2026 FIFA World Cup: Quarterfinals - Argentina vs. Switzerland

Everybody knows Fifa ranking is a joke. Brazil finished 5th in qualifier, exited early in WC & CA but always stay in top 6 forever. Portugal currently ranked 5th and only won 2 games out of 5 in this tournament. And then you have Mexico & USA constantly ranked inside the top 20. Our u20 team would spanked Mexico 3-0.

 

Well if you prefer elo Switzerland are 10th. Either way they're a step above what we've been playing so far, at least defensively.

 

I love how we are pretty much the underdog now. No one is even giving us a chance vs swiss and they think we will be cooked even vs norway lol

Scaloni to start same lineup. @soul24rage i dont know how could you not say he was forced to lineup changes in the past. This is too much. For me Molina and DePaul should be benched and either of Mac/Enzo should be rotated.

 

ELO is fairly accurate much more than FIFA

 

Can you quote me of where I said that? I'm a little lost of what you are referring to

 

See Post #85. For me, Scaloni was always this pragmatic but was forced to make changes in the past. This now is more rigid than he has ever been although I think he will start Nico G

 

Saw the post. I don't think I ever said that he was forced to make changes or play a player, so I'm lost of what you're referring to.

 

Like who? Pretty much the oddsmakers and many predictions I’ve seen gave us the nod.

 

No, I am saying that he was forced.
Read your post, your position was to rationalize that Scaloni's plan all along was to integrate the players either way. I am saying no, without injuries or specific circumstances the likes of Dibu, Enzo, Julian and maybe Romero dont get their chance until much later.

Just like I know Scaloni wants to integrate Paz and Barco but never in this world cup unless somehow we get injuries now

 

Accurate game preview

 

Are we seriously going with the same lineup again? Aren't these guys tired?

You know if we face France, it will be with Molina, RDP, Enzo, Mac, all the same.

We really had a a chance to be a dynamic team with Barco, Paz, Giu, rotating in and changing shapes, keeping opponents guessing but nope....

Switzerland will know exactly how to counter us.

I really hope this is just posturing and there will be some changes to the real starting 11.

 

Got it, now I understand where you are coming from. I still want to break down your argument

- Dibu - Armani getting Covid helped make the process easier, but Dibu got injured vs Colombia in the June 2021 WCQ. This could have given Scaloni the perfect excuse to start Armani in the Copa America, but he still kept on playing Dibu

- Julian - I mentioned my piece that he got a lot more minutes than Joaquin leading up to the WC.

- Romero - I also mentioned my piece for that

- Enzo - Lo Celso getting injured helped MacAllister more than it did with Enzo. Paredes coming in worse form in the WC is the main trigger that made Enzo a main player for the team - You already know this but Paredes was a key player to the team for both the 2021 Copa America and 2022 Finalissima and Scaloni could have easily kept on playing Paredes in the WC22.

Sure, there are circumstances that helped Scaloni to make the right decision, but he still made and kept the right decision all the way to the end.

 

I do hope Scaloni springs a tactical surprise today. Change of players or formation.

The players need to know they need to keep stepping it up. They have the experience of having done do before. It's just that can the bodies take it.

 

The only changes we may see will be Nico G in for Mac and Montiel for Molina.

Julian starts over Lautaro and so forth. Business as usual.

It does seem we play better against European sides like Austria and etc. We struggle against African teams with a lot of pace.

I’m cautiously optimistic for today. Let’s see what happens.

 

We won the African Cup of Nations, now it's time to win the Euros

 

We kinda are the life of the party...

El alcalde de Kansas cayó al banderazo argentino y en menos de cinco minutos lo argentinizaron jajajaj

Tipazo, mucho mejor que ese alcalde cabeza de toalla de New york. pic.twitter.com/2LU6DXmF31

— Mati Smith🇦🇷 (@Trumperizar) July 11, 2026

 

I am going to stick to my 3-0 prediction. At least one side of that has been technically correct for all aside from Austria game

 

Not only for our players, but we have to change so the Swiss cannot attack our weaknesses shown in the last couple games.

 

Catch you all later. Off to watch the Pumas take on Wales.

 

I wish that was the case. I think the biggest difference now is that we look more tired and we have established players who are comfortable rather than hungry Enzo, Mac, Julian etc in 22.

 

I think this narrative of being tired is not right. I think that’s what the media is pushing. If we are as tired as perceived, Scaloni would have made changes.

I think the issue is the players are not as fit. They came into the tournament with lingering injuries. The group stages were like once every 6 days or so, I don’t think all of a sudden we are tired.

We need to suffocate teams earlier than later. It’s stupid to play as slow as we do. Kill the game off early and then have the younger players come to continue to put on pressure.

 

Looks like Julian is confirmed to start. Not sure about the rest of the lineup

 

Los Pumas 28-14 Gales HT

Should have a bigger lead. Look a little rusty. Long seasons and some players still absent. Rapetti though stepping up from the u20 with an impressive debut on first start.

Not that a big a crowd in San Juan Bicentenario. Guess people are getting geared up for the QF.

 

35-21 FT Should have been more comfortable.

Slowish start in Miami.