Mauro ICARDI and Lionel MESSI both scored for their respective clubs on the weekend.
ICARDI continues to add to his impressive numbers for Inter as he netted his 16th Serie A goal of the season. The Inter hitman scored against Chievo in their 5-0 win.
Mauro’s now scored 94 goals for his club at the age of 24 and is the 10th best goal scorer for the club.
Another Argentinian scored on the weekend, you may have heard of him, Lionel MESSI. Leo scored in Barcelona’s 2-2 draw againat Celta as he scored his 13th league goal of the season. MESSI was also heavily involved in the team’a overall play and helped setup Barcelona’s second goal.
Both Mauro ICARDI and Lionel MESSI now lead their respective leagues in goals this season.
Inter’s number 9 took to social media to express his thoughts on entering Inter’s top 10 all time goal scoring list. Here’s what he had to say:
“I have no words to describe this moment… Itâs a beautiful moment that represents hard work and sacrifice over all these years at Inter. Today, in my fifth season in Milan, I have entered the history of this club as one of the top 10 scorers of all time.
âThanks to all of you for the support you give me every day.â
Argentina National Team coach Jorge SAMPAOLI took to the press to talk about Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria.
Argentina coach SAMPAOLI commented on his team’s World Cup draw, stating that Iceland will make Argentina work, much like every other team. The Argentina man also spoke about Lionel MESSI and Cristiano RONALDO. Here’s what he had to say:
Jorge SAMPAOLI on Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria:
“These are rivals that are coming with few obligations and a lot of enthusiasm for a unique opportunity as the World Cup is. They are going to make us fight but it will depend on us. We need to establish a way and be the Argentina we want to be.
“Iceland will make us work, as everyone else. Nigeria is unpredictable, they are very fast. We need to study them well. Croatia has an excellent midfield line with Luka MODRIC, Ivan RAKITIC and Ivan PERISIC. They also have (Mario) MANDZUKIC as a No. 9. They are very strong.”
Jorge SAMPAOLI on Lionel MESSI and Cristiano RONALDO:
âCristiano is an extraordinary player, but I think and feel that in the last 10 years Messi was the best player in the world, but it is my opinion, by statistics, by amount of goals, assists, flair, style, but it is a particular thought of mine.
âThere are some players behind them (MESSI and Cristiano), such us NEYMAR or Luis SUAREZ, also some youngsters such as (Kylian) MBAPPE or (Ousmane) DEMBELE. They will fight for it in the future. However, while MESSI and Cristiano keep playing, the others will just fight for the third or fourth position.
“I think in every time there is a footballer who is considered the best: PELE, MARADONA and MESSI now. But now he has remained ten years in Europe, being the best player in the world, scoring more than 500 goals in this so complicated European football.
âSo you donât have to have a World Cup to be the best in the world.â
Gonzalo HIGUAIN’s form has slowly started picking up, this time scoring the winning goal against Napoli.
Playing with a broken hand didn’t stop Gonzalo HIGUAIN from scoring against his old club as Juventus picked up a 1-0 victory. Pipita had surgery on his hand on Monday and was playing with it wrapped up and he ended up stepping up to the plate and scoring the winner.
Napoli have not won the league since 1990 and started off the season in excellent form but that loss marks their first Serie A loss at home this season. Speaking after the match, HIGUAIN was full of praise for his former coach SARRI but not so much for their president. Here’s what he had to say:
Gonzalo HIGUAIN on Napoli coach SARRI:
“I’m very fond of SARRI. He made me improve a lot and I will always be grateful to him. I love him as a person and as a coach. I wish him the best. We will keep in touch with one another and maybe we will find ourselves together in another team. It would be a great pleasure for me.”
Gonzalo HIGUAIN on president DE LAURENTIIS:
“I couldn’t find DE LAURENTIIS after my goal… Maybe he was hiding.”
Argentina’s 2018 FIFA World Cup group consists of Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria.
Lionel MESSI and co will start off the 2018 FIFA World Cup against Iceland. The Icelandics had a fantastic Euro 2016 tournament after not only making it out of the group stages but knocking out England in the Round of 16. The Albiceleste will have to start off the World Cup on the right foot and a win here will do just that.
Argentina’s second match at the World Cup will come against Croatia. On paper, possibly Argentina’s most difficult opponent in the group stage. A technically strong team with star player Luka MODRIC being one of the better midfielders of the past few years, Jorge SAMPAOLI will have his work cut out for him in this match.
After that comes Nigeria. Not for the first (second, third or fourth) time in World Cup history, Argentina will play African side Nigeria in the group stages of a World Cup. The two sides were drawn together in the 1994, 2002, 2010, 2014 and now 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Argentina’s 2018 FIFA World Cup group fixtures:
Argentina vs. Iceland: June 16
Argentina vs. Croatia: June 21
Argentina vs. Nigeria: June 26
Coach Jorge SAMPAOLI had this to say after the draw:
“I have a lot of confidence in these Argentine players.”
FIFA World Cup Group Draw:
2018 FIFA World Cup Groups
FIFA World Cup Knockout Stages:
The knockout stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Argentina have played against World Cup debutantes in 2014 (Bosnia-Hezergovina), 2006 (Ivory Coast), 1998 (Japan) and 1994 (Greece). They have won all of those matches. And in 2018, they play Iceland who will also be making their World Cup debut.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Draw is upon us with several groups of death being a real possibility for Argentina.
Football fans around the world will be glued to their television sets (or maybe in modern society their smart phones) in anticipation of the draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It’s the day we all find out the groups for the World Cup.
Groups of Death at 2018 FIFA World Cup Draw:
Will Argentina get a repeat of the 2002 World Cup group when they got England, Sweden and Nigeria? Or will it be Spain, Costa Rica and Japan? There are many possibilities. Ahead of the draw itself, FIFA.com held interviews with Brazil National Team coach Tite as well as footballing legend Javier ZANETTI. Both commented about the Argentina National Team. Here’s what they had to say:
Brazil coach Tite even spoke about Argentina. Here’s what he had to say speaking to FIFA.com.
Brazil coach Tite on Argentina:
Brazil swept all before them in the qualifiers after you took over in August 2016. How do you prevent that from being the teamâs peak and ensure that it kicks on, which was something Argentina were unable to do in 2002, for example?
“With all due respect, I have to disagree with you about (Marcelo) Bielsaâs Argentina peaking then. They were in a really tough group with England, Nigeria and Sweden, and it all came down to a penalty in a very tight game with England. Argentina could easily have gone through and knocked the English out. But the group phase is always tricky. Thatâs a fact of life. In an individual sport you can always plan your ideal peak, but in a team sport the experience of playing in the qualifiers makes you stronger as a unit. In the case of Argentina that year, it was more to do with the quality of the opposition than the team peaking and then falling away.”
Lionel MESSI says that Argentina will be stronger now after their qualifying struggles. Do you agree with that?
“Iâm with MESSI. They overcame a huge amount of pressure in the qualifiers. When you have three different coaches in the same qualifying competition, there are bound to be things that donât work smoothly. But now that theyâre through and theyâve got more time to work with and they have quality of [Jorge] SAMPAOLI and his players, Iâm convinced theyâre going to get better. I canât say by how much but Iâm sure theyâre going to improve.”
Javier ZANETTI on Argentina:
Argentina laboured on the road to Russia. What’s your take on that campaign?
“It was very tricky because we changed coach midway through qualifying. Such changes are never easy. South American qualifying is always tough, and this time, Argentina had real trouble. We were on the brink: the last game against Ecuador was make-or-break in terms of reaching the World Cup.”
How did you handle the nerves?
“I live in Italy, but based on what my family and friends told me, I know the country was at a standstill, because Argentinians are hugely passionate about football and the World Cup is very important to them. On the one hand, I’m really pleased [that we’ve made it], but on the other hand, we’ve got lots to improve on.”
Are you excited by [Jorge] SAMPAOLI’s vision?
“Yes. I’m impressed because he has clear ideas, but he needs time to implement them. He knows that he has some top players at his disposal and he himself is experienced, which is very important at a World Cup.”
You mentioned the upheaval during the campaign, which is epitomised by the situation at centre-forward. Gabriel BATISTUTA was a nailed-on starter in attack in his day, as was Hernan CRESPO later. Things are different now…
“There’s been a lot of change in personnel. Until recently, Pipita [Gonzalo HIGUAIN] was the undisputed No9. Now Mauro ICARDI has got his chance, which is richly deserved because of what he’s doing for Inter Milan. Mauro can be useful for the national team, but that doesn’t mean HIGUAIN shouldn’t be in the squad. Argentina are lucky enough to have an embarrassment of riches up front, from Pipita to ICARDI, [Paulo] DYBALA, [Lionel] MESSI and so on. They’ve got so many options. I hope they can all go to the World Cup because they’d give the squad great strength in depth.”
What shape are Argentina in right now compared to other countries like Germany and Brazil?
“We’re a step behind them. They’ve got teams who have been working together for a while and that shows on the pitch. Still, we’ve got good players, and if we do good work between now and Russia, we can have a great World Cup. It’s not going to be easy, but Argentina always have their trademark fighting spirit, which can go a long way at a World Cup.”
Is MESSI alone enough to win it?
“MESSI is an extraordinary player, but your squad is pivotal: at a World Cup, the 11 players on the pitch and everyone else in the group can all play an important role. We know that he’s the guy who can produce something special out of nothing, who can make things happen and be the match-winner, but SAMPAOLI has to come up with alternatives.”
FIFA World Cup mock Draw:
A mock draw was done earlier this week and here was the outcome:
A mock of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Draw.
In the mock 2018 FIFA World Cup Draw, Argentina was drawn in a group with Morocco, Mexico and Sweden. What would you think about having that group? Possibly not the worst draw although that could be a dangerous group with three very different types of countries. Here are the pots for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Draw on Friday:
 Russia
 Spain
 Denmark
 Serbia
 Germany
 Peru
 Iceland
 Nigeria
 Brazil
 Switzerland
 Costa Rica
 Australia
 Portugal
 England
 Sweden
 Japan
 Argentina
 Colombia
 Tunisia
 Morocco
 Belgium
 Mexico
 Egypt
 Panama
 Poland
 Uruguay
 Senegal
 South Korea
 France
 Croatia
 Iran
 Saudi Arabia