Day 17: France-Argentina, Uruguay-Portugal.

[Hoof the ball]

Ronaldo? If he was an argie.

Tired argument. Ronaldo was off field when Portugal did that. Even if you say Portugal "would" have won it, especially with Ronaldo in it, then that's just a retrospective stab in the dark. That game could have unfolded totally different with Ronaldo playing.

what

You know I meant Pavon....

 

[Zehner]

1 assist. Mercado was a deflected shot and not an assist. Let’s not start stat padding.

That is an assist. If it was a deflected shot the goal would belong to him. Can't believe how agenda driven some of you Ronaldo supporters are.

 

[Ban]

Who do you think was behind management and picking up team,
Messi is the culprit and the one to blame

He didn't pick all the players and hadn't put the team out. Keep your agenda out.

 

[In Rainbows]

Finally Argentina is out

Pity Messi can’t do much

Pogba did well

Yeah Pogba was excellent. Had a lot of runners which must have been fun for him I imagine.

 

[Sanche7]

How?

Mbappe, incredible as he is, plays with Pogba, Griezmann, Kante, Umtiti, et al.
Messi plays with Pavard, aged Mascherano, Rojo, Meza, et al.

Tell me, how is Messi supposed to receive the ball in dangerous areas if the players aren't good enough to give him the ball?
Tell me, how is Messi supposed to create for others if those in front of him aren't of the a quality to make quality movement?

What you're expecting is a superman performance where each time he receives the ball he evades two or three markers and literally slaloms between them like Roy of the Rovers.

I think Messi did OK but he missed two big opportunities in this WC
The penalty against Iceland and today that loose ball in the 85th minute. Yeah the latter was hard but we have all seen Messi score from tighter angles

 

[whatwha]

Wanted France to go out. They're the only team I think would (hypothetically) spank England.

Not Spain?

 

[pjaya]

Yeah Pogba was excellent. Had a lot of runners which must have been fun for him I imagine.

Utd need Kante for Pogba to play well

 

[0161_UNITED]

Well, that was ... an incredibly entertaining match! Mbappe! The Pavard goal! Messi’s “assist”. Couldn’t have asked for much more!

 

[Sanche7]

Utd need Kante for Pogba to play well

Here's hoping Fred can do what Kante does while being better on the ball

 

[RepardReece]

Great game. Messi should have done more. Still a great player but doesn't move enough.

Mbappe though

It's obvious that Messi had given up with this Argentina squad. He plays deep and for most of the game no one was ahead of him, Aguero should've been on from minute 1. Feel sorry for him, he's lost in that team.

 

[SportingCP96]

I’m not tho. I’m a fan of football over anything in the end of the day. But to say that it was an assist to Mercado and that he meant that pass is utterly stupid. Messi had a part to play in 1 of Argentina goals and was anonymous throughout the rest of the game. Also Ronaldo and Portugal will lose today as well. People like you who turn everything into Messi vs Ronaldo even on topics that have nothing to do with them is always frustrating to see.

 

[StillPlayingFooty]

Would be interesting to see how Godin copes with Mbappe running at him.

We won't. That is if they get past Portugal. Uruguay will drive a bus in this tournament. Not much space to run into.

Expecting boring evening game between Por - Uru. I hope I am wrong though.

 

[endless_wheelies]

Not Spain?

Nah everything would just be played in front of us so we'll bank up and break.

 

[Ødegaard]

How?

Mbappe, incredible as he is, plays with Pogba, Griezmann, Kante, Umtiti, et al.
Messi plays with Pavard, aged Mascherano, Rojo, Meza, et al.

Tell me, how is Messi supposed to receive the ball in dangerous areas if the players aren't good enough to give him the ball?
Tell me, how is Messi supposed to create for others if those in front of him aren't of the a quality to make quality movement?

What you're expecting is a superman performance where each time he receives the ball he evades two or three markers and literally slaloms between them like Roy of the Rovers.

Pavard plays with Mbappe for France.
You kind of forgot that Messi could play with Di Maria, Dybala, Aguero, Banega, Salvio & Higuain.
The issue with Messi is he doesn't bother to run at all, Argentina needs 2x Kante-like players just to make up for how little Messi works. Argentina is better without Messi.

 

[Treble]

It's obvious that Messi had given up with this Argentina squad. He plays deep and for most of the game no one was ahead of him, Aguero should've been on from minute 1. Feel sorry for him, he's lost in that team.

His work rate for Barca is the same. Barca know how to compensate for his deficiencies (not in the CL though where the intensity in the knock-out stages is higher).

 

[Ban]

Pavard plays with Mbappe for France.
You kind of forgot that Messi could play with Di Maria, Dybala, Aguero, Banega, Salvio & Higuain.
The issue with Messi is he doesn't bother to run at all, Argentina needs 2x Kante-like players just to make up for how little Messi works. Argentina is better without Messi.

Funny cause that same Argentina is in Russia thanks to that exact Messi.

And they won like one game without him.

 

[fallengt]

France is great when they play with intensity & urgency but it rarely happens.
Look at the quality of their team. If Zidane was France's manager they should comfortably beat anyone.

Reminder that Argentina only scored 3 in group stage. They only needed 90 minutes to score 3 against France.

 

[FromTheBench]

Here's hoping Fred can do what Kante does while being better on the ball

Fred is quite a different player to Kante.

 

[Red Dreams]

Ronaldo carries his team.
Messi cannot do that.

Maradona carried his team.

Messi is not a leader.

 

[hasanejaz88]

Pavard plays with Mbappe for France.
You kind of forgot that Messi could play with Di Maria, Dybala, Aguero, Banega, Salvio & Higuain.
The issue with Messi is he doesn't bother to run at all, Argentina needs 2x Kante-like players just to make up for how little Messi works. Argentina is better without Messi.

Unless you play with a 4-0-6 formation Messi can't play with all the players you mentioned. That has been the inherit issue with Argentina during the Messi era, there just haven't been quality defenders and midfielders to supplement their amazing attacking talent.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Fred is quite a different player to Kante.

Does he play the Matuidi role?

 

[Kearnkoff69]

Pogba was excellent today. Wonderful to see him kicking into top gear. I hope this Cup provides him a boost and he comes back raring to go in August.

 

[Hoof the ball]

Pavard plays with Mbappe for France.
You kind of forgot that Messi could play with Di Maria, Dybala, Aguero, Banega, Salvio & Higuain.
The issue with Messi is he doesn't bother to run at all, Argentina needs 2x Kante-like players just to make up for how little Messi works. Argentina is better without Messi.

I know I'm using iPhone and Pavard is my autocorrect default for when I write Pavon.
That's the point, above, all those mentioned are forwards or attacking players whom play in front of him. It's the players behind him that's the issue, as you mentioned with the 2x Kante point. No point being top heavy with gifted forwards if the guys behind can't find you, can't move with the ball, can't make space off the ball and most of all can't give you a solid foundation behind.

 

[Sanche7]

Fred is quite a different player to Kante.

Not really, IIRC Fred covered the most distance in the CL, he can run like hell at the same time he's good on the ball.
He may not be as good defensively as Kante but he offers more on the ball

 

[BusbyMalone]

Funny cause that same Argentina is in Russia thanks to that exact Messi.

And they won like one game without him.

Yeah, strange comment that. Argentina are shite with Messi and shite without him. But at least with him he's capable of dragging them through some games. He's been poor in this World Cup and he was poor again in this game, but to suggest they're better without him is absurd really.

Although his demeanour and attitude isn't great at times and he deserves a lot of criticism

 

[Charles Miller]

He's close. And that's insane

Its was exactly like that. I remember when he was 19. The only difference is that Ronaldo would try something like 4, 5 long sprints every half, but in terms of skils is really similar.

 

[Ødegaard]

I know I'm using iPhone and Pavard is my autocorrect default for when I write Pavon.
That's the point, above, all those mentioned are forwards or attacking players whom play in front of him. It's the players behind him that's the issue, as you mentioned with the 2x Kante point. No point being top heavy with gifted forwards if the guys behind can't find you, can't move with the ball, can't make space off the ball and most of all can't give you a solid foundation behind.

Yeah. Argentina should have ditched Messi for Dybala if they really refuse to play together just to make up for the work-rate issue.

 

[paulscholes18]

Messi: zero goals in 8 WC knockout games.

Could after today have arguably the greatest two players have a combined WC knockout record of 0 in 13

 

[Ban]

Yeah, strange comment that. Argentina are shite with Messi and shite without him. But at least with him he's capable of dragging them through some games. He's been poor in this World Cup and he was poor again in this game, but to suggest they're better without him is absurd really.

Although his demeanour and attitude isn't great at times and he deserves a lot of criticism

That's true. His head seems to go down immidiately although its such a crap team overall. Just a bunch of names. And not of those names are big.

 

[Schneckerl]

Ronaldo carries his team.
Messi cannot do that.

Maradona carried his team.

Messi is not a leader.

Please show us the game where after being up by 1 they conceded 3 goals and carried their team to a win.

Inb4 'the defenders fecked up because Messi didn't motivate them enough'

 

[Isotope]

So Griezman was on the right. Hahh..

 

[giorno]

Its was exactly like that. I remember when he was 19. The only difference is that Ronaldo would try something like 4, 5 long sprints every half, but in terms of skils is really similar.

Ronaldo's control and technical skill while running at full speed was in a different dimension. Not just to Mbappé but to everyone else ever

 

[Son Of Sam]

Utd need Kante for Pogba to play well

And this is why I question Mourinho’s obsession with Matic last summer. If Kante wasn’t available, the closest energy bunny to Kante is Naby Keita. We missed a trick letting him go to Klopp’s team.

Matic can only screen, if he’s caught upfield, he doesn’t have the pace or energy to get back quickly & the defence is laid bare. I hope Fred gives us the energy Matic is lacking. The current XI is incredibly unbalanced.

 

[Darnswism]

So everyone was wrong predicting this as a boring game. That was... unbelievable. If Pogba looked bad to me on the 1st half, he was excellent in the 2nd. My boy Pavard did very well too and my MoTM was obviously Lucas (after Mbappe of course). Kante was superb too and Griezmann with Giroud came alive late into the game. Didn't like Fekir. I don't care though because we're through and I couldn't be happier.

 

[Gasolin]

Hoping to see Portugal go through and see France revenge that Euro 2 years ago that was so pathetic. This team gave a lot of pleasure today.
Anyone saw Pogba hugging Messi? Maybe he told him: time to come to United now LOL.

 

[JPRouve]

So Griezman was on the right. Hahh..

Mbappé was on the right, Griezmann was behind Giroud and moving around.

 

[Gasolin]

I cannot believe Kante was almost a nobody 3 years ago, he wins a title with Leicester, goes to Chelsea to win another title, and he is an unbelievable presence in this French team. Kudos to him.

 

[Charles Miller]

Ronaldo's control and technical skill while running at full speed was in a different dimension. Not just to Mbappé but to everyone else ever

Its because Ronaldo was a Futsal player. But that explosive impact in the games is very Ronaldesque.

 

[Isotope]

Mbappé was on the right, Griezmann was behind Giroud and moving around.

I think at least in this game, Mbappe and Griezman move interchangeably. That's why Mbappe got much direct on goal.

 

[Mb194dc]

Yeah, strange comment that. Argentina are shite with Messi and shite without him. But at least with him he's capable of dragging them through some games. He's been poor in this World Cup and he was poor again in this game, but to suggest they're better without him is absurd really.

Although his demeanour and attitude isn't great at times and he deserves a lot of criticism

He's become bigger than the team and that's a problem. 11 players win games, tournaments not just 1.

The team needs to function as an 11. Need a manger with clear ideas.

When the team know one player is above everyone will inevitably cause problems in the squad.

Ronaldo has learnt to put the team first. At Real and for Portugal, that's a big reason his teams are winning so much recently. Look at that pen he gave to Benzema earlier this year.

Portugal to win again tonight.