Argentina
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Can Argentina keep their Word Cup dream alive?

Ahmed Hasan·
International
·1 Comment·

Argentina desperately need a win in their last group match against Nigeria to Keep their World Cup Dream alive…

Argentina remain winless in their opening two games of their World Cup campaign for the first time in their entire World Cup history. Jorge Sampaoli’s side could only manage a point against Iceland. Sergio Aguero gave La Albiceleste the lead with a fantastic strike, but the Nordic side struck back after just four minutes as Finnbogason’s goal levelled the match. Just at the half-hour, Messi was brought down in the Icelandic box. Argentinian hopes were resting on Messi again, but the five time Ballon d’Or failed to deliver this time. Iceland goalkeeper Halldorsson, a part-time film director, denied Messi from giving Argentina the lead as the match ended 1-1, with both teams sharing a point and Argentina having it all to do in the next game.

DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCE VS CROATIA

Argentina promised so much before their match against Croatia, who had comprehensively beaten Nigeria 2-0 in their opening game. This match was to decide whether it will be Argentina or Croatia topping the group, But as it turned out, Argentina’s World Cup dream is in tatters. Croatia ran riot 3-0 over La Albiceleste who were too dependent on their star man, Lionel Messi. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic stole the show as they dominated the midfield against an Argentinian side who seemed to be playing with five defenders and five forwards, and apparently had no midfield to support the attack.

A horrendous error from goalkeeper Willy Caballero in the second half gave Croatia the lead as Ante Rebic capitalized on the gift and scored extravagantly. Luka Modric scored a beautiful goal from 30 yards out and doubled Croatia’s advantage. Argentina struggled to get the ball to Messi and none of the other players stepped up to take their team out of trouble. A 90 minute goal from Rakitic was the final nail in the coffin as Sampaoli’s side looked on in agony.

MESSI FAILED TO MAKE A MARK

Lionel Messi failed to carry his team against a rock-solid Croatian defence, who made marking Messi their prime target. They succeeded in cutting of all the supply to Argentina’s man main, which ultimately led to them having just three shots on target throughout the Ninety. Messi for most parts of the match looked disinterested and a broken man. Perhaps the performance of his fellows and the manager as well let him down a lot. Although Messi failed to perform at the biggest stage, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner could do very little seeing the lack of quality from the other Argentinians all over the pitch. Even the man-of-the-match and Croatian captain defended Messi’s performance in the following words:

SAMPAOLI’S BAD DECISIONS

Though most of the blame will definitely fall on goalkeeper Willy Caballero and the rest of the players, manager Jorge Sampaoli is an equal contributor in Argentina’s downfall. The decision to bench many important players like Di Maria and Dybala proved pivotal as Argentina lacked lustre in the final third. The decision to take off game changer Sergio Aguero for Higuain was another controversial decision. Many preferred to play both Higuain and Aguero together in an attempt to grind something out of the game. Sampaoli has not had a good time with Argentina before the World Cup as well, as Messi carried his team to the competition, scoring a hat-trick in their last qualification match against Ecuador. A 6-1 thumping at the hands of Spain in the absence of Messi showed how Sampaoli had no plan or tactics to counter the big teams.

The Argentinian FA and team seems to be in a bit of a turmoil with stars players now refusing to take orders from Sampaoli. The coach has been criticized over his team selection and no doubt his team has turned against him. Rumours have been spreading in Argentina to sack him just before their do-or-die game with Nigeria – but it is unlikely he will be sacked before the game.

HOW THEY CAN STILL QUALIFY

After Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Iceland, Argentina’s destiny mostly rests in their own hands. Croatia are top of the group with 6 points, whereas Nigeria, with three points, lead Iceland and Argentina who both share a point. La Albiceleste’s worse goal difference sees them bottom of the table. Argentina need to win against Nigeria at all costs in order to keep their dreams alive. Anything less than a win would see them heading back home. A win would leave them with a total of four points, one ahead of Nigeria.

They also need a little bit of luck from the other game in Group D, Croatia against Iceland. Croatia are already through and tipped to top the group, which means they might rest some of their players for the latter stages. A Croatian victory or draw would see Argentina decide their destiny. However, if Iceland managed to upset Croatia and Argentina also win against Nigeria, goal difference would come into play. Argentina would then need to beat Nigeria with more than two goals as compared to Iceland’s victory against Croatia in order to have a higher goal difference then Iceland. Qualification for La Albiceleste now depends both on their performance and their luck.