Argentina captain Lionel MESSI spoke following his team’s 2-0 win against Qatar at the Copa America.
The captain commented on the win, the team and the tournament itself. Here’s what he had to say:
“Now starts another Copa. Now starts all or nothing.
“We had a good match and we won, which was the most important. We needed a game like this, to gain confidence and to be calm. The people have always accompanied us and that’a the way.
“As the games go by, the team has to grow and this match served that purpose.”
Lautaro MARTINEZ and Sergio AGUERO scored as Argentina won 2-0 against Qatar to reach the Copa America quarter finals.
Argentina got exactly what they were hoping for, which was an early goal. A defensive mistake by the Qatari back line gifted Lautaro MARTINEZ the ball inside the penalty area and the Argentina hitman scored to give his team the 1-0 lead. That goal was Lautaro’s fifth in nine matches for his country.
The first half came to a close with not much threat from Qatar aside from an offside chance which was dealt with by goalkeeper Franco ARMANI.
Rodrigo DE PAUL continued to impress. Constantly pressuring, dribbling, passing and moving, he along with Leandro PAREDES were among Argentina’s best players.
Marcos ACUÑA was substituted in for Gio LO CELSO and provided some width in attack. A low cross from Marcos nearly found the back of the net but AGUERO was unlucky with his attempt. However, a second goal was coming for Argentina.
Paulo DYBALA was substituted in for Lautaro MARTINEZ and assisted Sergio AGUERO’s goal who made it 2-0 and secured Argentina’s passage to the quarter finals.
Sergio AGUERO received the ball in midfield and ran towards the Qatari back line to score. That goal was his 40th for Argentina.
All three of Lionel MESSI, Sergio AGUERO and Lautaro MARTINEZ start for Argentina.
Coach Lionel SCALONI has once more gone with a new and different starting line-up. Renzo SARQVIA and Sergio AGUERO are both back. Here’s the starting eleven:
ARMANI; SARAVIA, FOYTH, OTAMENDI, TAGLIAFICO; DE PAUL, PAREDES, LO CELSO, MESSI, Lautaro, AGUERO
Lionel MESSI is the only survivor from Argentina’s 3-0 win in 2005 against Qatar.
Argentina’s last game against Qatar came over 10 years ago with Juan Román RIQUELME, Julio CRUZ and Roberto AYALA scoring all three goals. Here was the starting line-up for that game:
Roberto ABBONDANZIERI, Martin DEMICHELIS, Walter SAMUEL, Roberto AYALA, Rodrigo BATTAGLIA, Daniel BILOS, Juan Román RIQUELME, Maxi RODRIGUEZ, Juan Pablo SORIN, Lionel MESSI, Javier SAVIOLA
Substitutions: Fabricio COLOCCINI for Martin DEMICHELIS, Julio CRUZ for Javier SAVIOLA, Lucho GONZALEZ for Daniel BILOS, Gabriel MILITO for Walter SAMUEL and Carlos TEVEZ for Lionel MESSI.
There are still doubts in regards to who will start for Argentina against Qatar in the Copa America.
As we reported yesterday, there were rumors that Marcos ACUÑA would start and now it looks like that is in doubt. Per a report by TyC Sports, one of German PEZZELLA or Juan FOYTH would start and Rodrigo DE PAUL will get the start. Here’s the rumored line-up:
ARMANI; CASCO, PEZZELA or FOYTH, OTAMENDI, TAGLIAFICO; LO CELSO, PAREDES, DE PAUL; MESSI, Lautaro, AGÜERO
