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Argentina Kerala Fans With A Song Dedicated To Argentina

By
John
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28

Passionate and fanatical are those from State of Kerala in India. As it has been the case in every four years before the World Cup, the work and preparation that these fans put into are simply mind-boggling.

And to top it all off, they have even composed a song that specially dedicated to the national team. A song fuse with Indian musical and Argentina, how about that!

This is the sort of thing that I’m always amazed when it comes the passion that people from all over the world have Argentina. It great to hear about everyone is mobilizing from organizing parades in Dhaka and Kerala to match day gathering in Hong Kong.

Surely, one of the best reason why Mundo Albiceleste (or back then known as Vamos Argentina) was created during the 2006 World Cup.

We are one team, many nations!

Argentina rumored line-up versus Israel, MESSI and AGÜERO up front

By
Roy Nemer
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63
Argentina players during training.

The rumored line-up for Argentina’s friendly match against Israel on Saturday is already out and up front we would have Sergio AGÜERO and Lionel MESSI.

With the 4-0 friendly match against Haiti behind them, coach Jorge SAMPAOLI is working towards the last friendly match before the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Per a report by La Nacion, SAMPAOLI put together a group of players doing exercises where they were pressuring the opposition (up against a sparring team). Among that group of players were Marcos ROJO, Lucas BIGLIA and Sergio AGUERO. And up front, Lionel MESSI.

It would appear as though the coach has the eleven in his mind but there is one real doubt. The starting goalkeeper. While Willy CABALLERO played in his fourth consecutive match for Argentina, he is facing competition from River Plate’s Franco ARMANI. The following is the rumored eleven for the match against Israel.

Argentina Israel
Argentina’s rumored line-up versus Israel. Photo via La Nacion.

CABALLERO/ARMANI; TAGLIAFICO, ROJO, OTAMENDI, MERCADO; MEZA, BIGLIA; DI MARIA, LANZINI; AGUERO, MESSI

Per the report, when attacking, the two full backs TAGLIAFICO and MERCADO would move forward up until the invisible line where BIGLIA is standing and the other midfielders (LANZINI, MEZA and DI MARIA) would move up right behind AGUERO and MESSI. This would sort of explain the 2-3-3-2 formation which SAMPAOLI mentioned in one of his press conferences.

Per contractual reasons, should MESSI take part in the match, the AFA would get an additional 300,000 dollars to bring their total up to 1.4 million dollars for the friendly match. Federico FAZIO flew from Barcelona to Sevilla with SAMPAOLI’s permission to witness the birth of his child. He will fly back to Barcelona at night.

World Cup countdown: 50 days, Argentina moment number 9, Gabriel BATISTUTA

By
Roy Nemer
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0
Gabriel Batistuta Argentina
Gabriel Batistuta with Argentina at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

As part of the 50 days, 50 Argentina World Cup moments, we will be counting down the top 50 Argentina moments at a World Cup using the daily number.

We are just 9 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup and in 9th place we have legendary Argentina number 9 Gabriel BATISTUTA getting his last yellow card playing for Argentina vs. England at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

In Argentina’s second match at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, they played England. It was the first time these two teams met at a FIFA World Cup since Argentina eliminated England in 1998 in the Round of 16 on penalty kicks.

The rivalry mostly became famous for the match back in 1986 when Diego MARADONA scored two memorable goals. The team had picked up a 1-0 win against Nigeria in their opener of the tournament and were looking to secure a spot in the Round of 16 with a win.

However, a David BECKHAM penalty was enough for England to pick up a 1-0 win and put Argentina on the brink of elimination.

Here was Argentina’s starting XI for the match:
12. Pablo CAVALLERO
3. Juan Pablo SORIN
4. Mauricio POCHETTINO
6. Walter SAMUEL
7. Claudio LOPEZ
8. Javier ZANETTI
9. Gabriel BATISTUTA
10. Ariel ORTEGA
11. Juan Sebastian VERON
13. Diego PLACENTE
14. Diego SIMEONE

If you missed it, here are our 50 World Cup moments:
50: Sergio ROMERO gets 50th cap vs. Switzerland at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
49: Roberto AYALA scores in the 49th minute vs. Germany at 2006 FIFA World Cup.
48: Angel DI MARIA’s 48th cap for Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
47: Mario KEMPES scores Argentina’s 47th goal all time at the 1978 FIFA World Cup vs. Peru.
46: Jorge VALDANO scores in the 46th minute at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
45: Javier ZANETTI scores in the 45th minute vs. England at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
44: Gabriel BATISTUTA scores goal number 44 in his Argentina career at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
43: Gonzalo HIGUAIN receives cap number 43 for Argentina vs. Germany in the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
42: Pedro PASCULLI scores in the 42nd minute for Argentina vs. Uruguay at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
41: Maxi RODRÍGUEZ scores in the 41st minute for Argentina vs. Serbia & Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
40: Roberto AYALA plays in his 40th match for Argentina vs. Jamaica at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
39: Pablo ZABALETA plays in his 39th match for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
38: Javier SAVIOLA scores in the 38th minute for Argentina vs. Ivory Coast at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
37: Maxi RODRIGUEZ plays in his 37th match for Argentina vs. South Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
36: Mauricio PINEDA scores in the 36th minute for Argentina vs. Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
35: Ezequiel LAVEZZI plays in his 35th match for Argentina vs. Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
34: Diego MARADONA scores his 34th goal for Argentina vs. Greece at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
33: Gonzalo HIGUAIN scores in the 33rd minute for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
32: Hernan CRESPO scores his 32nd goal for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
31: Diego MARADONA scoring in Argentina’s 31st FIFA World Cup match vs. Hungary.
30: Argentina loses opening match of 1982 FIFA World Cup vs. Belgium.
29: Argentina are knocked out of the 1982 FIFA World Cup after playing their 29th ever group stage match.
28: Claudio CANIGGIA scores in the 28th minute for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
27: Pedro TROGLIO scores in the 27th minute for Argentina vs. the Soviet Union at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
26: Diego MARADONA scores his 26th goal for Argentina vs. Belgium at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
25: Sergio AGUERO plays in his 25th match for Argentina vs. Germany at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
24: Diego MARADONA scores his 24th goal for Argentina vs. England at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
23: Ezequiel GARAY plays in his 23rd match for Argentina vs. Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
22: Argentina defeat Greece 2-0 on June 22 at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
21: Lucas BIGLIA plays in his 21st match for Argentina vs. Iran at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
20: Rene HOUSEMAN scores in the 20th minute for Argentina vs. East Germany at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
19: Diego MILITO wears the number 19 shirt for Argentina on his World Cup debut vs. Nigeria at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
18. Javier MASCHERANO plays in his 18th match for Argentina vs. Netherlands at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
17: Claudio LOPEZ scores for Argentina in the 17th minute vs. Netherlands at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
16: Gabriel BATISTUTA scores for Argentina in the 16th minute vs. Romania at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
15: Leopoldo LUQUE scores for Argentina in the 15th minute vs. Hungary at the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
14: Diego SIMEONE wears the number 14 shirt for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
13: Argentina play in their 13th draw all time at a FIFA World Cup vs. Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
12: Guillermo STABILE scores for Argentina in the 12th minute vs. Chile at the 1930 FIFA World Cup.
11: Juan Sebastian VERON plays his last World Cup match for Argentina in nearly eight years vs. Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
10: Angel DI MARIA scores his 10th goal for Argentina vs. Switzerland at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Poll: Who should be Argentina’s starting number 9 versus Iceland?

By
Roy Nemer
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64
Sergio Aguero Argentina
Sergio Agüero scores for Argentina versus Nigeria.

While Argentina are not short on talent, at least in attack, the reality is that the team has struggled to score goals. Gonzalo HIGUAÍN has not scored a goal for Argentina since 2016, Sergio AGÜERO is just coming back from surgery, Paulo DYBALA has yet to open his scoring for his country, DI MARIA is not a regular goal scorer and Cristian PAVÓN is more of a passer.

The goal scoring (as well as playmaking) responsibilities have fallen onto Lionel MESSI’s shoulders. Hopefully all of that changes at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

It was Gonzalo HIGUAÍN who started the 4-0 win against Haiti and it appears that he will be the starting number 9 for Argentina at the World Cup. Who would you pick as the starting forward for Argentina?

[poll id=”13″]

Last week we asked who should be Argentina’s starting goalkeeper for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and you voted for Franco ARMANI as he received 64% of the votes.

[poll id=”12″]

Argentina probable eleven versus Iceland at World Cup

By
Roy Nemer
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78

Despite the fact that Argentina still have one friendly match ahead of their opening match at the World Cup, reports are already emerging about a possible eleven to play against Iceland.

Franco ARMANI, Paulo DYBALA and Cristian PAVON are all set to start for Argentina in their friendly match versus Israel on Saturday but not a single one is expected to start the opening match at the World Cup against Iceland. Per a report by TNT Sports, this would be the starting eleven for Argentina against Iceland.

CABALLERO; TAGLIAFICO, OTAMENDI, FAZIO, MERCADO; LO CELSO, MASCHERANO; DI MARIA, MESSI, LANZINI, HIGUAIN

Willy CABALLERO would get the starting spot as the goalkeeper over Franco ARMANI. That right side would be occupied by a more natural defender in Gabriel MERCADO and not Eduardo SALVIO. Giovani LO CELSO and Javier MASCHERANO, the midfield duo from the match against Haiti would repeat and Gonzalo HIGUAIN would start ahead of Sergio AGUERO.

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