Argentina NT

If Iceland beat Nigeria, are Argentina basically out?

Pretty much. Argentina would need to overturn at least a 4 goal difference.

I assume Croatia are going to rest a few in preparation for the knock outs. GAot lots of yellow cards tonight so they risk a few players banned for round of 16 if any get booked v Iceland and that will be physical game.
 
what's surprised me more than anything was how poor they are in technical sense. take Aguero and Messi out and they're reduced on bunch of headless chickens. zero creativity and dribbling, none of those unpredictable moves that leaves you unprepared to defend them. take Messi and Aguero out from first 11 and they're basically Poland.

No structure to their play at all. Again very similar to England around 2010.

Only 10 years ago they were putting out lovely midfields of Cambiasso and Riquelme behind Messi.
 
Not gonna lie, I love the fact that they're shite.

I dunno if it's because I'm British and all that entails so I've been conditioned to feel it but I fecking hate Argentina.
 
what's surprised me more than anything was how poor they are in technical sense. take Aguero and Messi out and they're reduced on bunch of headless chickens. zero creativity and dribbling, none of those unpredictable moves that leaves you unprepared to defend them. take Messi and Aguero out from first 11 and they're basically Poland.
Yeah they don't ever look like scoring it's really a very poor team technically and physically

They are one of the worst teams at the tournament
 
Imagine the Uproar in any country where your best CM players were not even featured in any of your games in the decking WC.

Surely they have to start them next game??

He should be sacked on the spot the cretin.

They will be out. Iceland will win tomorrow. He should be sacked anyway. Never seen a manager so clueless, they wouldnt be any worse without a manager at this point
 
we've got the likes of Lingard, Fellaini and Lukaku upfront not Messi, Aguero and Icardi.

Icardi didn't even get a space on the plane!

But seriously we should be getting more out of Rashford, Martial, Lukaku, Sanchez supported by Pogba. Problem is its too unbalanced.
 
They will be out. Iceland will win tomorrow. He should be sacked anyway. Never seen a manager so clueless, they wouldnt be any worse without a manager at this point

The Argentine FA are fecking either brain dead morons or on the take. No way you allow this shite or fecking Maradona the lunatic to ever be in charge and sabotage the national side which had so much talent at the time
 
They will be out. Iceland will win tomorrow. He should be sacked anyway. Never seen a manager so clueless, they wouldnt be any worse without a manager at this point

The Argentine FA are fecking either brain dead morons or on the take. No way you allow this shite or fecking Maradona the lunatic to ever be in charge and sabotage the national side which had so much talent at the time
 
Kun (and maybe Pavon) is literally the only Argentina player who can come out of the WC so far with their heads held remotely high. Despite barely seeing the ball I thought Aguero at least tried to make things happen and at least threatened Loveren and Vida. Same in the last game, to hook him at 1-0 for Higuain should be a sacking offence. Still feel if Argentina do get out of this mess, it's gonna be Sergio who drags them. Seems to be the only player they have who has held his nerve and bottle despite not being "good" and only ok, he's literally the only one who hasn't shit the bed.
 
The last great Argentina to watch at a World Cup was in 2006 under Pekermen.

Since then they have hired some clowns as managers. 2014 they weren’t great to watch but managed to get through by defensive football.
 
Icardi didn't even get a space on the plane!

But seriously we should be getting more out of Rashford, Martial, Lukaku, Sanchez supported by Pogba. Problem is its too unbalanced.

Which is funny considering that Icardi is one of the best goal poachers in current football. The list you provided is made up of a great strikers, two left wingers (whom we can only play 1 at a time), an AMC whose being pushed deep and an overrated striker whose being played as a winger. Its a decent forward line but nowhere near world class let alone Icardi-Dybala-Messi-Aguero level
 
Acuna is disgraceful. Where did they find him?
The team is atrocious.
 
Don't get people making out like Sampaoli is a clown. His Chile side were very good and his Sevilla side were decent.
Argentina's biggest failing is that they're spineless. Those players look like they don't want to be there.
 
Don't get people making out like Sampaoli is a clown. His Chile side were very good and his Sevilla side were decent.
Argentina's biggest failing is that they're spineless. Those players look like they don't want to be there.

Nah he's shadow of what he was with Chille. No one told him to not get Icardi or keep Dybala on the bench and center the whole play on getting the ball to Messi. They look tactically shambolic.
 
Hard to believe that this is the same Sampaoli that guided Chile to the Copa America and managed Sevilla in 2016-2017. Some of his best players on the bench or not in the squad and every player other than Aguero and Otamendi playing out of position. Argentina have the players to go far in this World Cup but Sampaoli has selected square pegs in round holes and they have been completely unbalanced. They should have lined up something like this.


---------------------------------Armani

---------------Otamendi-------Mascherano----------Fazio

Salvio---------------------------------------------------------------Tagliafico

---------------------Banega------------------------Lo Celso


---------------Dybala---------------Messi----------------Di Maria
 
Don't get people making out like Sampaoli is a clown. His Chile side were very good and his Sevilla side were decent.
Argentina's biggest failing is that they're spineless. Those players look like they don't want to be there.
I think it's harsh to call them spineless. They must be understandably somewhat broken after losing 3 finals in a row, that's hard for any team to take especially how close they were in all 3 games.

The reality is they have the best player in the world (probably of all time) and a collection of other brilliant attacking options but practically nothing behind. I can't remember them ever having a good goalkeeper, they haven't produced a great centre back since Ayala and they're still relying on Mascherano in midfield despite him being well past it and having not played regularly as midfielder for almost a decade. It was bizarre watching them when apart from the front 2 who are exceptional their best player in that starting 11 is arguably Otamendi.
 
Don't get people making out like Sampaoli is a clown. His Chile side were very good and his Sevilla side were decent.
Argentina's biggest failing is that they're spineless. Those players look like they don't want to be there.

Chile is a bit of a red herring, IMO. While he did a fantastic job with them I think they had a golden generation of players. It was the perfect storm, really. Someone like Aranguiz would walk into this Argentina side. Such a brilliant midfielder.
 
To be fair, maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing for them to get eliminated at this stage rather than in the 16th. If they scrape through now, they're gonna be humiliated by one of the in-form teams.
 
May 28, 2018

Dunno, I can't find a really obvious favourite, but if I have to give that spot for someone it would be Brazil, I think this will be their year to be honest. Tite is the perfect manager for making them compete at last, I knew that since he was Corinthians coach. I can picture them not playing brilliantly, but winning. I also expect Argentina to fail miserably being the biggest disappointment, I think Sampaoli will do a Bielsa 2.0 for them.

You have read it first here :lol:

Now seriously, it was clear as crystal to me that this was going to happen. The argentinian list was just embarrassing -and there was no potential missing names beyond what they called-. One of the worst argentinian rosters ever, and that's saying a lot with the abysmal teams they had lately.
 
Which is funny considering that Icardi is one of the best goal poachers in current football. The list you provided is made up of a great strikers, two left wingers (whom we can only play 1 at a time), an AMC whose being pushed deep and an overrated striker whose being played as a winger. Its a decent forward line but nowhere near world class let alone Icardi-Dybala-Messi-Aguero level

Well yes that's obviously true, but the point still stands either way, both should expect better!
 
Which is funny considering that Icardi is one of the best goal poachers in current football. The list you provided is made up of a great strikers, two left wingers (whom we can only play 1 at a time), an AMC whose being pushed deep and an overrated striker whose being played as a winger. Its a decent forward line but nowhere near world class let alone Icardi-Dybala-Messi-Aguero level

Don't get me wrong I don't disagree with anything you are saying, but point still applies more is expected either way.

But yeah how can that collection of forwards not work out a way to make it happen! It's an obscene collection of talent.