Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes and Julián Álvarez could start for Argentina against Switzerland at the World Cup.
The three players all started for Argentina in their 3-2 win against Egypt and could be starting against Switzerland. According to Gastón Edul, the three players will be in the starting eleven for Argentina’s match.
Call me crazy but i thougt we started the game against egypt really good. We moved the ball around fast, and were finding spaces… they happened to score first, then changed the dynamic of the game. I hope scaloni fields the same team… the only change he should consider is de paul. now is not the time to do too much tinkcering…
———— Emi————
Molina – cuti – licha – Tagli
Macca — paredes— enzo
Messi — Lautaro —- Nico G
Scaloni has achieved a lot, and obviously the management team are professionals. However, as a long-time football follower analyzing how every team has performed at this World Cup, it’s hard to ignore Argentina’s structural weaknesse. A slow and sloppy midfield, an injury-hit and error-prone defense that often struggles with positioning, virtually no attacking threat from the flanks unless Messi drifts, strikers enduring a prolonged goal drought, and a goalkeeper who has looked like a statue. Don’t be surprised if we struggle against Switzerland too.
Cape Verde exposed the lack of pace in our midfield and positional unawareness of our defense , when they ran with the ball the entire length of the field multiple times. We all thought Scaloni & co would have noticed it and addressed it in the Egypt match. On the contrary, it was even worse!! All the changes made by Scaloni did not address any of those weaknesses.We are talking about whether Spain could find a way to maintain possession by utilizing their stronger midfield against France so that they WE avoid France in the final. Meanwhile, we might somehow manage to progress to the semifinal against Switzerland, but England and Norway are too strong and too fast for our not so old but very slow squad! England’s squad balance and pace need no further intro, and Norway is way more than just Haaland, Sorloth, or Odegaard. Their starting xi regularly features players who start in the epl, serie-a, and other top european leagues, which is why they outplayed Brazil! I don’t want to agree but like many have mentioned here, it does feel like Scaloni’s team selection, game management, and ability to read the game have run their course.
I just can’t imagine that even being a squad of 27-28 which is prime, we look so slow and sloppy
Simeone Gonzalez Barco all are fast but not utilised
This will be the match to rectify & correct mistakes go home or move next round. Secondly whatever way Argentina will survive either playing ugly or beautiful football. Let pandits underestimate
Average height of Switzerland is very good, and after seeing how we concede against Egypt, they may try to do the same.
I don’t know how spain will play against France, but today’s performance was not that great, but new day new match, no one knows.
Belgium is a much better team than Morocco, who seemed to think they could copy Paraguay’s approach against France. Had Morocco played their natural game instead of sitting so deep, they could have tested France’s midfield and defense far more. Unlike Morocco, Spain will utilize their strenght and try to control the possession and test France’s midfield and force their defense to defend rather than allowing French’s forwards to dictate the whole game.
Spain was typical spain nobody was shooting even rodri who always shoot from distance was passing then came cubrsai just like romero shoing them how to shoot😂
I want yamal to score goals and eventually overtake mbappe who gona overtake messi coming worldcup
I want Spain to win, should we adavance, I believe they’re an easier opponent 🤷
Yes! I believe it will be a final between euro 24 champions Spain vs Copa America 2024 champions Argentina
You never know… we were supposed to play Spain at the Finalissima just before the World Cup if not for the US-Iran war. Perhaps the final will be that match! It may just be fated and I don’t think anyone here wouldn’t want it.
Ok back to reality – let’s just take things one match at a time. Focus is on ourselves vs the Swiss.
On a side note, I would like Norway to beat England.
As usual, most people here are discussing what they would like to be their line-ups(as if Scaloni is reading this for opinions LOL). So I might as well share some observations and opinions.
1. Lautaro and Gonzalez came in at 65′ and Alvarez was taken out at 90’+4′. During this entire period of roughly 25-30 minutes we had 4 attacking players on the field in the form of Lautaro, Alvarez, Messi and Gonzalez. The scoreline during this period was 3-1 in favour of Argentina. In fact, the Egypt goal came within minutes of the substitution when the team was still adjusting to the new formation, so it can be argued that during this period the actual scoreline should have been 3-0 in favour of Argentina. So the lesson here is that we do very well when we remove our ultra defensive attitude and sometimes attack is the best form of defence.
2. I get good vibes from Paz. I think great things will happen if he plays. Also, I absolutely do not buy the notion that Paz and Messi cannot play together. Most of these players are very fit and very versatile. If it really came down to it, even Lautaro could probably do a decent job as a central defender. Who would Paz replace? Paz can replace any of the midfielders or forwards. One idea is – let Messi play Di Maria’s role, and let paz play Messi’s role.
Others have criticized that Paz has lost possession a few times. I think sometimes to create the sharpest and most clear-cut chances, we need to take some risks. So, as long as there are a few defenders at the back, we shouldn’t be paranoid about losing possession a few times.
3. I have no problems with any of the midfielders – De Paul, Maca, Enzo, Paredes. The problem I have is that they are all playing full 90+ minutes without getting replaced by younger players who are almost equally good. The midfielders are generally the ones who run the most, closely followed by wingers. So those are the players that needs to be substituted the most.
I don’t care who starts, but I would like at least 2 of these 3 substitutions:
De Paul – Barco
Enzo – Paz
Maca – Lo Celso
Paredes has been our best midfielder in the last game, so I would leave him for now.
4. I also believe that psychological elements can trigger good performances, and that is why I think that at least in the semi-finals, which will be in Atlanta, Almada should get some time. It does not have to be the full game, but he definitely should get some time.
we need to qualify for the semis first
I thought paz will be the golden boy this worldcup
Agreed with Paz. Against Austria he was our most energetic player. He was constantly moving, scanning, and attempting to run with the ball. That is what we need, we need someone do take on other players and not just pass around all the time. Argentina’s current strategy seems to be to “herd” opposition into their own box and look for passes to the final third center, where Messi usually hangs out. Paz’s physicality and age can be a huge advantage against Swiss players, he can position himself in the box quite well and cut in if possible.
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I want depaul, licha, molina& enzo out & nico gonzalez, Simeone, locelso becoz of his good linkup with messi & senesi becoz of aerial clearance
I believe full attacking 4-3-3 formation
Emi
Simeone Romero senesi tagliafico
Locelso paredes Maca
Leo Alvarez Nico gonzalez
I want Locelso in starting XI
Why he is warming the bench…..
———————-Emi————————
—-MOLINA—-ROMERO—-LICHA—–NICO–
—–PaZ——Enzo—–Paredes–Locelso—-
———-messi———Lautaro———-
I have a gut feeling that we are going to continue the attacking prowess that started late in the match against Egypt.
I also think the same….we need vertical wing play like the last match
It seems like that is when everything clicked. I have high hopes that we will start out the same way and get a good result against Switzerland. I don’t know if Messi is going to be out on the right like he was at the end of the game, but I can see him being very effective there.
We should play 3-5-2 vs Swiss like the 2022 QF vs Nedtherlands
EMI
ROMERO-LICHA-TAGLAFICO
MOLINA-ENZO-PAREDES-MAC-NICO GONZALEZ
MESSI-ALVAREZ
tagliofico is short. As a LB he is fine but cb and also lisandro + tagliofico dont make any sense.. Better start with
cuti ota lisa
Molina enzo parades mac nico
messi julian
de paul for enzo , barco for mac , lautaro for julian and Tagliofico / simeone for nicolas
Why romero substituted last match, is he okey?
I think it was just a sub to pass the time and nothing serious…It was at 90+4
One thing i am really impressed by our team is scoring in set pieces, clearly in training we have worked on it, i dont even remember in last WC we hradly score any goal from set piece, so its a new dimension of scoring which can really help us and ofc we have shooters who can score from outsdie the box apart from Messi like enzo, Mac, paredes even Molina.
The only problem is defence, after the france game against morocco yesterday im telling u guyz if we want to be world champions, we have to defend well, it is absolutely non-negotiable. Molina montiel need to get shit out together. Not only defending counters but also defending set pieces is equally important. Attack wins you matches, defence win u tournaments. Without defence, no team can become world champions. Our 2022 defence was fire.
Good to read through some interesting conversations about strategy, tactics and player selection!
The quality of the forum immediately goes up!
My take on the situation. Since we have leaked goals to Cabo Verde and Egypt, I have no illusions that our defence is capable of stopping the French attacking quartet. I don’t like to be negative, but whoever we put on the field, the French will outscore us. So how do we make the best of the current situation? Strengthen defence for Swiss aerial threats (Senesi or Otamendi). Make sure to keep width upfront (Nico Gonzalez on the left and Simeone or Messi on the right side) to give Alvarez more space in the middle. Ensure more creativity from midfield, meaning replacing Macca or Enzo with Paz. By doing so, we could make it to the semi’s. The team spirit is already there! Dealing with England will be a huge challenge, but also containing Haaland will be tough. Being realistic, I hope for a silver or bronze medal. That would be quite an achievement with so many players not at peak level, horrible RB’s and missing a worthy replacement for Di Maria.
Several weeks ago, people here we debating if Scaloni failed to rejuvenate the team.
Well, France had only 2 players on the pitch that played the 2022 final. Marocco had 4 from 2022.
You can draw your own conclusions.
Wrong, different siruations, Lloris Varane Griezmann Giroud quasi retired from NT vs only Di Maria, Maignan, Saliba, Upamecano (two top10 CBs) Olise and Doue/Barcola no brainers (best players on their positions) and Digne>Hernandez is a smart change too, a more stabile LB in a star stunned attacking team. So 5 players remained in the A team (Kounde, Rabiot, Tchouameni, Mbappe, Dembele)+ new superstars vs Emi, Licha, Romero, Enzo, Macca, Messi, Julian no questions and as we see still Tagliafico and Molina are the two best side backs sadly. De Paul and Di Maria positions questionable only but Enzo or Macca is not a 5 anymore so we need a more classic DM with good passing skills, Paredes still the sky high best option there sorry. So reallistically we could replace De Paul or out of form? Macca in the starting 11 compared to WC22 final team with different players or profiles (Almada, Nico Gonzalez, Simeone, Lo Celso, Barco, Paz) thats all. Can Paz work with Messi with similar profile at all? Imo Scaloni should has built Barco in the starting 11 only cause he is versatile wo compromises. Be realistic. A brand new team would fail at this WC cause ARG football dont produce new stars, just good players. No team is able to race from the whole world with european big teams and immigration, only the Scaloneta, that says a lot.
While this is true that Scaloni has injected less new players than other’s team, I am hesitant to say this was an irrational decision from his part. I do not see too many players out there who could have been in the team but were left out. We really did not have many high-performing young players in the clubs. Nico Paz, G Simeone and Barco stood out and they earned their place. On top of that, this current cohort had been doing well, won Copa America, beat Brazil 4-1 even without Messi, all are hitting their prime age. It will probably be harsh on Scaloni if blamed for not changing the squad more. Our roaster of world class players is unfortunately very thin and it is a bad luck that too many players are out of form at the same time. However, it is a mystery that why Scaloni is not using all the available players when team is not performing expectedly.
I agree with you about managing our expectations.
Swiss player are tall so i think its better to play Otamendi in place of lisandro, And lisandro is in good form so if lisandro play as a left back then i think Arentine defence will be strong other position will be ok
Many people here dont understand that Football is a team game that needs a lot of chemistry, understanding and more than anything – BALANCE. They want Scaloni to try new players, field different players for different match so we can surprise the opposition, lol – you may be able to surprise the opposition with different players, but you will most likely lose. Look at France, do they field different players? Their first 11 and subs are predictable.
What we need is a group of players who are physically and mentally fit, on form and have excellent chemistry. Scaloni is trying to build exactly the same. You can question why he doesnt play Nico Paz along with Messi, Barco and Giovanni as full backs etc – they will surely improve our attacking play, but Scaloni has to find the balance.
If we are winning, its not just because of Messi and a few other players. Its also because the plan is working. Scaloni started with Paredes, Alvarez and Tagliafico in the last game – all of these moves worked. He brought on Lautaro keeping Alvarez replacing DePaul instead. He brought Nico G for Tagliafico which improved our attack, yet he made small adjustments to keep the balance – thats why you saw Alvarez and Lautaro defending in our box.
Better realize that HE knows much much better than you and just trust him. And may be you know nothing too. Share your wishlist however idiotic it is for you have the right to wish for your 11. But dont tell Scaloni is stupid and that for not thinking in your way which could be mostly idiotic. Also dont insult our coach and players – They deserve respect for bringing us 3 major trophies in the last 5 years. And here we are among the last 8 out of 48 teams in the current worldcup.
And yet, anyone with fundamental understanding of football can see that this team is lacking in chemistry, understanding, and more than anything – BALANCE.
Playing four central midfielders and having no width is not BALANCE. Center backs charging up the field with no one to stop counter attacks is not BALANCE.
The players are NOT physically and mentally fit. Many are coming in from poor seasons and lengthy injuries. They are afraid to defend aggressively. They are afraid to dribble. They are afraid to make tricky forward passes. They are afraid to play the Argentinian way.
This group of players have been together for years. The time for building is long past. They are now nearing the time for collapse.
Scaloni started with Paredes, Tagliafico, and Alvarez, and Argentina went 2-0 against a mediocre opposition. That’s not what “it worked” looks like.
Failing to acknowledge obvious problems in the squad after barely surviving two low level opponents is what’s stupid.
Plz give your starting 11
You write an essay just to contradict urself Genius!
Did u even watch the last 2 games? Which one of your “BALANCE & CHEMISTRY and PHYSICALLY & MENTALLY FIT” players step up their game when Messi seem tired and off ??
What kind of coach doing substitute on 78 minutes while goal deficit ? Waiting for messi magic perhaps?
NOBODY here mention that Barco Paz Simeone will guarantee a win. We want to see a change in tactics because last 2 games some of ur lovely players play awfully.
And if ur favourite coach can not integrate young fresh players to his “BALANCE & CHEMISTRY” then he is not flexible one, let alone smart.
Everyone is watching the matches except geniuses like you. If you did not realize how our overall gameplay improved from our previous matches against Egypt then go back to watching football on insta reels. The first goal was an individual error. The second goal happened as we were trying an all out attack and that would always be a risk. Egypt did not create a lot of chances and we did. Also a team without chemistry does not come back from a 2 goal deficit in the last quarter. If you watch those minutes you will see that a lot if players were involved and the credit goes to the whole team for the comeback and not messi alone. You really want Nico Paz in that situation? What would he bring other than getting on the way of Messi? Yes I agree Barco can be used and I believe we can try him in place of depaul but just making wholesale changes with youngsters would definitely ruin the chemistry of the team. I have always loved Lo celso and here in the forum people were all lambasting him during the squad selection, now after one good match everyone wants him to start. Thankfully Scaloni does not think like that.
When we needed width, Scaloni brought in Nico gonzalez and moved messi to the right. All these small little changes matter, that does not always mean changing half the squad. Additionally, if we later play England or France there would be more defenive adjustments like Tagliafico or medina would not take such a high position up the field. There would be double marking against the attackers etc. I still think France and Spain are much better does not matter what squad Scaloni brought, but those will be completely diff game. As of now lets focus on swiss
I have no idea how could you blame the coach for individual mistakes. He did pretty well overall.
Licha (for both goals) and Molina (for the second goal) were to blame for the goals conceded. You must not forget that Egypt had just 3-4 shots, not at all we were outplayed. He had already made 3 changes in the first 11 and we did pretty well except a few players. Our players didnt press well enough.
Not sure which match you watched, but in the match I watched, Lautaro and Nico were subbed on for DePaul & Tagliafico at 66′.
Argentina created enough chances and could have gone 3-1 by 60 mins if our forwards wore shooting boots.
Would like just one change against Swiss. LoCelso for DePaul. What we need is all 10 players must play well.
Why doesn’t Scaloni try something that forces the opponent to rethink their preparation?
Right now, our patterns have become too predictable. Enzo, Mac Allister, Molina, Tagliafico, Álvarez — all are fantastic players, but opponents know their roles, movements, and tendencies almost by heart now. There is very little element of surprise left.
I understand the risk of suddenly introducing someone like Nico Paz, Barco, Palacios, or Lo Celso into the starting XI of a high-pressure quarter-final. This is not a friendly where experiments come without consequences.
But the bigger question is — when the current combinations are not clicking and we are already walking a tightrope every match, is maintaining predictability really safer than taking a calculated risk?
Sometimes one unexpected profile — a midfielder who turns differently, carries the ball differently, presses differently, or sees a pass others don’t — can change the entire rhythm of a game.
Scaloni has been at his best when he made brave calls. Maybe this is another moment that demands one.
True… the subs are getting more predictable as well, with the same players over and over. I was crying for the inclusion of Paz, Simeone, and Barco on the last match against Egypt, especially when we need some sparks to come from behind. Now we’re in the quarterfinals already, the only way I see EITHER of them play, is when the core players are injured, suspended or we’re comfortably leading by maybe 3 goals. Quite a sad reality, but here we are.
I’ll damned if we eventually see these lads play against Switzerland, means Scaloni has repolish his balls of steels once more!
I have just one question if Scaloni wnats to play the same time the why he brought Paz, Simeone, Barco in the WC. He should have taken trash like Acuna, Guido, Pezella instead
Lets start a petition to make this expert our next coach 😂
I just love this team bro…..nothing much….I am just worried
These changes were expected, to be fair. Tagliafico is a better option than Medina in both attack and defense, and he has improved a lot going forward as well. Paredes’ inclusion was expected too, especially after his Man of the Match-type performance against Egypt. Álvarez is a better starter than Lautaro. So overall, these changes are good. Will there be any more?
We don’t put crosses into the box anymore; that aspect of our play has completely disappeared. Things improved once Messi moved to the right side of the pitch. It adds variety to our attack instead of trying to play through the center all the time.
So, France it is. They look almost invincible. They can be beaten, but it will take a special performance to contain their forward line. They can concede goals if they are caught by a sudden counterattack. Morocco were such a difficult team to break down, and they have really come of age as a football nation. Imagine what they could become if the next World Cup were held in Morocco. Morocco feels like a 2.0 version of Egypt. Yet France dismantled them with relative ease within 90 minutes. Credit to France—it will take a tremendous display to beat this side.
Spain, I think, are one team that can beat France because France like to have the ball, while Spain are masters of possession. The only thing Spain lack is a fast counterattacking threat. Looking at us, when we’re in form, we’re a mix of both possession and counterattacking football, which on paper is the perfect recipe to beat France.
One team we’re all sleeping on is Belgium. I have a gut feeling they might beat Spain today. Then there’s England, who are one of the most dangerous sides right now after their emphatic win and what was arguably the performance of the tournament. As for Norway, I don’t think they can contain England.
Guys,why nobody talks about belgium? Are they too bad or everybody have taken them for granted that they would lose to Spain.
Argentina’s midfield has looked slow, passive, and lacking intensity. They need to press, fight for every ball, and control the midfield the way they did in 2022. If the current midfield can’t do that, Scaloni should give opportunities to players like Barco, Palacios, and Simeone, who can bring more energy and urgency.
We also desperately need natural wingers and a true defensive midfielder. The lack of balance in those positions has become a major weakness. Players such as Buendía, Prestiani, Taty Castellanos, and Pellegrino would have made huge difference in this World Cup.
Scaloni’s loyalty to certain players and his reluctance to make changes are hurting Argentina right now. Without Messi carrying the team in crucial moments, I believe the criticism of Scaloni would be far greater. The squad needs fresh competition and tactical adjustments if Argentina wants to defend its World Cup title.
This clueless coach knows the world will blame messi for every loss that is why he always praise messi in every win. He conciously or unconciously put all the burdens on messi. He goes to biggest tournament without proper wingers, out perform LB and RB, same old tactics “pass the ball to messi”.
Keeping those leeching for thropy players untouchable. Depaul, ota, almada, montiel, molina, even dibu with broken finger won’t let his position taken.
We need fresh legs in midfield.. Enzo macca depaul all are exhausted..
Every attack every ball possession of the other team are team is acting like ronaldino Ronaldo and Romario are attacking and it’s plain annoying to watch debu looks like his shit scared of the ball. If your imagining every shots going in that’s exactly what will happen stop tempting fate
He has to come out and attack the ball…it seems he’s stuck somewhere…now we see big goal post with a small man Emi infront…this is opposite of what we saw in 2022.
Wow guys we are 3 games away from doing the ultimate glory of back 2 back 🔥
Wish our team will turn on like 2022 final from now on…
Macca&enzo were running 90mnts hope it wont effect their intensity in next match
We desperately, DESPERATELY need some wingplay here. 5 games running but we keep going through the middle, except vs Egypt where we actually tried something from the left. Licha and Cuti are world class no doubt, but at times, mistakes happen and form might go sideways. Especially with Emi not performing like the way Emi should. He’s looking TIMID in almost every game lately! Maybe just maybe, it’s time for us to go back to 3-5-2.
Between Otamendi and Senesi, as much as I prefer younger player, Scaloni would almost definitely go for Ota for his experience. Wingback on the left would be Gonzalez for more attacking play, as Tagliafico means we’re going too defensive. On the right, I would prefer Simeone as we desperately need some attacking input and output from the right. I can’t stick with Molina and Montiel, after FIVE games there was literally NOTHING coming or giving on the right side. However, Scaloni is the one making the decision, so I don’t know.
Paredes remain at 5, and I genuinely, genuinely hope, that the ENZO FERNANDEZ and ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER that we love and adore from 2022 can FINALLY SHOW UP, with the confidence boost at the expense the goal scored (Enzo) and some attempts on target (Macca) we saw against Egypt. They’re both are at their absolute prime age of 25 and 27 respectively, and that’s why Scaloni is HESITANT to drop them, because if they’re on form at their current age, they’re absolutely world class! If things still don’t improve, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE bring in GLC, Barco or Nico Paz! No more RDP, I’m sorry.
Alvarez as usual needs to start as we need the pressing machine to do the dirty work for Messi. Our strikers were pretty decent vs Egypt when you think about it. Alvarez had a few shots on target, it’s just that the keeper was equal to it. He was also the one that stole the ball from Salah at the death! Lautaro with a wonderful cross to complete the comeback, and some nice composure with the ball at the end. On the positive notes, our strikers are contributing one way or another. Like I said, they may not score but here we are, they provided some necessary contribution.
In the end, I still don’t know, guys. We’re at the quarterfinal stage already, will Scaloni brings his balls of steel from 2022 back in making the changes? Or is it too late, to experiment as I alluded to in the previous posts… only time will tell and God help us.
See, I’ve never been a fan of back 3 systems and I think that would be disastrous for us and kinda a feeble move tbh. It has too many natural limitations like being being predictable for the opposition to press, there’s a lack of players high up the pitch to launch counter attacks nor not enough bodies to press. On top of that, it’s not like our proposed wing backs of Nico Gonzalez and Giuliano Simeone aren’t qualitatively that exceptional nor are they in any way athletic phenoms to really warrant bringing about a system that has the weaknesses as mentioned before for the quality they bring going forward.
There are game contexts where we would benefit from having a more transitional profile. Against Algeria, for example, who committed many players forward when attacking and left huge spaces behind their defensive line, a player capable of constantly attacking those spaces would have been extremely valuable.
There’s two solutions I can see:
Firstly, we can go all in on Scaloni’s style of play. This is central combinations to advance play and create chances. We were REALLY good at them pre-2022 World Cup but I feel like we’ve been pretty mid at them for a while – but we can still advance centrally better than any team in the world. Now we’re deadset on this game model and identity, so we’ve gotta make it work. There isn’t one way of playing football and perhaps we don’t even need to go the traditional winger route. Therefore, for that to work we need better dynamism and presence between the lines to take advantage of pockets of space. Lautaro and ideally Julian cuz he usually has the more pace between the two stretch the backline and push them back so people can receive it in the spaces between the lines, this would be Messi and I was hoping Almada would be dropped for Nico Paz to fulfil this role – but Scaloni took Alexis out of the base of the midfield as a #5 to play that role between the lines instead. Liverpool fans have been saying Mac Allister’s been physically past it for a year now and it shows on the pitch – though he had his moments against Egypt today. Nico Paz would be an improvement on Mac Allister since he’s got more of the legs to be that spark and presence that Alexis has lost over the last year. I suggested Barco for this game model to be the replacement of Alexis, who has played as a LCM for Strasbourg over the last year, for him to feed balls between the lines with Enzo taking on the responsibility from Alexis as a #5. However, Scaloni said he didn’t wanna play Enzo there since he’s more advanced midfielder at Chelsea. In the end, Scaloni opted for Paredes as the feeder role envisioned for Barco, which works because he’s historically been our best needle player making line-breaking passes and Mac Allister as the person in between the lines with Messi. He did alright, but he definitely did NOT initiate enough 1-2s or combination play. I think that position goes up a level with Nico Paz there.
I think with the Egypt game, collectively we were a lot better than against Cape Verde. Bringing Paredes in was the right decision. We needed technical quality and combinations between the lines rather than pure transition threats. With Tagliafico providing the depth through his late runs, the lack of a natural runner in behind wasn’t really an issue. Another thing is that Messi as an individual generally played better against Cape Verde than against Egypt (until the last 15 mins or so), but we collectively played better against Egypt. We’re gonna click together soon… I just know it.
Defensively, we need to find ways of improving our press, since while our immediate counterpress is great, if teams relax they can easily play through it. The team itself has been lacking in athleticism and we don’t really have the engine to sustain a strong press for 90 minutes… RDP at Miami, Enzo bulked up at Chelsea, Mac Allister lost his legs in the last year, etc. etc. Even so De Paul is really the only with legs in the midfield. We can’t drop him. Messi obviously doesn’t press as much as he used to even compared with 4 years ago, when he was barely doing any back then too. This together has been why teams have been able to push us back and create chances that we haven’t seen happen over the last 6 years or so. Honestly, the best way to mitigate this is to dominate the ball as much so we don’t expose our limitations which Scaloni seems to already be setting this team up to do. A back 3 would mean we drop back into defensive blocks more often and our transition threats don’t really have the quality to get it up the pitch and be outlets like that.
(I’ll write about what I feel the second solution could be in a different comment)
The second solution I could have imagined us doing is addressing the lack of pace in this team and how the width is from the full backs who are currently a CB in Medina (who hasn’t been bad), Tagliafico who has become older, and Molina who’s no longer the RWB he was at Udinese when he was a proper marauding attacking player. Think about it… some of our best chances against Egypt came from Tagliafico running in behind; our only goal from proper open play against Cape Verede was also by Messi running in behind. It could be better if there was someone playing from the start who could do that who’s still faster than Messi AND can finish his chances?? We need that profile on the pitch against harder oppositions.
On top of that, we don’t press as much as we did pre-2022 World Cup. Why? Arrogance? Overconfidence? Less drive since we already reached the summit once? Who knows? We just don’t do it and the best teams will be doing it against us and we’re gonna have to do it back to them if we wanna get our feet on the ball. We’re too passive and let teams come attack us which is why we play stagnant. The lack of fast runners and wingers that I mentioned before feeds into this problem – not closing down quick enough and even if we do get the ball back not being able to be quick enough to take advantage or win 1v1 duels. On top of that we all know we’re weak at full back and get caught out on defensive transition, especially out wide – see the Jordan goal, see the Egypt goal disallowed from Hassan’s run down our left.
So how do we solve this? Honestly, we need to start one of our actual fast wingers from the off as the Plan A rather than a Plan B. We didn’t take Soule. We didn’t even consider Garnacho in the preliminary 55 man squad, nor did Prestianni nor Echeverri develop enough to win a spot, Mastantuono went into a stacked Real Madrid team and stalled his development – on top of that he’s not even a winger like that. So we’re working with either Nico Gonzalez or Giuliano Simeone. Honestly, we need balance and one of these will provide it. My issue is that I’ve never seen Giuliano successfully take a full back on 1v1 and win, however Nico’s finishing in an Argentina shirt historically ain’t it – not since his first 2 starts anyway. Giuliano can actually finish chances as a runner in behind. So my ideal front 2 would be Alvarez as the #9 and Simeone at RW, dropping Almada to the bench. We’d have to use similar dynamics to the last World Cup where when Julian was introduced he acted as a central presence AND as a runner both centrally and on the left. That way we can add some width. It’s not the best in terms of quality, especially with Julian coming back from a long injury but it’s the best we’ve got.
However, I feel one way to fix that is to play Valentin Barco as a LCM and drop Alexis Mac Allister to the bench. Now he does two things because of his experience at LB. He can help shore us down out wide where we’re weak, he’s aggressive and runs and presses the opposition. We’re too stale defensively currently and in an attacking sense and Barco can fix that. If Julian has to stay central when we attack, him and Medina/Tagliafico can combine to provide width AND cover for each other. A LHS of Barco – Medina/Tag – Alvarez is much more solid defensively AND can be better attacking-wise. Alexis has been poor this season for Liverpool with Liverpool fans calling for him to be sold since he doesn’t have legs and it showed itself a fair bit. Barco adds the legs that Mac Allister has lost over the last year, helping us defensively and in transition along with providing more width out wide.
On a similar note, Giuliano Simeone does a very similar job on the RHS. While I think he’s not that great as a pure winger… as a defensive winger I’d say there’s no one better in the world than him. He’s an eager presser. He runs and tracks back so that also instantly improves us defensively on the RHS. You’re no longer asking Molina alone to hold width. He has a RHS of Duracell bunnies in De Paul and Simeone helping him out defensively. We’re less likely to get caught in behind on our right side AND we have a threat on that side too.
Enzo I trust more than Mac Allister to carry out the #5 role better, especially if we come up against more physical midfields like against an England – Rice and Anderson would eat Alexis alive in his current form and capabilities. Enzo and Paredes I’d see having more joy as the sitting midfielder – though Scaloni has come out and said he won’t play Enzo as a #5 since his role is more advanced at Chelsea.
There’s a drawback to this system. While our pressing is a bit mid, our immediate counterpress after losing the ball still has some aggression to it – maybe still not as strong as 4 years ago, but it does the job. One reason it’s so successful and is one of the big reasons we’ve been competitive is because we pack the midfield and have short distances between our players, when we do lose the ball, the distances to run and close down players to try and recover it are shorter and we’re much better at suffocating the opposition as soon as they regain it, so we can win the ball back easier. Throwing in a transition profile from the off means that counterpress is worse since the distances between players gets larger and we’re slower at regaining the ball than we already are. We fall back into a deeper defensive block more often and our weaknesses get highlighted more.
So while I was initially enthusiastic about this second solution, I feel like we have to stick to our strengths. I think Scaloni knows our transition threats and wide men that remained in the talent pool once Di Maria retired in reality as painful as it may be… are pretty mid and that’s why he doesn’t play them since they don’t offer enough pros to warrant the drawbacks that including them would offer. Why does he not rate Soule? Idk. I think it was a mistake not giving him opportunities… perhaps he’s not a 1v1 two direction winger like a Di Maria and just has a creative bag in his eyes… who knows?
We just have to go about starving them off the ball and that’s how we win.
TLDR: Almada and Alexis dropped for Simeone and Barco. Enzo/Paredes as a #5. Alvarez up front. Could be mid since it ruins our counterpress… so stick with the 4 man midfield and swap Alexis out for Nico Paz since he’s lost his mobility.
—————–Emi martinez ————————–
———Romero–Otamendi/Senesi—–Licha———-
Simeone–McAllister ——-Enzo– —-Gonzalez—–
————————Messi——Locelso/Paz——–
——————————Lauraro————–
Why can’t Scaloni do something fresh for a change. Like against Switzerland he could try Barco in place of DePaul, at minimum, if Barco is not doing well he can always take him off. Also, he could try Simeone in the midfield. We need someone who can press and run given Messi is not involved when Argentina does not have possession. My concern is the fatigue and heavy legs, six games in and we’re asking the same guys to run, press, defend and attack. No rotation, it’s the same starter’s and the same substitutions. It’s like the substitutions are not even tactically, these things are already decided before the game begins, it’s like a your turn situation. Really worried about the players muscle calves and thighs at this point. I don’t believe Scaloni has managed the overall team selection well. At least with Inter Miami they put the young guys in the team who can run and make up for what Messi and Suarez can’t do on the pitch. Scaloni is not a tactician, he just be getting favorable results, he can’t look at a game and do something we haven’t seen before.
Imagine I’m here typing at this moment yet I already know who the starters are and who the substitutes are going to be for the next game. Too predictable, too much loyalty towards certain players. Scaloni will never drop DePaul, he is always taking photos with Tapia, I’ll be shocked if DePaul doesn’t start. Molina is a huge disappointment, he too will start because Scaloni is not a tactician, he is just hoping for favorable results hence doing the same thing over and over.
Not to defend Scaloni or push back on you, but he made several changes last game and it barely made any difference. Is it that we all think the solution lies in Barco, Simeone, or Paz because we haven’t seen them enough, or because they’re objectively way superior to the current roster? I agree we need to change something, the current way of doing things isn’t working. But is that about changing the tactics or changing the individuals? What worked in the qualifiers that isn’t working now?
Not saying Barco, Paz and Simeone are the solution to everything. My point is, sometimes the unknown and unfamiliarity can be an asset at the World Cup. In 2022 we got to se players like Alvarez, MacAlister and Enzo take the World Cup by storm, they were fresh and brought new ideas to the team, but they were only included because of the Saudi game. Now that we didn’t have a Saudi Arabia situation Scaloni believe everything is just fine, no need to change or tweak the main starting XI.
In 2014 Germany gave their young bench fringe players minutes in the knockout rounds; Draxler, Schurrle and Mario Gotze. The unknown can be very key tool at World Cups, say the opponent was looking to play against player X and instead its player Y who started/got subbed into the game, this throw off the opponent entire game strategy. All I’m saying is that Scaloni should have had a plan B or C since two years ago. For example Cuti Romero is scoring headers, it would be a good move to bring in Flaco Lopez in certain situations given his height, change things up a little. It doesn’t have to be Lautaro even though he had a wonderful assist against Egypt.
All good points, and that’s my curiosity too. It almost feels like Scaloni doesn’t trust Barco or Simeone. In the last two matches, Enzo and MacAllister ran 14km+ and 10km+ respectively. You could see their heavy legs, especially Macca’s, but Scaloni never introduced those youngsters. Sometimes I wonder if Scaloni is saving them as wild cards for the semis or final, but that’s too risky. The WC stage is now too big for them to be thrown in cold. A nervy moment, a reckless move can have irreversible costs. If Scaloni had plans to use them, he should have inculcated them into the tournament slowly.
Maybe he thinks the current squad is the best and that with more playing time they’ll knock off the rust, or there’s something he sees in training that we don’t.
Or maybe we’re having the wrong debate entirely. We’ve created more chances than any other teams in the tournament. Sealing the defense might be the priority more than anything else.
You both have massive points no doubt. I love that about the discussion we have here.
One thing that we can collectively agree on, particularly from the game against Egypt, was Scaloni was STUNNED and pretty much BEWILDERED. It was the GOAT that bailed out Argentina! Scaloni didn’t show a single emotion in WC final back in 2022, in the WORLD CUP FINAL!! Yet when Messi equalized vs Egypt he was celebrating and put his arm in the air! What I’m trying to say is, maybe just MAYBE, he knew what to do back in 2022, but now he simply was LOST! That’s why he showing so much emotion, as he might not have clue that he was given another day to live and fight.
Also, is Paz, Barco, Simeone THE solution to our problems? Or at least part of our quest of searching for answer? Nobody knows that. Absolutely no one.
That’s also the beauty of Mundo Albiceleste, where we can express our opinions and thoughts through discussions like these.
Then what was the point of including Paz, Barco and Simeone to the WC roster? Might as well take 23 players instead because at this point I clearly don’t see the need for them given how Scaloni has handled the youngsters.
Agree with Shane totally. Well done to Wnjoy too in respectfully asking probing, thoughful and valid questions and drawing out views. Like many above say, these fuel insightful discussions.
I had fully subscribed to the same belief that many are saying – keep almost the same line-up (Almada for ADM) for balance, familiarity, peserverance, winning mentality and that these core 11++ have been through the trenches, fought and won together. But that was for the start. That was for the qualifiers.
We’re past that and on hard evidence of the past 2 knock-out rounds, it’s clear that the team is indeed struggling. After 4 years, especially if the line-up and tactics and play doesn’t change, surely the opponents know will how we will react and they will proactively play accordingly, right? For e.g. if they put the ball in this zone, Molina will come up, RDP will be here, Messi will be there, and so then let’s move the ball this other area. it’s just all too predictable. (I’m surprised if they haven’t built an AI model of it and then asked the model to counter it!) That’s probably how Egypt had played the game, almost the same as Cape Verde. I was cringing and didn’t dare look whenever Egypt broke down the centre or down the wings. I don’t know how many matches must the different opponents play the same way against us then will we finally wake up. Familiarity is a double-edged sword. Conversely (and another case in point), the moment we switched things up, Messi went to the wings, started crossing in, looking for headers and 2nd balls, Egypt lost its compact line of 5 and 4 structure. So we really do need to change things a bit more. If it ends up that we also get confused with the 2-3 new players, then switch the likes of the old guard in at 60″. it also means that they are fresher than the opponents by then!
Which brings me to the point on stamina. The amount of ground these same ones need to cover is just lung bursting. Image still etched in my mind – Enzo making that run towards the end, for a monent face down and looked gassed. Thankfully, he carried on a bit moremoved front before shifting back, leaping and placing the ball back. And if Enzo in a 90″ match is already struggling, how to play until 120″? It’s one thing for these guys will die for the shirt, these guys will never down tools until the whistle blows. But it’s another thing to try doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same result.
On the trust Scaloni, I offer two points I cam up with for consideration:
– many inc. me were stunned when he subbed Molina and brought on Montiel. What?! Why not Simeone, Paz or Barco? But then when we started seeing that because Messi was going to wings to dribble and cross in, it made some sense. If Messi had lost the ball at the wings still, at least Montiel would be fresh and might be able to win back the ball or at least hopefully be there to hold off the counter till the reinforcements arrive. Also, if it went to penalty shootout, I recalled someone said here 4 years ago that Montiel’s scoring rate was quite good. So there might indeed some sense to the whole chaos. (then again, don’t ask me what was Montiel doing in the box, almost scoring from Lautaro’s hook back, and then assisting in Messi’s equaliser. lol)
I want maccalister and depaul out.this midfield is totally clueless we can’t win with this slow boring low intensity midfield
DePaul out he does nothing wen supposedly defending can’t pass for shit Molina again backing off in defence
Palasios in montial in
More fluid tactics do not statue defend in the first half
Montiel has been awful as well. One simple pass does not change that.
That’s expected…I want Molina and De Paul out…we need strengthen our defense…
I agree, that should be the minimum. Simeone in place of Molina, Otamendi (Senesi is much better but we know Scaloni is pathologically incapable of accepting that) in place of de Paul.