and simeone/ molina on RW .
Scaloni did the bold step of introducing Alvarez and Enzo back in 2022… i don’t know how, i don’t know where, but i know when: the next game against Egypt.
Either of those 3 Paz, Barco, Simeone MUST MUST MUST start the next game. If none of those names starts against Egypt, i just don’t know about our chances of retaining the title.
I guess he never like Alvarez it was force change in 2022 . His 1st preference always lsutaro..
Emi Martinez
Palacios- Romero -Lisandro- Tagliafico
Pardes
Lo celso- Barco
Paz
Messi – Alvarez
& One thing
After 1 goal try to give another goal
Not slow the game for giving unnecessary back pass
Sorry Enzo n MC Alister must they can fight til the end no debate. I still have high hope on these two. May b they can try simione and palacios..
Football has a funny way of humbling us. One victory and we’re unbeatable. One below-par performance and suddenly the coach has “lost it.”
The performance certainly wasn’t our best, and there are things to improve—especially how we manage games after taking the lead. But one aspect almost everyone seems to be overlooking is this: every time the scores were level (0-0, 1-1 and 2-2), Argentina found a way to respond and regain the lead. That speaks volumes about this team’s mentality. They know how to suffer, they know how to grind, and they know how to find solutions under pressure.
Let’s also give Cabo Verde the respect they deserve. Before facing Argentina, they had lost just twice in their previous 18 matches and had already frustrated Spain and Uruguay while keeping clean sheets against strong opposition in this World Cup. They weren’t just another underdog—they were one of the tournament’s biggest surprise packages.
Above all, this coaching staff—Scaloni, Aimar, Ayala, Samuel and the entire group—has given us almost everything a football nation could dream of over the last eight years. More importantly, they’ve built a united team that doesn’t stop evolving. They analyse, adapt and come back with better solutions. For everything they’ve given us, they’ve earned our trust, our patience and, above all, our support.
Let’s stay positive. The tournament is far from over. 🇦🇷
VAMOS!!!!
………………………Emi Martinez…………….
Palacios… Romero… Lisandro…Taliafoco
……….Macalister…………Enzo…………
………………..Messi……………
Someone…….Alvarez……..Paz .
This looks balanced one .
Good team, my only change is barco for simione, and if palacios not playing, add simione as rb
I guess he never like Alvarez it was force change in 2022 . His 1st preference always lsutaro..not good another mid Fielder wanted
Our biggest strength midfield currently performing very badly because of terrible form of Enzo fernandez ( currently his head is Madrid) & Rodrigo de Paul & playing alexis Maclester in defensive midfield. Scaloni need to play Leonardo Parades at defensive midfielder role & drop Enzo fernandez & de Paul and bring alexis Maclester & lo celso in advance role so that they can link up with messi, create opportunity & scored goal.
Sub valentin barco & Juliano Siomione whenever possible.
In attack along with messi bring Alvarez & Nicolas Gonzalez.
We have to kill the matches thats one thing we have to do. Dont relax after 1 goal. Thats the biggest thing which we seems to lack, we seems to pass around a lot once we score goal 1, Holding to a 1-0 lead is hugely risky in this WC. If we score 1 go for the second too..Kill the game. Penalty shootout is hugely risky game.
Correct mik,that killer instinct is still missing in the current team.We have seen multiple matches where the team with 1-0 lead either losing or stretching themselves till penalties to lose the match.Go for a kill after 1-0 for sure and 2-0 based on situation and ground /match dynamics
Scaloni has never been a rigid coach. One of his biggest strengths has always been his flexibility. I’m sure he’ll go back to the drawing board and make the necessary adjustments to ensure a much better performance against Egypt. He’s far more adaptable than our previous coaches, and with a strong coaching staff alongside him—Aimar, Ayala, and Samuel—I have complete faith that they’ll solve the tactical puzzle.
Let’s hope we produce a much better outing than we did against Cape Verde (CPV). Even if we don’t play our best but still manage to win, that’s what ultimately matters.
I’ll always support Scaloni, no matter what. He’s already helped Argentina achieve our biggest dream by winning the World Cup. That alone is enough for me. Everything we achieve from here on is simply a bonus—an extended dream.
It’s also funny seeing some people complain that Paraguay were “playing dirty” against France. That’s South American grit for you. Some also claim South American teams don’t play in competitive environments, but this is exactly what South American football is like—physical, intense, and relentless. The World Cup qualifiers are often even tougher because officiating isn’t always as strict as it is at the World Cup.
Now it’s France vs. Morocco. Let’s see how that one unfolds.
Scaloni’s tactics against Cape Verde are being heavily questioned—not just by fans like us who love analyzing football from our couches (while never having implemented tactics at that level 😄), but also by people who actually understand the game deeply, including coaches like José Mourinho.
The biggest question mark was the starting XI. Persisting with an out-of-form Enzo–Mac Allister combination raised eyebrows. Both have been struggling to reproduce their best football for Argentina over the last few months, while players showing stronger recent rhythm—Barco, Nico Paz, Paredes—remained outside the starting plan.
The substitutions were also debated. Some expected game time for Simeone, especially because his ability to stretch the pitch and provide width could have created more operating space for Messi. Molina, unfortunately, had another difficult outing. His defensive contribution was shaky, and going forward he missed that golden opportunity to give Messi a “Lisandro moment” by not converting inside the box.
Now comes Egypt—and this is a different challenge altogether.
A team with Salah leading a dangerous attack, Marwan Attia providing midfield balance, defensive resilience, and the flexibility to transition between a 4-2-3-1 and a 3-4-1-2 cannot be taken lightly. Argentina will need to be significantly better than what we saw against Cape Verde.
My preferred setup would be a 4-1-3-2:
Molina (unfortunately, options are limited) – Romero – Lisandro – Tagliafico
Paredes
Barco – De Paul – Mac Allister (offers more defensive workload than Enzo currently)
Messi – Álvarez
Possible changes depending on match situation:
De Paul → Palacios
Molina → Montiel (yes, have mercy on me 😄)
Álvarez → Lautaro around 65′ if Julián gives us the high-intensity pressing shift we need
Barco → Nico Paz once Barco’s pressing energy starts dropping
Tagliafico → Nico if attacking reinforcement is required
Scaloni is not Deschamps—and perhaps that’s both his strength and weakness. His loyalty and emotional connection with the group created the beautiful story of 2022. But knockout football sometimes demands ruthless decisions, even uncomfortable ones. Reputation cannot outweigh current form.
That being said, I don’t think Cape Verde suddenly produced a footballing masterclass. Their goalkeeper was outstanding, their defensive organization was probably better than ours, and their second goal may be one of the goals of the tournament. But they also had moments of vulnerability—almost scoring own goals twice, wasting promising transitions with poor final passes, and taking several hopeful shots from distance.
The problem is that Argentina allowed them to believe. We were second-best in too many areas, and that’s what transformed the match into an epic battle.
Egypt will not need an invitation twice. They are genuinely dangerous.
Either Scaloni finds the right balance now, or the tournament may give him plenty of time afterwards to think about what could have been done differently.
Here we go.. back with all the idiots flooding the comment section as usual. Yes we did not play a good game and Cabo Verde played a brilliant game with grit and determination. Where we should discuss what can be done, people just come out here and take out the frustrations of their personal lives. Theres an idiot who always comes during the tournaments and he says Scaloni should have been fired after the 2022 world cup!! Yeah his sin? Well he made us the champions.. there’s another cool guy who says Scaloni won everything because of Messi and Di maria.. well here’s an interesting little factos for u baby girl.. Messi and Di maria were playing for argentina since 2006 and 2010 wcups.. BLINGGGGG!! It takes an idiot to not recognize the fact that Scaloni has taken us in this winning path even WITHOUT having one of the most talented team in the world, but it takes another level of idiocy to compare a 39 year old Diego to Messi.. and we do have jokers like that in this forum. A new idiot who is commenting a lot now a days… Do you know what Dioego was good for @39? If not, go ask your mom.
And then I keep hearing Scaloni is a coward, he does not take chances.. WE HAVE DONE WHAT WE HAVE DONE BECAUSE SCALONI RELIES MORE ON CHEMISTRY RATHER THAN CHANCE. Get that in your thick heads. In the last 20 years we have had genius experimenters like Sampaoli and Bauzas and how did we do? Sorry but our best periods were with two of the biggest “cowards” Sabella and Scaloni. Yes give me those cowards all day long.
Everyone keeps saying the same things like a herd of sheeps.. Barco, Nico paz, Perrone. This is exactly what I used to hear in this forum a few years ago about Garnacho.. as if he is the be all and end all of this team and what did we realize? Garnacho is basically Nico Gonzalez minus the dribble minus the defending plus a huge ego. THIS IS THE WORLD CUP.. it is difficult for youngsters to immediately make a great impact. Have you heard of a teenager called Lamine Yamal? Have you seen him play in this world cup? Can you tell me his game changing impact in any game apart from the Saudi match? And we are talking about THE LAMINE YAMAL!!! I do not like to discourage any of our youngsters but sorry who is Nico Paz and Perrone? The Real Madrid reject and the Man city reject who now plays for COMO? seriously?? I wish both of them all the luck and may them be the best players in the future but NO they are not the game changers yet that we wish them to be. Additionally, yesterday we need to understand that there were forced substitutions like Medina thats why we were playing a cramped Enzo as no more substitutions were left. Plus the coach would think about the penalty takers as well. Paredes came in to calm the situation, which he did and also because he is a pk expert, same with Nico.. he would have taken a pk. Do you want Barco and PAZ to take PKs? Dont think with your butts guys. We do not have the most talented squad, we do not have the most talented youngsters that we have left out of the squad and there has been a lot of lingering injuries in the squad. Forget about the France and Spains, we dont care.. we dont meet them till the finals.. lets discuss about Egypt.. I blv this will be a team that we will be more comfortable playing against.. Not saying the match will be easy but the type of play would help us more.. There’s only 3 days rest in between so it is expected that there will be changes and maybe we will see some newer players.. lets support our team and respect the set of players and coaches who have won us everything. Let the criticisms be constructive. VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!!
“Barco, Nico Paz, Perrone This is exactly what I used to hear in this forum a few years ago about Garnacho”
What I find hilarious is that Garnacho is the only example you remember Why not Emi, Enzo, or Julian Alvarez?
Remember when Scaloni kept sticking with Armani over Emi? The so called braindead herds here wanted Emi to start, and they were absolutely right If Armani hadn’t gotten COVID, Emi wouldn’t have played, and the entire Scaloni era could have ended before it truly began.
The same thing happened with Enzo and Julian. Scaloni was reluctant to give them regular opportunities and only made those changes after the Saudi Arabia defeat, when he was still stubbornly relying on Papu Gomez and Paredes.
So it’s funny that players like Barco and Nico Paz remind you of Garnacho, but not of Emi, Enzo, or Julian. How is Garnacho even a logical comparison? Barco and Paz are performing well in top leagues, while Garnacho has struggled
You’re trying way too hard to sound like the smartest guy in the room, but your logic is laughably bad . Sometimes the majority is right when The hippie constantly trying to be different with forced contrarian takes often end up making the weakest arguments of all. Here is a smoother version that keeps your point:
There’s been a lot of luck involved in Scaloni’s success. Let’s not pretend every decision he made was some genius move or came straight from God. Sticking with Armani for so long and continuing to play Papu Gomez are just two examples where circumstances ended up bailing him out.
No chris you are wayyy off on this one.. best to sit this one out mate.. I am not trying hard to sound different from everyone.. I have always said the same things about Scaloni.. atleast since copa 2021. You say people here shouted for players like Julian.. let me tell you there was NO CLAMOUR AT ALL FOR JULIAN TO BE INCLUDED in the starting lineup.. NONE.. if you dont remember at that time Lautaro was an established star and Julian had just joined and played a little for Man city, he was peripheral during copa 21. It was widely reported that these same coaching staff that you guys like to piss on were greatly impressed by the improvement of Julian after going to man city and they planned for a greater role after Lautaro started badly, without people really asking for it. Same for Cristian Romero he came in and became the starter immediately over pezzela. But you dont want to give credit to scaloni for those. You want to talk about Emi? Do you not know that he was the third or fourth choice gk at Arsenal, as soon as he did well in the shield and cup finals and joined aston villa, he was called up to the squad and nobody was shouting for him to be included for years or anything like that. Do you want scaloni to immediately remove Armani who saved that crucial penalty and kept argentina in the previous copa? Do you understand how international coaches work. If you did, you would have noticed that there is a young lad named JOAN GARCIA who sits on the bench for Spain and Unai Simon is the starting GK. So according to you Spain also has an idiot as a manager? Then I would say the idiots in your dictionary seem to be the most successfull international coaches. You say I only remember Garnacho? No man I also remember an Irish boy named Macallister who was pissed at in these comments regularly when Scaloni brought him in. Enzo was also brought into the squad within months of moving to benfica or even before that. International coaches dont keep changing starting 11 just like that and in national teams seniority matters. The fact is when he felt necessary, he made the changes. I know luck has played a part in Scaloni’s success like every winning coach.. but like you I am not foolish enough to not give credit to him and his team. Finally I am not against criticism, I am against this blind hatred for the GREATEST NATIONAL TEAM COACH ARGENTINA HAS EVER SEEN and one of the greatest ever international coaches of the world and that does not change even if we lose the next match.
My thoughts too sabya ! I never saw 1978,1986 winning coaches tactics live but I got a chance to see Scaloni.Believe me ,I was always in favour of Scaloni when he started coaching our u-17 team and brought the silverware in the year 2018( Subject to correction).I saw some aura in him as all the matches he won was tactical mastery of 1-0,2-0 small wins but balanced team work.I was hopeful that if he coaches our senior argentinian team,messi may win world cup as I have been following football since my childhood and know balanced side with good defense can win tournaments.I saw that in Scaloni.Slowly he became the temporary coach for which I felt happy and later he became permanent coach rest is history.I may sound foolish ,but he is the Lionel Messi of Argentine coaches for me.Only after his arrival ,messi started played like a monster for national team.Now with 20 goals and more than 15 of them coming from 2022 world cup and 2026 world cup,this itself is enough to prove that Lionel Scaloni along with his support staff Aimar( My favourite along with Riquelme before messi ),walter samuel,Ayala made the perfect system that assisted Messi become the undisputed G.O.A.T of football. had he been our coach since 2010,Messi would have crossed nearly 40 worldcup goals by now.Vamos Scaloni,Vamos messi,Vamos albiceleste.
You seem to be loyal fan like me .Mostly look for the pros and avoid unnecessary cons creeping in to fans mind.Need your starting 11 for the match with Egypt Sabya.Vamos Argentina Vamos Albiceleste.
VAMOS KARU.. thanks for understanding.. I am no coach or expert I am just a fan like the millions and I did not start supporting Argentina because of Messi or Maradona.. I started supporting them from 1998 when neither were there. But in my humble opinion, I would take the base of the team vs Cabo Verde and make the following changes in the starting line up. Tag instead of Medina, Julian and Nico gonzales instead of Lautaro and Almada and if Enzo is very tired, I would place Maca in his place and put Paredes as 5.
Based on the match situation may be add Lo celso or Barco.
I can understand why scaloni chose Medina.. because he was showing signs of good attacks and also gave that perfect cut back to messi. Against Cabo Verde Scaloni would have wanted the attack more like we all did. But against Egypt, I would like to start Tag again. Molina is our starter.. we got to remember that he has not been playing regularly for many weeks now so obv he needs time to get into full rythm. Yeah he got tired towards the end. The second goal prob wouldnt have happened if Molina doubled up with Macca. But he should be fine if he keeps playing. Lets not forget he picked up great form towards the end of the season before he got injured. So he can be great once he gets into groove
You are spot on! Not sure why the negativity.It is better to win ugly than lose by playing fancy.Scaloni is a world cup winning coach and he is not a joke.It creates immense pressure to repeat the heroics of 2022.4 years is a huge time for any team to replicate the same winning ways.One thing to notice after the arrival of Scaloni is that irrespective of the situation,we are fighting to win the match.Tbh I don’t believe any of the earlier teams would have won, had they played yesterday after cpv came back twice to equalize the game. Still they found out a way to win the game and stay alive in the tournament.Almost all the teams who have now qualified to the round of 16 underwent struggle during the match which was unexpected too.But most of the past champion teams managed to cross the line,which Argentina also did.Scaloni will try with different formations to better understand which set of players are producing effective results.I gonna see some changes to the starting 11 for upcoming match.Guys,cheer for our team and they will give their best. Albiceleste fan after coming to know the greatness of Maradona and have been supporting the team since early 2000’s.
Sometimes, I wonder if Scaloni and team ever reads these comments 😀.
It is not required for scaloni or messi to read our comments.They have better analysts to read the ground reality of the game and suggest formations accordingly.It is just our zeal about Argentine football.Instead of becoming anti nationals in social media it is better to become messi or Argentine football supporters by sharing mutual knowledge with respect 💪😎
replace rodrigo de poul with paredes, almada with nico and lautaro with julian.
3-5-2 will be ideal choice against ezypt . romero senesi and lisandro with paredes,macca, enzo nico and molina in mid along side messi and julian up front… bring barco for nico and guliano simeone for molina later on if we need further goal.. looking the condition of match we can use paz and lo celso if needed later on…. 2-0 victory is ready for argentina …
Back 3s are too limited. All the back 3 teams got cooked this World Cup. Respectfully no let’s stick with our back 4 heritage lol
thats why molina is listed in mid, with the flow of the game, he can come back to original place
It’s funny how people have their hope high that Nico Paz will be a starter. Scaloni has no intention to play the promising young talents since they were not part of WC2022. He brought them just spot fillers, and even if he introduces Paz or Simeone, they would come in the 88th minute of the match. He will stick with Almada, Medina, and Lautaro even if the entire world screams out loud they are ineffective players in their current form.
France scrapped a win against the great wall of Paraguay, albeit a moment of madness from the oaraguay defender. If it didnt occur, Argentina would have got lot more appreciation for our victory against Cabo Verde.
As for our upcoming match against, its clear we need to start with Alvarez and Nico G along with Messi replacing Lautaro and Almada as both of them are not adding any value.
We may also have to try Nico Paz and LoCelso, two of the most creative players in the team after Messi, if we are looking for creative support for Messi or a moment of inspiration from someone other than Messi.
And more than anything else, we need our players to bring back the fast press and quick short passes that made us the world champions in 2022.
My team:
Nico G | Alvarez | Messi
MacAllister | Enzo | DePaul
Barco | Licha | Romero | Molina
Dibu
Subs:
LoCelso and Nico Paz if we are looking for goals.
Tagliafico, Palacios and Paredes if we need to stabilize or defend the 2 or more goals cushion.
Yes, we need to get our intensity back!
Agreed with starting 3 and hopefully Julian and Nico.G can start….i would like Scaloni to try play like this, but i know it is very unlikely to happen and back 3 never really worked for Argentina….
Nico.G Alvarez Messi
Barco Enzo RdP Simeone
Licha Senesi Cuti
Mac can replace Enzo or viceversus and same for Paredes with RdP or viceversus….Paz, Lo Celso and Co, can come as attacking sub’s and Palacios if we need to defend our lead with extra body to block midfield and later on, when there could be more space to create Toro can come on or if we need to replace Alvarez, but starting with Alvarez and Nico.G up front and using Barco and Simeone we could be able to press more and play with more intensity also it might make our play a bit more direct….
So much for MIGHTY Frenchy, winning 1/0 vs Paraguay who were TRASHED by The U.S. after getting a PK lol……cheer up Albiceleste Nation🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷✊️
But it was always one way traffic, it has never looked like Paraguay was going to score .
Point here is France has all the fire power and in the world and believe me you, it would have gone to extra time.
I personally wanted France to win but wanted them to sweat it out as they did, wanted them to win JUST IN CASE that self-conceited Ape and his lackeys get a win Vs Spain.
Would had been good if that game went to extra time, but only 1 goal from penalty was kind of expected considering how Paraguay aproached their game against German’s. Hopefully Morocco’s Saibari can play against the French….anyhow i don’t expect Morocco to play such a low block as Paraguay did so, that game could be more open and hopefully Morocco can beat France! Mexico has a chance to send England home and their record at Azteca is very strong with only 2 defeats from 89 played. Also Norway has a chance against Brazil and would love to see England and Brazil to go home!
Spain must kill Portugal as any other result will not be accepted! VAMOS ALBICELESTE🇦🇷✨🇦🇷 FOREVER! Beat Egypt first and, then and only after, that think about potential next opponent….for now we need to shake, that bad memory from ”Miami Heat” and play like WISE with the ball and don’t concede! Find the way to grind couple of more win’s more, please….Vamos 🇦🇷🙏🇦🇷
Looking forward to Egypt, they managed a tie with Australia into double extra time and then Pks and the Aussies shit themselves…..keep that in mind
Let’s discuss about Forwards..
Messi: He’s in his form of his life considering the effectiveness in his goal scoring. He’s performing better than anyone expected. After 2022 WC, Some of us were predicting he will be a sub player in 2026. Look where we are now? Only the performing Forward in this team..! The man..makes this team keep going..!
Nico Gonzalez: He’s performing the level we expected. Second best inform forward. Not great, not bad…working hard. Expected level
Julian Alvarez: Back from injury..recovering..but involved in transfer fight between Barcelona and Atletico. Hard working but his head is not in right place. Below expected level. But..expecting a great comeback from next round. He has a big game player mentality.
Almada: Every one pointed..he’s out of form and not deserves to start. Played all matches..started 3..! Any goal? Assist? Great balls? Anything spectacular..nothing…waste of spot. WAY BELOW EXPECTED LEVEL. DONT START. Immediate replacement needed.
Lautaro: He’s not the player we need especially when Meesi can’t work defensively. He and Almada weaken us defensively. He’s always struggled against big team, Defensive team..his movements in tight space is not good. WAY BELOW EXPECTED LEVEL. DONT START.
SIMEONE: Given minutes but as RB..really? He later moved up..done better but nothing great. I expected him to come on against Cabo Verde.
Below Expected level.
Lopez: No.comments.
Nico-Alvarez- Messi: The current best possible front line.
Before Cabo Verde..i commented here..”we need tactical tweaks..may be we can win same way upto next round not from QF.”
Now its completely exposed. And we need tweaks from next match, Egypt is not a big team, we have time to experiment before crucial QF.
There’s something like ‘Champion-Trap”.
If you are the last winner you need to go there with the title defenders in persons. You can’t leave world champions in home. The title defenders deserves to get the chance and do it one more time. If you leave a half of the chamion team in home pundits and hinchas will kill you. But it’s a trap as history showed. You go there with fulfilled players which will never muster same eager and energy we saw in ’22 final. Not just they are 4 years older. It’s just never same passion. They’ve ate the grass to stop France an you will not see same spirit again. Every champion coach is trapped in this unsolvable, fatal dilemma even being aware of it. Hence you see France, Italy, Spain, Germany falling badly in the past as going to defend the titles. The only chance is to give a chance to the eager ones: Lo Celso deserves a chance. Barco, Paz same here. Leaving player like Prestianni in home is bad choice in itself.
One thing that really concerns me is the apparent lack of world class talent emerging from Argentina compared to previous generations. Highly rated youngsters like Julio Soler, Benjamín Domínguez, Valentín Carboni, Claudio Echeverri, Franco Mastantuono, and others have yet to establish themselves in Europe.
I also think Argentine clubs rely too heavily on experienced veterans instead of giving consistent minutes to young prospects. Players like Agustín Ruberto, Ian Subiabre, and others often spend too much time on the bench. Before they’ve fully developed, they’re sold to Europe, where many struggle for playing time and fail to reach their potential. It feels like the cycle keeps repeating.
Replacing a player like Messi was always going to be impossible, but unless Argentina develops another generation of elite talent, life after Messi could be a difficult period for Albiceleste fans.
Argentina arguably lacks a world class traditional No. 9 in the mold of Batistuta or Aguero. Julian Alvarez is a world class forward, but his greatest strengths are his movement, pressing, and versatility rather than being a classic penalty area striker.
Macca not working on number 5 ! I don’t know why we are playing him there when he was thriving last WC in more advanced positions where he helps Messi and make those runs ? Just don’t know why don’t we play Enzo in 5 ! Hopefully Paredes come as 5 in next game or Enzo. Macca not working at all in there . Either sub him or play him more advance position. All the good game we had he was in more advance position not 5. Also Toro or Almada just forgot how to make run in the space or take 1V1 or even shoot. Constantly looking for Messi costing us now . Hopefully we sort that out coz if we can see I’m sure coaching staff would see it too.
Leo Paredes should start as a 5, and Macca and Enzo as double 8s.
I was leaning towards this too… but Paredes would be replacing RDP who has had to cover a lot of space and pressing to compensate for Messi. Will Macca (who now shifts slightly up and right) be able to do it? My sense is that it has to be coupled with a change to Alvarez from Lautaro so Alvarez can also cover some space/pressing that Macca has to do on the right else Paredes will have to be pulled up and out of position. And they’re still trying to ease Alvarez back into the games (don’t think it’s fully about his mental state re his club contract situation)… kind of a pickle we find ourselves in…
Wish our attackers are watching howncanada operating here
i just said the same thing to my friend !
I talked about this before, the uncanny hatred for ARGENTINA now more than ever, I promise you, everybody and his mama that wasn’t an ARG fan was hoping, begging and praying for their downfall last night, I say F ’em.
Today is our turn to relax, rest and enjoy watching other teams play and who knows, maybe an upset…..it’s their turn to sweat.
There is a positive this team had been grinding results where it matters most, CV at group stage held stalemate Spain, Uruguay and this was a knockout round match which Argentina had every thing to lose and CV had everything to get. Still Argentina managed to go through 3-2. Wins make u progress in WC. In my opinion despite of all negatives, like Spain, Argentina hasn’t peaked yet positively it will keep grow as tournament progresses.
Forget about inform players like buendia, soule or dybala we sacrificed for Almada. Even Garnacho, despite his ultra-poor finishing skills, would have been far more threatening than this guy.
Additionally, the Medina-Almada combination on the left completely kills that side of Argentina’s attack. Almada can’t beat his man, can’t deliver a simple cross let alone a decisive final ball and rarely finishes anything. While Medina primarily a CB offers very little going forward and his poor positioning along with his slow reactions means he is a suicide bomb waiting to explode. As a result, almost every attack has to come through the right flank or straight through the middle. And when midfielders have an off game everything has to come from Messi. Which is why Lautaro and Julian both have struggled!
Time to change our formation to 3-5-2 or 3-4-3
Make him the striker at least he try to shoot 😌
We are not using full potential of lautaro by giving him freedom to shoot or give him early crosses which he gets in inter and is very good at heading the ball
Who will cross to him? Molina or Almada? We dont have any player like dumfries or dimarco. I think we need an upgrade to the mid which is our main strength.
Thats the problem 🥲 only tagi can cross
the only solution is changing the tactics. 3-5-2 maybe will work based on our full back issues
If you are surprised at how bad our attack is then you probably were not paying attention. How did we win the Copa America? We practically won games 1-0 or 1-1 then tie breaker. The difference right now is we have Leo going super Saiyan mode and scoring goals at a rate that even he never did in his life.
But what I never expected was seeing the midfield at a bad situation. If this team has one world class thing that is midfield. Right now, Macalister is playing like someone who is slower and has never played in our midfield. He is one step slower and out of sync than rest of the team. Plus, he is not able to provide any creativity to our play.
Scaloni must fix the midfield now.
Scaloni needs several key chances . Almada should be dropped. He shouldnt be used as sub as well. Nico and lo celso can play better there. Medina was not good enough but he can be used as sub. Taglifico should start vs egypt. Molina ? We have no options . He has lost so many balls today. In the mid, parades deserves more minutes. And Barco as well. I dont why we dont use him tonight. Same goes for Paz. As scaloni doesnt want to play Paz and messi together. Maybe Paz should be used as a supersub. Regarding forwards, Lautaro was so awful today. Julian should start. I dont have any complains in terms of CBs . Literally they saved us from humiliation.
You can blame Scaloni and the squad all you want, but our last World Cup qualifying match was 9 months ago. We were a strong, competitive team during the qualifiers. SCALONI had no reason to make radical changes to the core lineup
In that gap, the useless, greedy clown of a president couldn’t arrange a single competitive friendly to keep this squad grounded. Instead, we played Panama, Guatemala, and other weak opponents who never truly tested us and gave us the false impression that everything was fine. How are you supposed to prepare for the World Cup without facing a single top 20 team for nearly a year?
I don’t understand why so many people are blaming Scaloni and the players when the bigger issue is the lack of preparation. Why would Scaloni drop the players he trusted when they kept winning comfortably against inferior opposition? We needed challenging matches much earlier so he could identify which players were no longer good enough, but that never happened because we simply weren’t playing quality teams.
If we crash out of this World Cup, the biggest share of the blame goes to Tapia. He’s done a terrible job of arranging high quality matches for the national team for years. Our success on the pitch allowed him to avoid criticism, but now the consequences of that poor planning are becoming painfully obvious.
I know emotions are very high but have some faith, nobody expected ARG to lose to Saudi Arabia…..the sleeping giant was awakened and the rest was history.
Man, I’m so happy we beat Cape Verde because I knew it would be tough since they had nothing to lose while Argentina had everything to lose, plus it was Argentina against the world. I’m pretty sure we’ll reach the final and probably win it again. I’d prefer to play teams like Spain, Brazil, Colombia, and France over teams like Cape Verde who have nothing to lose.
I’ll preface this by saying I hope I am wrong and that I have misread everything. But even if we get past Egypt, this team is going to be humiliated by Columbia much less France, Spain, or England. It doesn’t even look like the same team of 2022. The entire midfield was awful. Not a single guy other than Messi ran yesterday. A field full of twenty something’s got out worked by a 39 year old player. Scaloni wanted to focus on the positives. Denial is not a river in Egypt, but at this pace that’s the end of the road for us. Last night, at least behind closed doors, is nothing to celebrate, it’s a dillusional embarrassment. If it were me, Simeone, I’d go to a 4-4-2 with Barco, Simeone, Paredes, Paz starting, and leave Julian atop with Messi. Your left and right back play is dogshit anyway, at least maybe with those guys in the midfield you’ll perform better, but absolutely nothing gave me hope through all 4 games that this shit pile can win anything. And to think we couldn’t have used Buendia or Mastantuono. At least those guys can run.
And never forget, this mf’er called up Montiel instead of Giay. And Almada. Honestly is Almada at this point any better than Garnacho! That’s not saying much. And Lautaro Jesus Christ man, 63 minutes, ZERO shots on goal. He had as many attempts as I did from my living room.
This mfer gives you the joy we all wanted…this man scaloni makes you champions of the world and back to back Copa..
What so called biggest Manager give us?? Bloody nothing.
France vs Paraguay 1998
Spain vs Paraguay 2010
All these games were happened..so hopefully Argentina will improve
As you well know, this is a business of what have you done for me lately. Yes, he is an Mfer when he sits his ass up there and says let’s think about the positives and Messi has to basically say we played like shit. Who’s leading this team? Where’s the accountability. You me and Scaloni are all watching the same game. Yet anyone with an objective eye sees a team that barely walked let alone jogged other than Messi. Scaloni knows he has a pass because of his past accomplishments, but I want more. We have the talent to win it all. You adapt and changed or you die. Scaloni is prepared to die clearly. And for that he is a m’fer.
Bro same think i thought. GArnacho has speed at least.
LM was a huge question mark prior to the WC but boy did answer all the critics, both offensively and defensively.
As painful as it was to watch last night’s game, the GAME was WON and ARA is in the round of 16 getting ready to face Egypt. The Albiceleste for some strange reason tends to play down to their opponents, maybe it’s over-confidence or unfamiliarity but it has happened time and time again but they won’t make the same mistake again. As the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger and ARG got a taste of what could have happened and I’m pretty sure didn’t like it.
Any news on any injuries, Cuti, Medina?
Scaloni has somehow managed to make the 2022 world Cup winning team look like the aging, disjointed side from 2018 again. Here are my player ratings.
Emi – 5/10
He’s been beaten four times in this tournament, and it took two Cape Verde goals plus the genuine threat of elimination for him to finally wake up. Until then, every attack looked like he was going to concede. Just saying but on current form, Musso would have found a way to not concede those goals.
Medina – 1/10
The first goal started with his misplaced pass and then when the ball came back in the box, he was beaten far too easily as the attacker humiliating way nutmegged him before both Lisandro and Emi got beaten . Defensively poor, offered nothing going forward, and easily my worst player on the pitch. Even Acuna would’ve probably done better.
Lisandro Martinez – 8/10
Excellent. Had almost no support from Medina but still defended well throughout. He also stepped into midfield to progress the ball , bagged a great assist and even got on the scoresheet with a banger ! One of the few onces who wants to win it again.
Romero – 6/10
Not at his best and looked slower than usual, but unlike others he didn’t make any costly mistakes. His aerial presence was important again. However he has to step up in the next match.
Molina – 2/10
The second Cape Verde goal came from his side after he failed to win his duel. Scaloni substituted him immediately afterwards. Anyone who watched Atletico Madrid knows he had another below average season and even lost his place to make shift RB Llorente. Had always been poor defensively and offered nothing going forward.
Rodrigo De Paul – 4/10
He hasn’t looked like the same player since leaving European football. Right now he should be an experienced squad player, not an automatic starter. He slows down an already slow team. A last 15 min sub at best!
Enzo Fernández – 4/10
Very disappointing. A lot was expected from him, yet he was arguably even less influential than De Paul. He played with little urgency and never controlled the midfield. He has Madrid on his mind. He is playing like its impossible to win back to back WCs so why waste energy!
MacAllister – 6/10
I am actually surprised people are blaming him. He was way better than enzo and depaul. He constantly tried to speed up play and create something, but there is only so much you can do when those around you aren’t moving. He and Enzo need a younger, more dynamic midfielder alongside them.
Messi – 9/10
Scaloni completely drained Messi yesterday. Once again, he carried the attack because nobody else could. The manager never figured out how to integrate Dybala before, and now he still doesn’t seem to know how to properly use Nico Paz when the attack runs out of ideas. We play again in three days, and if Messi has to play another full game after 120 minutes, his 39-year-old legs won’t keep bailing us out. If not for Cape Verde’s goalkeeper, he would’ve had another goal.
Lautaro – 3/10
When the midfield provides no service, he offers very little. He has become a pure penalty box striker at Inter. With our current setup and out of form midfield and forwards, Alvarez fits the system much better and has to start against Egypt.
Almada – 1/10
I have already said enough about this giy. There’s a reason he ended up in Mls. He struggled badly in la liga as well, and leaving players like Soule and Buendia behind for him was a huge mistake from Scaloni & Co. The Medina-Almada partnership on the left gave Cape Verde confidence because there was absolutely no threat from that side. Sixty minutes completely wasted.
Alvarez – 4/10
He tried to press, run and create, but the team was already exhausted by the time he came on. He has to start against Egypt. His movement and work rate fit Scaloni’s system much better than Lautaro’s.
Paredes – 6/10
Looked much sharper than both enzo and depaul and brought some calmness in possession. I still think Barco should start ahead of both him and De Paul.
Montiel – 2/10
I still can’t believe Scaloni left a young, quick player like Giay at home to bring another injury prone, inconsistent and FINISHED right-back when Molina already has the exact same profile. He changed very little and looked even more vulnerable to Cape Verde’s attack!
Tagliafico – 6/10
I immediately felt more secure after he replaced Medina. At 33, he’s still comfortably ahead of Medina. He has to start against Egypt, even if we desperately need younger, quicker full-backs. But beggars can’t be choosers!
Nico.G – 6/10
A clear upgrade over Almada. He looked much more active, direct and willing to attack defenders. Atltico fans must be wondering how Almada was ahead of him in the pecking order.
Scaloni – 2/10
His worst game of the tournament. The starting XI was poor, there was no effective plan b, the substitutions didn’t improve us, and his game management forced Messi to play 120 exhausting minutes. On top of that, he exposed every weakness this team has, to the rest of the tournament.
Overall, Scaloni has somehow turned this team into a version of sampaoli’s 2018 argentina. aging, slow, predictable, and lacking chemistry. He still doesn’t seem to know how to use Nico Paz when the attack runs out of ideas and we desperately need a goal! Medina and Almada being his new finds says everything! We constantly lose possession, struggle to press, and look fcuking slow in every aspect of the game. Right now, we are nodoubt the slowest of all the major teams. If we play like this against France, Brazil, England or any other fast side, we’ll get torn apart in pieces!
I have a question about why scaloni didnt sub Enzo who had cramps. Barco is this bad? Or what about Paz ?
Nico paz???
What this guy did before??
I can’t say anything about France…but seeing Brazil and england they also I think face the same problem we faced in my opinion…
DR congo and Cabo Verde are in my opinion similar teams… Dr congo gives a big tension to england… Brazil nearly get Japan to extra time..
Yes I agree we are not playing well.. that doesn’t mean we are far inferior to any of the team you mentioned apart from France…
Mark my words… Argentina if they improved thier tempo will be in final yet again..
Vamos Argentina
My question is how come you can say buendia is better or eccheveri matias Soule???
All these are not yet tested players in world cup… either scaloni should have integrated them earlier otherwise playing directly at wc game we can’t expect cohesiveness…
Let’s pray 🙏🙏🙏 Argentina will improve
Buendia was in good form. And so as Soule. But regarding squad i think only RB is contradictory. Rest seems fine to me. And Nico Paz hadnt got many chances. Almada is off form so why not try something different?