An underperforming Argentina and the poor form of their talisman Lionel Messi have been the biggest surprises of the World Cup so far. While it is shocking to see the team led by arguably the greatest player of all time falling apart in such a manner, it was just the inevitable result of how they approached the tournament from the beginning.
If you were following how Argentina went about their World Cup preparations, you would’ve foreseen their fate. From squad selection to tactics, there were a series of blunders on and off the pitch which proved to cost them dearly.
Let us see the five big reasons behind the disappointing performance from La Albiceleste.
Inadequate Preparation
Argentina’s preparation for the world cup could not have been worse as they had to cancel their final friendly match with Israel, just a few days before the start of the world cup. But even if they had played that friendly, it would not have made much difference.
While their rivals at world cup were looking to play with teams with similar playing styles as their group stage opponents, one could not understand what Argentina meant to do with their friendlies. They played Haiti, ranked 104 in the Fifa rankings, in their last friendly before the world cup.
Their supposed match up Israel is no better with a ranking of 93. Argentina had nothing to gain from opponents who could never pose any challenge to them. They did not figure out their best eleven from these matches. Most importantly, it was impossible to analyze their tactics by playing against weaker opponents.
Argentina could have played against African and European opponents to better prepare to meet Croatia and Nigeria in their group stage fixtures. Instead, they went for a central American team who could not put up a fight to them. Argentina should change this approach in their preparations, they have to show a little more professionalism if they are to progress any further in the future.
Wrong Team Selection
Argentina has not fielded the same eleven for two consecutive matches for the last twelve months, this fact is enough to show how confused they were about their squad. But it seemed that they were still not able to find their best eleven even after so much swapping among their players.
Icardi’s absence from their squad has been widely criticised. A quick glance at the Inter Milan striker’s stats will show why it was wrong to drop him. The prolific striker has netted 29 times from his 34 outings in the Serie A this season. Even Paulo Dybala of Juventus was not sure of his place in the squad until the last moment of the team announcement. One could argue his inclusion was supposed to silence the critics than with any intention to field him in a match.
Even the selection of starting eleven was full of follies. Ever Banega who had a pretty decent season in Spain with Sevilla was sidelined much to the dismay of their fans. Paris Saint Germain star Lo Celso also did not get a single minute on the pitch. This proved costly in their 3-0 defeat against Croatia where they were clearly outplayed in the midfield.
Problems were apparent in the defense too. Roma defender Federico Fazio, who is the best central defender of their squad could only watch from the bench how their backline fell apart.
Wrong Tactics
Even the accusation of wrong tactics could be an appreciation for Sampaoli. It is obvious that sometimes your plans will go wrong. But Argentina looked more like a team which did not have any plans. They seemed to be wandering the pitch without any idea on breaking down the defenses of their opponents. If Argentina did have any tactics at all, it was just to pass the ball to Messi.
The decision to go with a 3 men defense system against a star-studded Croatia was nothing less than a blunder. With attacking minded wingers in Acuna and Salvio, they effectively played 5 attacking players and left the midfield empty. Leaving out the midfield could be the worst thing you can do against a midfield featuring Modric and Rakitic.
Their backline was never up to the short pass styled play which they proved by collapsing under pressure. Also, they did not seem to have a playmaker. All they did was sending more men up to the field who did not receive many services of the ball. Argentina needs to seriously address this issue before their next game.
Lack of a Leader
More than the missed penalty and the unimpressive outing, Messi should be blamed for his lack of character as the captain of Argentina. There is no doubt about the quality of this player, he is surely one of the greatest the sport has ever seen, but by no means, he could be counted in the list of captains who could lead their team out of trouble.