Lautaro Martínez spoke about Argentina’s 3-1 win against Switzerland at the World Cup.
Martínez was substituted into the match for Argentina in their 3-1 win against Switzerland. The 28 year old scored Argentina’s third goal of the match, his second at the World Cup and Argentina’s second goal against Switzerland in extra time. Speaking to Doble Amarilla after the match, here is what he had to say:
“A huge relief. We faced a tough opponent. The World Cup has been really tough. We dug deep once again and luckily found some goals to secure the win.
“Today, Julian had a fantastic game. I tried to contribute what I could but the important thing is the result and we advanced. We know what’s coming against England, which is going to be great to play and enjoy.
“Proud too to be part of this group of players, this national team and this country.”
Argentina is not playing badly because they could not, but they chose to, I feel.
Scaloni is a dynamic and pragmatic coach, he sets unique plan against each opponent. Against Swiss, he didnt want us to play our usual passing game, must have some evidence that it would not work against Swiss. They have a compact back line. So he tried something different, we were looking ugly between 25-65 mins as Swiss grew into the game, but somehow it worked in the end. I guess he might have gone to attack mode if we wanted more goals. As they say, we cant question the tactics as long as we win. Its always better to win ugly than losing playing well.
As much as I would have loved to see Nico Paz or LoCelso instead of Almada, I think Scaloni prefers Almada as he is right footed. I guess Scaloni also opted with DePaul against LoCelso as he believes DePaul gives more balance due to his work rate.
Definitely, the lack of solidity, fluidity and assurance worry me. But I also believe in this team. I think they will do whatever needed to win – whether playing well or scraping poorly.
I believe we will be back to our usual game against England and will see our best version there. I am worried about the fitness level of our players after playing 3 intense matches with two of them going to ET. Its not much different for England either, and thats the relief.
First of all, Scaloni should be thanking the Swiss player who dived and got himself sent off. That incredibly fortunate red card bailed him out. Otherwise Scaloni would have found a way to make sure Argentina concedes a second ! Prior to that red card, for a good 30mins , we looked like the team parking the bus. We hadn’t created a meaningful chance since around the 20th minute, and when the second half began, it looked like we were the ones sitting back. The ball was constantly being cleared into the Swiss half, yet not a single Argentine forward was anywhere near it. I’m not talking about the 80th or 90th minute, I mean from the very start of the second half right up until Switzerland scored. Scaloni was clearly parking the bus, hoping Switzerland would push everyone forward like they did after Alvarez scored so we could hit them on the counter. Genius. So brave from the “master tactician” Scaloni!
Then, when we desperately needed a goal, with Messi having his wings clipped and no creativity from anyone, guess who Scaloni brings on? The flop Almada. This guy couldn’t hit a barn door to save his life. Who in the right mind would bring Almada over NICO PAZ and Loceso, who ???? Oh Almada has better chemistry blah blah blah.. oh Paz is left footed.. blah blah blah… we had 3 strikers at one point in the pitch! … with all three strikers defending.. and he still had Paz watching from the sidelines.. After Alvarez saved Argentina from Scaloni (LOL) , sorry, I meant Switzerland, during the move leading to our third goal, Mr. Almada, instead of squaring it to Messi, who could have scored his ninth, missed again. Thankfully, Lautaro buried the chance and finished the game.
Scaloni’s team selections before and throughout this tournament have been horrendous. The reason we didn’t register a single shot on target for over 30 minutes was because he once again started De Paul. Then, when we desperately needed a goal, he subs in Almada again. Scaloni would never survive in European football with such a timid, reactive and coward approach. Messi has bailed him out throughout his career, and with Messi approaching the end of his career, Scaloni’s luck may be running out too.
Bringing almada was fine he is a good long shooter and we needed goal at that time
Do you know who also is a good long shooter? Nico Paz. Gio Lo Celso.
And unlike Almada, they actually played regularly for their clubs throughout the season, performed well, and were in good form.
Come on! The swiss team had all 9 players and their goal keeper inside the box , any professional player could have tried so many useless shots when you were getting the ball back every 5 secs ! How many times Almada was in a position to take a shot like Alvarez did ? Almada is extremely poor finisher which is why he is being kicked out of Atletico!
That i also dont understand why he doesnt bring these young fresh legs of celso barco
I think Nico Paz is a better option and much more dynamic. Almada probably plays though. He did well tbh… better than Alexis anyway. And tbh I’m pretty sure the pass to Messi wasn’t on most of the time from the looks of things. Besides the individuals need to learn to do their own thing and not pass to Messi for every small thing they do. Almada was probs in a better position than Messi for that goal. Glad Lautaro scored the follow up though
Many members of this forum have zero knowledge about football ⚽..they think that they have more knowledge about scolani..he is a coach who has coached since 2018..then after we won many title.
Reaching again wc semifinal is not a luck.. where is luck before 2018.you can win one match by luck..not all..please accept true Argentina won all matches with good performance..all team played same intensity..some time works some time not works..please credit give to team & coaching staff too.
Some people write cowardice.shame on this..we won the last three matches with bravery..
I totally agree cowardice is a very rude word, you have full right to do constructive criticism but not such harsh words against a world champion coach
Yes bro..we are in semis..only 4 team can do..it means lot..
Exactly what I keep repeating.. some people’s comments seem so personal towards Scaloni.. just plain stupid
Yes. Don’t trust your eyes and brain. Blindly praise Scaloni.
This is basically Christiano Ronaldo fanboy logic. Counting goals and trophies without understanding how it was actually done.
Some people have zero knowledge about football indeed.
Calling other names because of divergent opinions is wrong. I agree Scaloni is a professional and deserve his Flowers. Members have right to constructive criticism. Scaloni himself just admitted Switzerland won every duel. Using same lineup 3 matches in a row shows either scaloni is either too stubborn or run out of ideas. DePaul has been major culprit and most of goals conceded have been on the right side. Fans have the right to air their frustrations because this team will eventually run out of luck .
Why Rodrigo De paul is starting? And molina? when scaloni will learn. Cant he use 3-5-2 and drop de paul and start simeone as RWB? Today we were so lucky. Many people here are so worried about our forwards. Lautaro’s cameo was today noteworthy and Alvarez tried to shoot several times. Even if they dont score much goals but i can easily see their contribution. Lopez had a good short cameo too. Almada improved a lot but could have passed that ball to Leo.
Since the first 2 matches…I comment here..Molina and De Paul are weak links…
Enzo and Mac scored but not taking creative responsibility…
Lo Celso can do better than this tired finished De Paul…but he’s a leader after Otamendi..we will be without leaders..May be Scaloni concerned about that..?
England are top team..players are individually at top level…we will need some tactical surprise to defeat them….can’t go predictable like this…
Can anyone hit on Emi’s head….he has lost confidence…it looks like he’s down because of something…
At this form..He cant stop penalties in shootout…
With no due changes this team will be beaten hard by England. MacAllister, Enzo are poor players thesedays. THis Argentina can hardly create any opportunities whole the game, the more against 10 man Schwitzerland. Our midfielders have no other idea than pass to Messi while the latter is loosing it all the time. Sticking with these worn out midfield will cost us final.
…………………………..Martinez
………………….Romero……..Lisandro
Molina……………………………………………..Tagliafico
…………………….Barco…….Paredes
Lo Celso………………………………………….Almada
……………..Simeone……….Alvarez
This team would be better than any formation with Messi, Macallister, Enzo, De Paul
Bro they are not listening scaloni is not listening to anyone
How can even player like Macallister (backpassing in counterattack) be considered as creative midfielder. He has no idea what to play other than looking for Messi.
I saw an uncanny, quite hilarious comment, on Twitter: “Astutamente, Argentina llega a semis sin revelar mucha información de que tipo de equipo sería si juega bien.”
Which translates to: “Cleverly, Argentina reaches the semifinals without revealing much about the kind of team they would be if playing well.”
The REAL question here is, are we actually simply not showing 100% just yet? Or something we saw on the pitch is simply what we are already..
I think this is what we are
Yah… it’s really what we are and more than that (as we have already revealed our formation and play when we desperately need goals).
Not that we were ever hopeful that he would read but it is just a means to express our views here. I’m quite sure, barring injuries (hope none!), he is not going to change the starting formation and the personnel. It’s too high stakes and we’re going to have to live with what we have been like in the past few knockout matches for the match with England. Like some of us here, I’ve been optimistic – maybe he is having this formation as CV is going to be defensive, maybe Miami is too hot and the other players will be brought in later, maybe against Egypt in air-conditioned venue we won’t struggle, maybe our play is better suited against European opposition. Nope – the same formation and play persists. Substitutions even.
I guess the positives are we are slightly tighter in the centre (Swiss did try to do the same when they counter attacked) but we’re still vunerable in the wings.
For a moment I was thinking same. I was thinking are we giving false impression to Tuchel who one hundred percent was watching our game. I was all lost coz i couldn’t recognise the team. Hopefully it is truth however we will need some change like tactical changes or personnel changes One or two. I can’t wait to see what coaches does. England will play with wings and they can play possession football too. In transition we ain’t good anymore. I feel like going back to 4-3-3 with Almada or Nico dropping one midfield.
I dont even know how are we winning, how did any underdog didnt knock us out is out of my mind, we have no control in the mid
Anyway now only bigger teams who are going to punish us with this sloppy play
only god knows whats happening
All they do is just back pass and sometimes some passes to Leo. We cant start both enzo and de paul together. Better start paz or lo celso.
Sampaoli had adopted the same coward strategy in 2018 world cup by relying on 2014 squad (tired legs) and faced difficulty and embarrassment in each match and ultimately failed. Scaloni is following the same rigid and coward strategy by relying on 2022 squad but fortunately luck is winning. Scaloni had 4 years but he intentionally didn’t adjust young talent into the team. Messi, as a captain, is also involved with Scaloni in relying on tired legs, fatigue players, friends like Rodrigo Depaul, Macalister etc. France changed its 90% playing eleven and squad as compared to last world cup but Argentina has 90% same eleven.
Good learners always compare themselves with good performers like France, Spain etc who added young and fresh legs into the squad. They are playing beautiful football by attacking on and pressing the opponent. But Argentina is adopting totally adverse and very risky tactics by deep defending (considering 1 goal lead is enough). When opponent takes lead then players wake up and start attacking. Luck is favoring. Actually aged and fatigue players didn’t have stamina to press and attack for longer time. They know they would get tired soon, that’s why they try to pass as much time as they can without running hard. Is it called positive and proactive approach?
I am sure scaloni is not our main coach.. We have a hidden and powerful coach.. He choose his favorite 11..
No matter how much we discuss about the playing 11, who should start etc, this coward Scaloni will start with the same lineup who have no willingness to run and move the ball forward. We’ll see the same struggle and scrappiness. Given that England aren’t playing that great either, we might end up in the final. It’s like 1990 being repeated. After winning in 86, we again reached the final by playing shitty football and almost won it if not the unjustly given penalty to West Germany..
What happened to the old Scaloni man.. the one who got rid of Caballero, Roberto Pereyra, Marcos Rojo, Ever Banega, to bring in new bloods of RDP, Lautaro, Emi Martinez etc..
The same in 2022, where he introduced Enzo, Macca and Julian where his initial selections weren’t doing well…
We have Nico Paz, Simeone and Barco in 2026, but he’s IGNORING them for some reasons!
What happened?!?!?!
We didn’t deserve to win the game, we really didn’t. But here we are.
We repeated the same malfunctioning sets of players and tactics as we did for the 3 games. But here we are.
We played underdog defensive football, constantly inviting Swiss to attack us. But here we are.
We haven’t kept a clean sheet for 4 straight match, conceded 6 goals already more than we did in 2022. But here we are.
GOD HAS GIVEN CHANCES AFTER CHANCES FOR US TO LIVE AND FIGHT ANOTHER DAY.
I don’t how long are we going to continue winning and surviving like this, let alone RETAIN the title. Just how long are we gonna ride our blessings and luck??? After we scored in the past KO games, I thought I’ve seen the worst, NOT until today. We completely SHUT OFF after our first goal. Constantly getting attacked, attacked and attacked. Eventually Switzerland scored by ripping apart our defence with ease. Without the red card, we would’ve sent packing home today NO DOUBT.
De Paul and Molina, I’m just speechless.
Enzo seemed like he doesn’t want to play football anymore. Mac Allister scored the header OK cool, but remove the goal, there’s no creativity, no sense of urgency, NO INTENSITY. A repeated cycle that never seemed to find its end with these 2.
Nico Gonzalez as much as he’s inconsistent, but he does provides some necessary width to the team, and I just don’t understand why he doesn’t start!!!! Even Lo Celso too. I thought he’s part of the integral friends group, why is he not playing at all??!!
Licha wonderful blocking tackle despite the offside, Cuti pretty solid as usual. But it seems like as much as Ota is old, for some reasons, he kinda provides some sort stability in the defence that only his presence can.
Shocking revelation of today was Almada! He was terrible the first few games, but today he was lively, lit up some of the attack and almost scored! Idk if this is a sign of things to come or it’s just a one-off performance.
Flaco Lopez had a classic number 9 moment we all didn’t expect. He dragged around 4 Swiss players around him before passing back to Alvarez to leave spaces for him to score the banger. Underrated piece of play.
It’s England next. The real test of test has arrived upon us. If we played the exact way we played these previous KO games, expect nothing much guys.
Forget about Nico Paz, Giuliano Simeone and Valentin Barco. They simply DON’T exist. We only took 23-men to this tournament instead of fully utilising the 26-men quota. Sounds like I’m joking, and I wish I was.
Almada probably plays against England I feel. He should play as the #10. Better at knitting things together than Alexis
Lautaro is a sub for us .He can’t be a starter as he don’t press much.Alavarez should start and Lautaro to replace him after assessing the match situation.Definitely we need a tweak in the starting 11
Was the team played against Switzerland the Argentina we loved it’s football and supported for years and years or was it the Greece of 2004? I’m waiting for the reply of the idiot called Chris Brown whom if football knowledge was money would be filing for bankruptcy right about now.
Almost everyone says that RDP should be dropped, but they are only half right. He should be dropped off a plane into desert and keep him there till we win the Cup. Throughout the tournament, I’ve been saying that playing with Molina is like playing with ten. The worst footballer at this WC by a mile. The find of the tournament for us has been Parades, at 32, wow.
You need a 3rd forward and not a fourth clueless midfielder. Álvarez is not a CF. He is at his best cutting in from the left. Should move him there and play López. Surprise England with this move. No way play that shit in the pants Lautaro from the start.
Also trying Palacios at RB would be a wise move, I mean you can even play Musso there and he won’t be worse than that retard Molina. I have never seen a disgrace than what Molina and RDP dished out tonight. That c*** Molina asks for the ball on the right, he gets the ball and then he passes the ball back. Repeatedly and in the background I could actually see Scaloni clapping at one such play. Son of a what.
Man i would like to see that happen, flaco as target man, messi and alvarez play wide from second line due to their magnificient kick. We have seen that alvarez was positioned deeper he even went defending. These midfielders enzo and mac dont link up well with messi, last time it worked because there was Dimaria stretching opponent defense. Last WC is 4 years ago, players declining while others rising and this stubborn coach living in past romance with his favourites. Argentina classic problem
Aimar lost it with Scaloni. Any news on that?
What was that? I didn’t get you.
Aimar and Scaloni has a heated exchange with regards to tactics probably. Aimar refused to give a piece of paper that Scaloni tried to grab from him. Scaloni rushed to the tunnel right after the final whistle.
No idea
Happy with the win even if it’s not beautiful. It was industrial and it was filled with the scare of losing it all.
I don’t care if Argentina wins. I care Messi has a good exit from WC. Happy that he get to play two more matches now anyhow.
Football is an emtional game. But it cannot be played emotionally. RDP does not bring to the field that other players cannot. We have to withdraw him.
Scaloni will not get rid of Molina/Montiel to place Palacios or Simeone down that flank. Semi finals and finals are not time for tryouts. 8 years in the same role people do grow dependency and inertia over certain playing style and certain player. It’s the rigidity that comes to all managers.
I would take another two ugly wins if required. Happy to celebrate a third world cup semi in 12 years. Happy that I support Argentina.
Kane will drop deep to release Bellingham so it will be 4 v 3 in midfield. If Rice injury prevents him to start or has to withdraw early Argentina will have chance as Messi would be freed.
Obviously, I always root for Argentina to win the WC, but sometimes, it’s important to take a step back and appreciate what we’re witnessing. This core group of the NT and the coaching staffs have given us so much happiness in the past 5 years. I am a “young” Albiceleste, only starting to watch football and root for Argentina since 2010, but even then, 11 years to finally watch they lifted a trophy felt like a very long period. We have won 4 trophies since 2021, we have made it back to the semi final after winning the last one. Remember when there’s a thing call the “WC curse” where the last champion get grouped? There’s no easy win in the WC, and I would never take each win for granted. If we didn’t make it to the final, I would still be proud of the squad and this campaign.
In terms of the tactics for England, I am of the same opinion as many people on this forum, Simeone should be introduced to the starting 11s, only one of Macca and RDP should start. But by no means do I think this is a “guranteed” improvement for the team, and if Scaloni thought otherwise, I would still not blame him if his approach lead to failure.
I am a big fan of depaul but now he is out of nick, he must consider the team first and leave that space for the last two matches.. I wish to replace him with inform lo celso or barco we need some creativity other than messi which we didnt had even when swiss played 60mnts with 10man… For lautaro he is the super sub of this worldcup and made very important clearance for us
IMHO, we need a different starting XI against England. The current combination simply isn’t giving us enough control.
After taking the lead against Switzerland, we were second best for long periods. Until the red card changed the dynamics, they were dictating the game and exposing the same weaknesses we’ve seen throughout the tournament—something our critics will understandably point to.
My preferred XI:
Dibu
Palacios – Romero – Lisandro – Tagliafico
Simeone – Lo Celso – Mac Allister – Paredes
Messi – Álvarez
I would also think twice before starting De Paul and Molina. Both have been tremendous contributors for Argentina, but based on current form and physical demands, England may require fresher legs and greater athleticism from the first whistle. Sentiment cannot dictate selection at this stage of the World Cup. We need the XI that gives us the best chance of reaching the final.
But I know Scaloni would not change his starting XI. So the same exhausted team would start and England would be all over us.
1)Licha/ Romero combination is not as good as Romero/ Otamendi
2)We can’t start with 4 cm mf.Either de paul or maca should start
3)Paredes is must against England to stop Bellingham
4)Another option: We can start both Lopez and alvarez in front.
Correct ! Why don’t we start with ota and cuti along with licha in the back
Tag and simeone in wings
Parades lecelso enzo/mac
Messi Alvarez
Subs
Barco for enzo/mac
Lautaro for lavarez