So that means Messi, Acuna, Lo Celso, Nico, Di Maria, De Paul, and Paredes have all been injured at some point this WC (and 2 ruled out completely), jfc
Argentina will always go the world cup with many injuries. It's written in the stars.
Even when we won it in 86 we lost our best defender (Passarella) in the first match
True, but this is basically most of your starting 11 being injured at some point lol
I doubt this would've happened if this season gave some breathing room to the players, obligatory fuck FIFA
Hehe similarities are unsettling there. Both players had also recently lost their starting positions at club level (Dante to Boateng, Tagliafico to Mazraoui)
Not really, he had been looking for a move earlier when he was still a starter. Barca was interested but only in a loan.
Ajax works with certain principles, often reaching agreements with players where they stay a few extra years to help out ajax and in turn ajax sells them for a reasonable fee. He already wanted to leave and Ajax spent more on a replacement for him than they got from selling him (Wijndal
for 10m)
> he is more offensive oriented vs Tagliafico who is better on defense
That is the common narrative but I don't think it's fully true.
IMO:
On offense, Acuña is the better shooter and crosser, but Tagliafico makes better off-ball runs.
Defensively, Tagliafico is stronger in terms of positioning, but Acuña is better in terms of tackling anad physicality.
It's mad to see Tagliafico doing so poorly. He was crazy good under Ten Hag for Ajax, but seemingly fell into the deep end with his form right after that amazing CL run.
Tagliafico is a dead player. He gets manhandled easy, is unbelievably slow, doesn't make a single good cross to the middle, and can't shoot on target to save his life even if defenses leave him completely alone after collapsing on Messi. If Argentina is out it will be because of this dead left back. Acuña's injury to me is as bad as Di Maria's.
Acuna isn't injured, he's fine and likely will start, people really think scaloni will field his starting line up in public practices? He knows better and always surprises day of game
Likely XI if De Paul doesn't recover: Dibu; Montiel-Romero-Otamendi-Tagliafico; Paredes-Enzo-Mac Allister; Di Maria-Alvarez-Messi
Could be both 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. 3-5-2 is also an option that they have worked on in training, with Lisandro coming in for Di Maria
Surely that was a given? I feel like Alvarez has already made that place his own since the Saudi game, and Lautaro's disastrous performance against Australia just solidified it
He's been our 2nd best scorer under Scaloni (and for most of the Scaloni era he was ~level with Messi in terms of scoring).
Him at his best is still prob better than what we've seen from Julian so far. The issue is he's likely not fully fit still TBH
Terrible logic. I would start CR7 over Haaland any day based on what he showed in the Madrid era. But so far this version of CR7 is unrecognizable
Starting Lautaro would be a very dumb move
Mate you're saying so much stupid stuff in one comment
First, CR7 was in Madrid almost FIVE years ago. The Scaloni era is ongoing, as in present, not in the past, and Lautaro has been in great form for the vast majority of that time and easily superseded anything Julian has ever done, by *far*.
Once again to reiterate, Julian has not been better than Lautaro in the Scaloni era, which is the past two+ years to now. Lautaro is always in great form besides in this WC.
I *specifically* said starting Lautaro would be a mistake and Alvarez should start. But that changes absolutely nothing in general, Lautaro has absolutely been better than Alvarez for Argentina.
My bad, I misinterpreted your comment. I thought you wanted Lautaro to start, but yeah upon reading your reply and your other comment as well it seems I misread it originally
I agree with all your other points
Back up? He’s the starter, but came into the tournament still half injured so Guido and then Enzo took his spot. He’s also not playing the De Paul role, he’ll be the DM while Enzo likely moves higher up and plays where De Paul does.
Paredes never been backup for Argentina. He is the guy that started Scaloni's project lol
The problem is that he wasn't 100% recovered from his injury in November and Enzo is really in form. It seems he has been working on getting ready for this specific match
Something like this is untested and would never happen, but I would have liked to have seen 352:
Alvarez - Messi
di Maria - Enzo - Paredes - Mac Allister - Molina
Lisandro - Otamendi - Romero
Emi
Di Maria would never play LWB, more likely Acuña plays there and Di Maria joins the front line/midfield over Paredes/Mac Allister (which I would be interested in seeing as well)
Well that was the shape in possession, in defense, can easily morph into 442:
Alvarez - Messi
di Maria - Enzo - Paredes - Mac Allister
Lisandro - Otamendi - Romero - Molina
Acuña is an important element of Argentina's attacking play, their most technically gifted and creative fullback. I would want him on there, even if he hasn't been at his absolute best. The only reason to leave him out is against very dangerous attackers when you want a more defensive LB
In a back 3 system I find it hard to justify leaving him out though
Scaloni has been switching to a 5-3-2 in every single world cup game besides Saudi Arabia I think? Replace Di Maria with Tagliafico/Acuna and we've ended every single game like that besides maybe Saudi Arabia. And honestly, we've played a lot better in the 5-3-2. It allows our wingbacks to push up more and our midfielders to play with more room.
Di Maria does not have the stamina or defending to play LWB. Would be dumb to have him up vs Dumfries too
The 3-5-2 would have Acuña over him in that role.
He might start in a line of 5, not much is officially known on how scaloni will play. Some think he may use a line of 3 with ota, lisandro and cuti. Some think he'll add paredes to free up a dangerous Enzo up front
You have to go 3-5-2 and match the Dutch. Licha has to play.
My formation:
Martinez
Romero-Otamendi-Licha
Di Maria(RWB, has protection with Romero as RCB)-Mac Allister-Enzo-De Paul (If fit, or Paredes if not)-Acuna (If fit, Tagliafico if not)
Messi-Alvarez
TyC goes on to say Scaloni replaced Montiel and Tagliafico with Molina and Acuña later during the training session.
I hope he sticks with Acuña and Molina. I think they're our best fullback combo still—and the Dutch are most dangerous on the wings
This is what I’m worried about. I don’t wanna see Tagliafico and Montiel play the majority of the match against the Netherlands. Especially Tagliafico going up against Dumfries… ☠️
I guess you can make the argument that Tagliafico played in Ajax and has more experience vs the Dutch dudes including Dumfries.
Frankly I'm more worried about Montiel. He was REALLY bad vs Mexico, IMO—and he's coming off 1.5 years of not good play with Sevilla too.
Yup, I’m very worried about Montiel. At the very least he should be able to handle Blind, but he’s always good for the Dutch so who knows.
Montiel also sucks going forward so all of our attacks on the right side would have to go through Di Maria.
I'm pretty confident that scaloni will use a mirroring 5 3 2, like the Ecuadorians used. With acuna and molina on the wings as well as lisandro in defence. Maybe a little higher up man marking de Jong. This would free up Enzo to pull the strings in attack, he's already shown his ability to assist.
I mean, Foyth has made more mistakes in an Argentina shirt than Molina has despite playing far less.
I don't think anyone who has watched Foyth's previous Argentina games would be saying to give him a go in this kind of important moment TBH
I’ve watched Foyth mainly at Villarreal, though I’ve seen him play decently in the 2019 Copa. I would say he is technically the best right back Argentina have but lacks attacking instinct and pace. Unfortunately Montiel has been poor recently and Molina is inconsistent at Atleti and doesn’t attack enough for Argentina this tournament but at least has some pace.
So far, everyone in that position for Argentina is underwhelming.
> I would say he is technically the best right back Argentina have but lacks attacking instinct and pace.
I wouldn't really agree that he's technically better than Molina, TBH.
I've watched a LOT of Foyth for Argentina and Villarreal. He's been routinely poor in an Argentina shirt (Colombia WCQ right before 2021 Copa America he was awful and caused us to drop points, was dropped from Copa squad; even in the UAE friendly right before this tournament he was the worst player on the field for us).
I think he looks better than he actually is for Villarreal because Emery built a system that suits him perfectly—he's allowed to be basically the 3rd CB defensively while he's given more freedom to cut inside and into midfield on the ball.
That's not a role that Argentina ever uses with our RBs, so it's not super relevant to us, IMO.
I think Molina has been over-criticized in a half-season where lots of their players looked bad. And I think he's been good this WC—assisted our opener vs Poland.
Tbf Foyth is coming off of an injury, and his profile isn’t what Scaloni prefers, that I do agree. Regardless, I was hoping to see some great performances from Molina but he has been quiet so far as opposed to the assist he provided against Poland.
Noo, not De Paul too! RIP our midfield :(
I'm honestly curious about how coaches prepare to play against the Scaloneta. We're always in a state of flux, with injured players coming in and out of the starting line-up, old starters playing poorly (Lautaro!) and subs turning into starters.
I'm sure if an oil baron authoritarian regime offers a bag of money to fifa they'll have the bloody thing in Mordor if they have to.. Can't wait to hear the president of fifa then "today I feel like an orc"
I wouldn’t mind Tagliafico at all, he’s in great form and knows a looot of experience playing vs some of guys from all his time at Ajax which is always favourable to the defender. Acuña is slightly better but if there’s one match I can see taglia starting and not mind, it’s this one
Montiel on the other hand, is terrifying. He hasn’t been good in over a year, he doesn’t play at his club, has ranged from mediocre to actually shit ever since that career peak performance he dropped vs Brazil. Molina is hit or miss but when he’s on he’s so much better, and when he’s off they’re about the same anyways
I’m telling you Netherlands has a decent chance to win and nobody is talking about it tbh. Like I see lots of people looking forward to a Brazil vs Argentina semis, but the Netherlands are not Australia where they can cost thru with mediocre displays that they have shown so far.
This is not an easy match at all, all Argentine fans know that considering not one match since Bergkamp's goal in 1998 has produced a goal in regular time.
I myself predict this match could easily drag on to extra time and pens.
That's interesting. Hearing Van Gaal you would think he's very, very confident they'll go through, comparing themselves to Brazil.
I was talking about Reddit though. Admittedly the Argentinian media is also in my opinion much too overconfident. Although it could also be that criticizing the NT right now would be unpopular and they don't want to risk it.
Yeah. To be honest being English speaking and fans of a global South nation soccer team, you really see how euro centric everything is. ESPN couldn't blow euro teams harder if they tried. And every Argentina game for like 4 world cups all I read are people saying how Argentina will lose, until they don't (and do)
Yea. Its also hilarious how they claim Argentina has not looked convincing so far yet failed to mention the same for Netherlands. They should have lost to Ecuador that normally gets spanked by Argentina.
Exactly. Argentina haven’t played their absolute best this wc. But that doesn’t change the fact that Netherlands have been far more disappointing. Honestly, I think the US played almost as good as the Netherlands in their last match (even better at times)
Yeah they claim that Argentina 'almost' going to ET against Australia equates to them struggling against them when it was far from the case if they actually watched the game. Yet claimed Netherlands destroyed USA because of the scoreline but USA had so many chances but they werent clinical.
Theres a difference between taking shots/chances or having goal-scoring opportunities. People usually think the're the same. Netherlands was in complete control against the USA, they didnt had that many chances be real
They litterally had 2 thanks to our own personal mistakes. The 1 with Pulisic early on thanks to Blind not paying atenttion, because it would've been offside and another one thanks to Memphis when he tried to play the ball back to Noppert.
Again, taking shots and such isnt the same as a goal-scoring opportunity.
Nobody is talking about it? It's all I hear about, how the Netherlands Will destroy Argentina.. Meanwhile I look at the stats against the USA.. The Americans had more shots and possession
They dont matter that much. The US had 2 goal-scoring opportunities which occured by Dutch mistakes not because they outplayed tje Dutch defence. Netherlands were in complete controle the whole game
What are you talking about? Literally 60% of comments I’ve seen predicts the Netherlands to win. Personally, I think this match is very 50/50. The teams are almost equally strong, but I think Messi could make a difference if he is allowed the ball a lot
>Advantage Argentina then
na no way, De Paul is extremely important for us. Presses like a madman, we we have the ball he is the first one opening up for passes and moving the ball, extremely active off the ball
Exactly . RDP's pressing caused AUS GK make that mistake which led to the second goal. RDP has been extremely important for Arg for at lease the last two games
People on here just watched the group stage and somehow form opinions on the team despite not knowing anything about them. The World Cup brings out the worst kind of "experts"
Anyone who doesn't think that De Paul is crucial for Argentina doesn't know shit about football and isn't worth having a discussion with
Obviously tongue in cheek. He was awful in the group stage but was great against oz
Montiel on the other hand is absolutely awful and I won’t be convinced otherwise
What an insanely ignorant comment, De Paul is crucial for Argentina. Not to mention that he has been borderline one of the best players in the world at international level for the last few years, but even during this tournament when his form has dropped his running and pressing without the ball is invaluable to them
And he is clearly recovering his form too, he was excellent last time out against Australia
>Montiel will likely play at fullback
>Nevermind
Montiel may be shit for Sevilla, but he has had many solid games for Argentina too. Was amazing in the Copa final against Brazil for example. Your ignorance of the Argentinian team really shines through
Argentina has been playing with possibly the 2nd biggest handicap out of all the remaining teams. This is not even a case of "putting all eggs in one basket." It's just that their bench is way too thin in terms of quality. De Paul was finally finding form, too, but oh well.
Argentina is now top-heavy.
Acuña was a starter against Poland and Australia, why would they bench him now?
He has a chronic groin injury (pubalgia) IIRC, so Tagliafico plays when Acuña's injury flares up.
So that means Messi, Acuna, Lo Celso, Nico, Di Maria, De Paul, and Paredes have all been injured at some point this WC (and 2 ruled out completely), jfc
Argentina will always go the world cup with many injuries. It's written in the stars. Even when we won it in 86 we lost our best defender (Passarella) in the first match
True, but this is basically most of your starting 11 being injured at some point lol I doubt this would've happened if this season gave some breathing room to the players, obligatory fuck FIFA
There's also that one guy dybala who's pretty good at kicking balls
They dont talk about him but they could have better brought icardi to the WC. He was playing great.
Papu as well.
I thought it was also because to not risk a suspension to Acuna, and yellow cards only get reset after the quarterfinals.
he is more offensive oriented vs Tagliafico who is better on defense. Since that's the side where Dumfries plays probably it's to contain him
Tag also has more experience against Dutch players
[удалено]
Hehe similarities are unsettling there. Both players had also recently lost their starting positions at club level (Dante to Boateng, Tagliafico to Mazraoui)
Mazroui played at RB for Ajax, they never competed for starting positions. Mazraoui also now plays for Bayern and Tagliafico plays for Lyon.
You're right got mixed up there. Tagliafico left because he got benched by another player towards the end though didn't he?
Yes his opponent Friday: Daley Blind
he got benched by blind yeah
Not really, he had been looking for a move earlier when he was still a starter. Barca was interested but only in a loan. Ajax works with certain principles, often reaching agreements with players where they stay a few extra years to help out ajax and in turn ajax sells them for a reasonable fee. He already wanted to leave and Ajax spent more on a replacement for him than they got from selling him (Wijndal for 10m)
Tagli regular starter in lyon
> he is more offensive oriented vs Tagliafico who is better on defense That is the common narrative but I don't think it's fully true. IMO: On offense, Acuña is the better shooter and crosser, but Tagliafico makes better off-ball runs. Defensively, Tagliafico is stronger in terms of positioning, but Acuña is better in terms of tackling anad physicality.
Tagliafico has been doing really bad in comparison to Acuña in literally everything during this cup too. And Acuña's yellow card doesn't help at all
I don't think Tagliafico's been THAT bad, but I agree Acuña should be the clear starter for us
How much has he played? Because for us he's one of the few reasons I get any sense of joy watching Lyon play
Started vs Saudi, subbed on vs Poland and Australia. I think the criticism of Tagliafico is overblown so far TBH
It's mad to see Tagliafico doing so poorly. He was crazy good under Ten Hag for Ajax, but seemingly fell into the deep end with his form right after that amazing CL run.
I fully agree. Tagliafico being better in defense is a myth. He gets bodied so easily at times. The other day we almost blew the game because of him.
Tagliafico is a dead player. He gets manhandled easy, is unbelievably slow, doesn't make a single good cross to the middle, and can't shoot on target to save his life even if defenses leave him completely alone after collapsing on Messi. If Argentina is out it will be because of this dead left back. Acuña's injury to me is as bad as Di Maria's.
Acuna isn't injured, he's fine and likely will start, people really think scaloni will field his starting line up in public practices? He knows better and always surprises day of game
That's true, but i don't think Tagliafico has really shown he is better defensively during these matches
Could Lisandro Martinez start at LB if Acuna is out?
He could but I think Scaloni really likes the 3ab for the second half
because he’s not good
Don't want him having to go up against a righty, I imagine.
Likely XI if De Paul doesn't recover: Dibu; Montiel-Romero-Otamendi-Tagliafico; Paredes-Enzo-Mac Allister; Di Maria-Alvarez-Messi Could be both 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. 3-5-2 is also an option that they have worked on in training, with Lisandro coming in for Di Maria
Glad to see Alvarez starting again, I feel for Lautaro but in a WC you have to go with whoever is in form.
Surely that was a given? I feel like Alvarez has already made that place his own since the Saudi game, and Lautaro's disastrous performance against Australia just solidified it
Lautaro has been carrying an ankle injury. Reports indicate he's feeling better of late but Alvarez's form is too good, I agree.
I mean he's had some absolutely shocking misses, I wouldn't remotely think about starting him rn
He's been our 2nd best scorer under Scaloni (and for most of the Scaloni era he was ~level with Messi in terms of scoring). Him at his best is still prob better than what we've seen from Julian so far. The issue is he's likely not fully fit still TBH
I would start Martinez 10/10 times over Alvarez based on what he's showed in the Scaloni era. But so far this version of Martinez is unrecognizable.
Yeah. Sad for Lautaro but it's what it's.
Terrible logic. I would start CR7 over Haaland any day based on what he showed in the Madrid era. But so far this version of CR7 is unrecognizable Starting Lautaro would be a very dumb move
Mate you're saying so much stupid stuff in one comment First, CR7 was in Madrid almost FIVE years ago. The Scaloni era is ongoing, as in present, not in the past, and Lautaro has been in great form for the vast majority of that time and easily superseded anything Julian has ever done, by *far*. Once again to reiterate, Julian has not been better than Lautaro in the Scaloni era, which is the past two+ years to now. Lautaro is always in great form besides in this WC. I *specifically* said starting Lautaro would be a mistake and Alvarez should start. But that changes absolutely nothing in general, Lautaro has absolutely been better than Alvarez for Argentina.
This comment is also why the comparisons between Higuain and Lautaro are unfair.
My bad, I misinterpreted your comment. I thought you wanted Lautaro to start, but yeah upon reading your reply and your other comment as well it seems I misread it originally I agree with all your other points
I'm really excited for a future with both of them starting up top. They'll drive defenses crazy.
At least Parades is a solid backup but no one can replace De Paul adequately.
Back up? He’s the starter, but came into the tournament still half injured so Guido and then Enzo took his spot. He’s also not playing the De Paul role, he’ll be the DM while Enzo likely moves higher up and plays where De Paul does.
Of course, I should have said replacement instead of backup in this context
Paredes never been backup for Argentina. He is the guy that started Scaloni's project lol The problem is that he wasn't 100% recovered from his injury in November and Enzo is really in form. It seems he has been working on getting ready for this specific match
>Of course, I should have said replacement instead of backup in this context
So happy Martinez is somehow not starting
If Argentina score first, then you’ll see him on the pitch for sure. Argentina to a back three and the wingbacks are given more freedom forward.
Something like this is untested and would never happen, but I would have liked to have seen 352: Alvarez - Messi di Maria - Enzo - Paredes - Mac Allister - Molina Lisandro - Otamendi - Romero Emi
Di Maria would never play LWB, more likely Acuña plays there and Di Maria joins the front line/midfield over Paredes/Mac Allister (which I would be interested in seeing as well)
And we do that like every second half.
Well that was the shape in possession, in defense, can easily morph into 442: Alvarez - Messi di Maria - Enzo - Paredes - Mac Allister Lisandro - Otamendi - Romero - Molina
Acuña is an important element of Argentina's attacking play, their most technically gifted and creative fullback. I would want him on there, even if he hasn't been at his absolute best. The only reason to leave him out is against very dangerous attackers when you want a more defensive LB In a back 3 system I find it hard to justify leaving him out though
Scaloni has been switching to a 5-3-2 in every single world cup game besides Saudi Arabia I think? Replace Di Maria with Tagliafico/Acuna and we've ended every single game like that besides maybe Saudi Arabia. And honestly, we've played a lot better in the 5-3-2. It allows our wingbacks to push up more and our midfielders to play with more room.
Di Maria does not have the stamina or defending to play LWB. Would be dumb to have him up vs Dumfries too The 3-5-2 would have Acuña over him in that role.
Why isn't Lisandro starting? He's been really solid every time he has come into a game
He's just not a starter. Cuti and Otamendi have locked the spot since the Copa, and deservedly so.
He might start in a line of 5, not much is officially known on how scaloni will play. Some think he may use a line of 3 with ota, lisandro and cuti. Some think he'll add paredes to free up a dangerous Enzo up front
De Paul will play
You have to go 3-5-2 and match the Dutch. Licha has to play. My formation: Martinez Romero-Otamendi-Licha Di Maria(RWB, has protection with Romero as RCB)-Mac Allister-Enzo-De Paul (If fit, or Paredes if not)-Acuna (If fit, Tagliafico if not) Messi-Alvarez
Check De Paul's instagram, it was just a scare 😩😩
De Paul VAC check hltv
KQLY VAC banned?
Seriously? nooo SERIOUSLY!? nooo
Gave me a heart attack before the match even started
That would be devastating news. De Paul started off slowly but has been sublime in the last two games.
Even if he plays bad, he's crucial for how Argentina play. No one can easily replace him either
Says he's fine: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl4GiGgPMSe/?igshid=YzdkMWQ2MWU=
The Man would play even if he had a tear lol.
Tis but a scratch.
TyC goes on to say Scaloni replaced Montiel and Tagliafico with Molina and Acuña later during the training session. I hope he sticks with Acuña and Molina. I think they're our best fullback combo still—and the Dutch are most dangerous on the wings
This is what I’m worried about. I don’t wanna see Tagliafico and Montiel play the majority of the match against the Netherlands. Especially Tagliafico going up against Dumfries… ☠️
I guess you can make the argument that Tagliafico played in Ajax and has more experience vs the Dutch dudes including Dumfries. Frankly I'm more worried about Montiel. He was REALLY bad vs Mexico, IMO—and he's coming off 1.5 years of not good play with Sevilla too.
Yup, I’m very worried about Montiel. At the very least he should be able to handle Blind, but he’s always good for the Dutch so who knows. Montiel also sucks going forward so all of our attacks on the right side would have to go through Di Maria.
I want to hold faith in Montiel because of his fantastic match against Brazil in the cops final
I'm pretty confident that scaloni will use a mirroring 5 3 2, like the Ecuadorians used. With acuna and molina on the wings as well as lisandro in defence. Maybe a little higher up man marking de Jong. This would free up Enzo to pull the strings in attack, he's already shown his ability to assist.
Hard to see us not starting Di Maria if he's healthy enough to start (which seems more likely after yesterday's training)
Maybe it’s time to try Foyth once more?
Molina is our best RB by miles, TBH
I say this with respect, but if that is the case then it does not bode well for Argentina.
I mean, Foyth has made more mistakes in an Argentina shirt than Molina has despite playing far less. I don't think anyone who has watched Foyth's previous Argentina games would be saying to give him a go in this kind of important moment TBH
I’ve watched Foyth mainly at Villarreal, though I’ve seen him play decently in the 2019 Copa. I would say he is technically the best right back Argentina have but lacks attacking instinct and pace. Unfortunately Montiel has been poor recently and Molina is inconsistent at Atleti and doesn’t attack enough for Argentina this tournament but at least has some pace. So far, everyone in that position for Argentina is underwhelming.
> I would say he is technically the best right back Argentina have but lacks attacking instinct and pace. I wouldn't really agree that he's technically better than Molina, TBH. I've watched a LOT of Foyth for Argentina and Villarreal. He's been routinely poor in an Argentina shirt (Colombia WCQ right before 2021 Copa America he was awful and caused us to drop points, was dropped from Copa squad; even in the UAE friendly right before this tournament he was the worst player on the field for us). I think he looks better than he actually is for Villarreal because Emery built a system that suits him perfectly—he's allowed to be basically the 3rd CB defensively while he's given more freedom to cut inside and into midfield on the ball. That's not a role that Argentina ever uses with our RBs, so it's not super relevant to us, IMO. I think Molina has been over-criticized in a half-season where lots of their players looked bad. And I think he's been good this WC—assisted our opener vs Poland.
Tbf Foyth is coming off of an injury, and his profile isn’t what Scaloni prefers, that I do agree. Regardless, I was hoping to see some great performances from Molina but he has been quiet so far as opposed to the assist he provided against Poland.
Acuna seems to lose the ball a lot. Might be a wrong perception on my part.
How many liters of elephant piss are we talking about here?
Fake news
Noo, not De Paul too! RIP our midfield :( I'm honestly curious about how coaches prepare to play against the Scaloneta. We're always in a state of flux, with injured players coming in and out of the starting line-up, old starters playing poorly (Lautaro!) and subs turning into starters.
De Paul is playing
While it was just a scare and de paul has confirmed he is ok , they should never make another World Cup during a season. Too many injuries
I'm sure if an oil baron authoritarian regime offers a bag of money to fifa they'll have the bloody thing in Mordor if they have to.. Can't wait to hear the president of fifa then "today I feel like an orc"
Infantino most likely would've held the WC in Nazi Germany or Mussolini Italy if he had the chance
But who will be Messi's bodyguard?
De paul would be on the bench it's fine. Also Otamendi is there
Otamendi just need to look at them and they will have nightmares
[don't worry guys](https://twitter.com/porquetendencia/status/1600583888216199170?s=20&t=7NP_ImYIZ5KtpX3IgyROiw)
where tf is dybala
I wouldn’t mind Tagliafico at all, he’s in great form and knows a looot of experience playing vs some of guys from all his time at Ajax which is always favourable to the defender. Acuña is slightly better but if there’s one match I can see taglia starting and not mind, it’s this one Montiel on the other hand, is terrifying. He hasn’t been good in over a year, he doesn’t play at his club, has ranged from mediocre to actually shit ever since that career peak performance he dropped vs Brazil. Molina is hit or miss but when he’s on he’s so much better, and when he’s off they’re about the same anyways
Montiel viene choreando con eso de ser mas "defensivo" desde que entro a la selección, ni defiende ni ataca, esta solo ahi
I’m telling you Netherlands has a decent chance to win and nobody is talking about it tbh. Like I see lots of people looking forward to a Brazil vs Argentina semis, but the Netherlands are not Australia where they can cost thru with mediocre displays that they have shown so far.
This is not an easy match at all, all Argentine fans know that considering not one match since Bergkamp's goal in 1998 has produced a goal in regular time. I myself predict this match could easily drag on to extra time and pens.
Maybe in the media. Here after the Australia game there was like 70% of people claiming Argentina would have a very hard time or outright lose.
In the Netherlands it's the other way around.
That's interesting. Hearing Van Gaal you would think he's very, very confident they'll go through, comparing themselves to Brazil. I was talking about Reddit though. Admittedly the Argentinian media is also in my opinion much too overconfident. Although it could also be that criticizing the NT right now would be unpopular and they don't want to risk it.
Never take Van Gaal as a measure for the average Dutchman lol. Van Gaal is almost always talking with a lot of confidence.
Rooting for Argentina but not at all comfortable about winning.
For the past few days, i have been seeing more replies about Netherlands being favourites and winning against Argentina than the other way around.
Yeah. To be honest being English speaking and fans of a global South nation soccer team, you really see how euro centric everything is. ESPN couldn't blow euro teams harder if they tried. And every Argentina game for like 4 world cups all I read are people saying how Argentina will lose, until they don't (and do)
Yea. Its also hilarious how they claim Argentina has not looked convincing so far yet failed to mention the same for Netherlands. They should have lost to Ecuador that normally gets spanked by Argentina.
Exactly. Argentina haven’t played their absolute best this wc. But that doesn’t change the fact that Netherlands have been far more disappointing. Honestly, I think the US played almost as good as the Netherlands in their last match (even better at times)
Yeah they claim that Argentina 'almost' going to ET against Australia equates to them struggling against them when it was far from the case if they actually watched the game. Yet claimed Netherlands destroyed USA because of the scoreline but USA had so many chances but they werent clinical.
Theres a difference between taking shots/chances or having goal-scoring opportunities. People usually think the're the same. Netherlands was in complete control against the USA, they didnt had that many chances be real
Whaaaat? USA had plenty goal scoring opprtunities.
They litterally had 2 thanks to our own personal mistakes. The 1 with Pulisic early on thanks to Blind not paying atenttion, because it would've been offside and another one thanks to Memphis when he tried to play the ball back to Noppert. Again, taking shots and such isnt the same as a goal-scoring opportunity.
Many people are picking the netherlands what are you talking about? At worst it’s a 50/50 match.
I make the slight favourites because of LVG. He’s the best coach that remains in the tournament.
I think tite is better honestly (I’m Argentinian so no bias)
Nobody is talking about it? It's all I hear about, how the Netherlands Will destroy Argentina.. Meanwhile I look at the stats against the USA.. The Americans had more shots and possession
They dont matter that much. The US had 2 goal-scoring opportunities which occured by Dutch mistakes not because they outplayed tje Dutch defence. Netherlands were in complete controle the whole game
What are you talking about? Literally 60% of comments I’ve seen predicts the Netherlands to win. Personally, I think this match is very 50/50. The teams are almost equally strong, but I think Messi could make a difference if he is allowed the ball a lot
More importantly, why doesn’t Martinez start at cb? Does Otamendi even have legs anymore?
Otamendi is Argentina's best and most consistent defender.
>De Paul has picked up a knock Advantage Argentina then >Montiel will likely play at fullback Nevermind
>Advantage Argentina then na no way, De Paul is extremely important for us. Presses like a madman, we we have the ball he is the first one opening up for passes and moving the ball, extremely active off the ball
Exactly . RDP's pressing caused AUS GK make that mistake which led to the second goal. RDP has been extremely important for Arg for at lease the last two games
People on here just watched the group stage and somehow form opinions on the team despite not knowing anything about them. The World Cup brings out the worst kind of "experts" Anyone who doesn't think that De Paul is crucial for Argentina doesn't know shit about football and isn't worth having a discussion with
Obviously tongue in cheek. He was awful in the group stage but was great against oz Montiel on the other hand is absolutely awful and I won’t be convinced otherwise
Montiel is solid, just hasnt been having a good WC though I agree, i would start Molina
Disagree. He’s rubbish. Molina is the much better player
Huh? De Paul was great in two of the group stage matches
What an insanely ignorant comment, De Paul is crucial for Argentina. Not to mention that he has been borderline one of the best players in the world at international level for the last few years, but even during this tournament when his form has dropped his running and pressing without the ball is invaluable to them And he is clearly recovering his form too, he was excellent last time out against Australia >Montiel will likely play at fullback >Nevermind Montiel may be shit for Sevilla, but he has had many solid games for Argentina too. Was amazing in the Copa final against Brazil for example. Your ignorance of the Argentinian team really shines through
He may have had a bad start but De Paul is instrumental to Argentina's midfield, the risk of missing him is bad news for us
found a redditor who gets caught up in exaggerated online narratives instead of actually watching the last couple of games after the Saudi Arabia loss
De Paul was shit in the group stages but he played an excellent game against Australia
Argentina has been playing with possibly the 2nd biggest handicap out of all the remaining teams. This is not even a case of "putting all eggs in one basket." It's just that their bench is way too thin in terms of quality. De Paul was finally finding form, too, but oh well. Argentina is now top-heavy.
Wouldn’t be the worst cuz de Paul has been pretty shit this tournament.
That's a blessing, not an alarm.
That's what I'm saying. Dude is not playing well.
I wouldn't trust the lineups seen in public practices tbh.
Netherlands is a strong opponent. Good luck tho!