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SAMPAOLI brings changes to Argentina lineup

World Cup Qualifiers

John

-

September 4, 2017

SAMPAOLI brings changes to Argentina lineup

Jorge SAMPAOLI brings some changes to the Argentina lineup for Tuesday.

In today’s practice, the Argentina coach made two changes to the expected starting lineup that is set face off against Venezuela. Defender Nicolas PAREJA and midfielder Guido PIZARRO came in for Federico FAZIO and Lucas BIGLIA respectively. The possible starting eleven, still maintaining his preferred 3-4-3 formation, could consist of:

Argentina lineup

ROMERO; MASCHERANO, PAREJA, OTAMENDI; ACOSTA, PIZARRO, BANEGA, DI MARIA; MESSI, DYBALA & ICARDI

Meanwhile both BIGLIA and FAZIO were seen practicing with the second team which looks like the following:

Argentina lineup two

GUZMAN; BUSTOS, FAZIO, PINOLA; CORREA, BIGLIA, AUGUSTO, ACUNA; PASTORE; AGUERO, BENEDETTO

It remains to be seen whether it’s Federico FAZIO or Nicolas PAREJA who will start in the back alongside Javier MASCHERANO and Nicolas OTAMENDI. In midfield, it’s still a mystery if we’ll get Guido PIZARRO or Lucas BIGLIA. Which line-up would you prefer to see start Tuesday night’s World Cup Qualifier against Venezuela? Vote below!

[poll id=”4″]

Possible Argentina line-up against Venezuela

World Cup Qualifiers

Roy Nemer

-

September 2, 2017

47

Rumors are already circulating regarding the possible Argentina line-up against Venezuela.

Following the team’s 0-0 draw against Uruguay in Montevideo on Thursday night, the team took a chartered flight back to Buenos Aires. Argentina coach Jorge SAMPAOLI held a light training session on Friday with those who did not play in Thursday’s World Cup Qualifier. Those who did play against Uruguay took part in light exercises.

On Saturday morning, SAMPAOLI held a talk with 10 players, those 10 being rumored to be in the starting eleven against Venezuela on Tuesday. Here were the ten players:

Possible Argentina eleven

MASCHERANO, FAZIO, OTAMENDI; ACOSTA, BIGLIA, BANEGA, DI MARIA; DYBALA, ICARDI and MESSI.

Sergio ROMERO was not part of the team talk but it is believed that he will be the goalkeeper. Should that be the line-up, it means Javier MASCHERANO comes in for the suspended Gabriel MERCADO, Ever BANEGA (who was suspended for the game against Uruguay) comes in for Guido PIZARRO and Lautaro ACOSTA in for Marcos ACUÑA.

It would be the same front three with Lionel MESSI, Paulo DYBALA and Mauro ICARDI.

CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers – Standings

World Cup Qualifiers

Roy Nemer

-

September 1, 2017

61

CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers – Standings

The CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers are nearing the end and Argentina need points.

Following last night’s round of South American Qualifiers, there was one match which busted the table wide open. Paraguay’s unexpected 0-3 win away to Chile blew the door wide open for many nations with only three matches remaining. Here were last night’s results:

Venezuela 0 – 0 Colombia
Chile 0 – 3 Paraguay
Uruguay 0 – 0 Argentina
Brazil 2 – 0 Ecuador
Peru 2 – 1 Bolivia

[mstw_league_standings league=world-cup-qualifiers season=2016]

Only four points differentiate second place and seventh place (already sixth place means you don’t even make the playoffs) in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers, that’s how tight things are at the moment. Here are the matches for Tuesday:

CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers Matchday 16 fixtures

Bolivia vs. Chile
Colombia vs. Brazil
Ecuador vs. Peru
Argentina vs. Venezuela
Paraguay vs. Uruguay

Argentina arguably has not only the easiest match of the round but even the easiests set of fixtures left in the qualifiers (Venezuela home, Peru home and Ecuador away). If history and current form is anything to go by, this round of qualifiers can be a major boost for Jorge SAMPAOLI’s men. For one, Brazil are absolutely flying while Colombia were only able to pick up a point away to Venezuela. Chile, coming off a huge 0-3 loss at home, have to travel to La Paz to play Bolivia. And Uruguay travel to Paraguay, a fixture where the Uruguayans have NEVER picked up a win away to Paraguay.

If (and this is a major if because things in South America never go as planned) Chile, Uruguay and Colombia all drop points with Argentina winning, Argentina could potentially be in second place by the end of the next round.

Obviously there are many different scenarios which can occur but there is a website which allows you to put in your predictions and it will automatically give you the updated standings. I submited mine (put in my predictions until the very last match) and these were my final standings:

Brazil (41 points)
Uruguay (30 points)
Argentina (30 points)
Colombia (28 points)
Paraguay (28 points)

I’ve been saying it since March that I feel as if Chile will miss out on the World Cup and following my fixture predictions, I would be right. Click on this link, put in your predictions (don’t forget to update last night’s results), submit yours and share them with us!

5 Things we learned from Uruguay vs Argentina

World Cup Qualifiers

John

-

September 1, 2017

24

5 Things we learned from Uruguay vs Argentina

As Uruguay met Argentina in a crucial World Cup Qualifier today after MESSI and SUAREZ wore the kits supporting two countries bid for 2030, it promised to be more than a dull goalless draw. Uruguay are still sitting 3rd while Argentina still are in the playoff spot. Both teams have 3 more games to improve but South American Qualifiers are getting ridiculously tight for everyone except Brazil and Bolivia. Brazil already qualified and Bolivia is already out of the equation for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Between them any team can end up in the top 4 and play off position.

It was the first official qualifier under Jorge SAMPAOLI for Argentina. How his team has done we will have a look. He started with a 3-2-4-1 with Mauro ICARDI as the lone striker and ROMERO as goalkeeper. Tabarez went with the 5-3-1-1 option as was SUAREZ upfront with CAVANI joining him on the attack. The idea was to block any space in the middle for MESSI and Paulo DYBALA with their three defensive midfielders along with CAVANI. SAMPAOLI looked for width and on the right flank there was Marcus ACUNA and on the left was Angel DI MARIA. We will look on some key points from the match from an Argentina perspective.

Slow transition from midfield

Under previous coaches one of the major issues for Argentina was slow transition and side ways passing. With Uruguay able to block the middle, it all depended on how the midfield would co-ordinate with MESSI who had some successful runs towards Uruguay’s goal, although tactically the Uruguayans fouled him and marked him in 3’s and 4’s but he was the only spark from Argentina’s perspective. PIZZARO and BIGLIA did the basic things right but the transition of the ball was too slow and did not move it fast enough to give MESSI or DYBALA a chance to make their runs. Too many back passes and no desire to run in to open space is still there from central midfielders. There was hardly any creativity from midfield as Uruguay squeezed up all space on middle.

Frustration on the flanks

On both flanks Argentina arguably had the worst player of the game. Angel DI MARIA and ACUNA, the latter placed a lot of missed passes and misread his teammates’ runs. However, DI MARIA was even worse, got at least 8 to 10 clean chances to put crosses inside the area but never managed to do so. His blind crosses broke down the rhythm and the attacks for Argentina. It’s a shame ICARDI never got a proper cross, while Ivan PERISIC his Croat Inter team mate plays on the same flank and has created several goals for ICARDI. Not a single time DI MARIA could find him or other players in the box, as Uruguay’s plan of blocking the middle worked perfectly due to ineffectiveness on both wings. Later on, once ACOSTA came in for ACUNA and provided some runs but could not create anything.

MESSI and DYBALA partnership

One of the key things we were looking at was to see if the MESSI and DYBALA partnership would produce something brilliant. Only twice were they able to link up fantastically but MESSI’s attempt was saved by MUSLERA and the other was a bad ball by DI MARIA. But there’s always the possibility of a partnership being formed once Argentina can find someone creative in midfield to link the attack.

Return of ICARDI

ICARDI returned as a striker in the national team after 4 long years and tussled hard against GODIN and GIMENEZ. Only once he received a ball from PASTORE in the dying stages and tried to turn and score in typical ICARDI fashion but GODIN was quick to read and ICARDI’s cry for a penalty was not given by the referee. He participated and pressed well. A lot must be seen in the next game but very much like CANDREVA and Joao MARIO who rarely produce anything for Inter; ICARDI heavily relies on PERISIC. Unfortunately, there was no PERISIC for him on the Argentine flank to produce anything. His run to MESSI’s through ball was brilliant and hints at a very promising future.

ROMERO is still shaky

On defense, MERCADO, FAZIO and OTAMENDI produced a superb performance but there were moments when ROMERO almost messed up and gave away the ball to CAVANI who was in space. As the team continues to struggle to qualify, ROMERO remains as one of the major question marks along with DI MARIA on this team.

Special thanks to our guest writer and friend, Rony Mazumder from Bangladesh for sharing his thoughts on our match against Uruguay.

Argentina coach Jorge SAMPAOLI: “It has left a sour taste”

World Cup Qualifiers

Roy Nemer

-

August 31, 2017

26

Argentina coach Jorge SAMPAOLI: “It has left a sour taste”

Argentina coach Jorge SAMPAOLI has stated that the match has left a sour taste in their mouths.

Speaking a press conference following Argentina’s 0-0 draw against Uruguay, the National Team coach came out talking about the match, Lionel MESSI, Mauro ICARDI and more. Here’s what he had to say:

Argentina coach Jorge SAMPAOLI

“We played against an opponent that was always looking to block any openings. It has left a sour taste in our mouths for not having won. We went looking for the match everytime but they were always in their own area. We were hoping for an open match but it was never the case. They defended in the middle of the pitch. Their intentions were clear.

“ICARDI was marked by two defenders the entire match. He had very little space and they have a lot of experience. MESSI was enormous for us. Today, we saw MESSI. He played a very good match.

“Being at the bottom generates a lot of nervousness. But we have to remember that at times, the World Cup Qualifiers are more difficult than the World Cup itself.

“We have to be more aggressive in the last third and get more people in the area. The team was patient and kept looking for the space to generate an attack. The team came out with the idea to play regardless of the circumstances. It’s our job to ensure that the team wins. We have to win so that Argentina can be at the World Cup in Russia. Now, we’re required to be sharp for the next matches. Any act of desperation would cost us to miss out on the World Cup. We have to be clear and precise regarding our message.

“PIZARRO and BIGLIA complemented each other well. MASCHERANO could be utilized in any position (regarding Gabriel MERCADO’s suspension for the next match).”