I thik Argentina is favorite to win. I think they are carrying that winning aura and they played a great match vs England when it mattered the most. Still going to be a great match
It's hard to change Europes dominance. Even if Germany and Italy of today suck as much as Brazil or Uruguay, they are easily substituted by Spain/France/Portugal/Holland/Belgium. Of the teams that haven't won the world cup such as Portugal,Holland, Croacia, Belgium they are much closer to doing so than Colombia or Ecuador. They have all reached at least semifinals.
Makes it more sad for us because we have had the chance to step it up. Europe has the income to produce more than South America who seems to get poorer and poorer
looking at the lineups used by Argentina through 7 games. Long story short...something the FCF and Nestor should really think about for how to manage the lineup during the next Copa America and World Cup Qualifiers....can't be doing 11+3 is just setting you up for failure Subs * Group Stage: Maximized subs in each game who played between 8 and 45 minutes * R32: Used 5 subs who played between 16-57 minutes * R16: Used 3 subs primarily (17-24 minutes) and 2 subs came in at the very end (a couple minutes) * QF: Used 6 subs who played betwen 10-42 minutes * SF: Used 5 subs who played between 9-26 minutes * On the whole, Scaloni, not afraid to sub out defenders and did subs as quick as half time or 55-60th minute (before hydration breaks) Starting Lineup * Game 1 & 2: Swapped out Gonzalo Montiel who has become a defensive sub in all 4 knockout games; Core midfield: Depaul, MacAllister, Enzo; Core Attackers: Messi-Lautaro-Almada * Game 3: pretty much everyone else played * R32: Same starting lineup as Games 1&2 * R16: Tagliafico became starting LB; Parades (DM) replaced Almada (attacker); Julian replaced Lautaro * QF: same starting lineup as R16 * SF: Simeone started instead of DePaul; same starting 10 as prior 3 elimination games * On the whole, Scaloni, did not run anyone into the ground Total Minutes played * Dibu only player to play all 100% minutes; MacAllister, Messi, Lisandro/Enzo Martinez have played over 80% of total minutes * 8 players have played in over 2/3 of total minutes * 13 players have played between 10% and 62% of total minutes
to add to above... Spain has played 3 players 100% of all minutes (Simon, Cubarsi, Cucurella) with Laporte and Rodri pretty much right there except for a couple of minutes of rest during 1st game and 4th game. 10 players have played more than 2/3 of total minutes while 8 players have seen between 10% and 65% of total minutes. * despite dropping points in game 1 to CV, Spain still rotated lineup throughout group stage while * Pedri - while still playing in all games was a starter in first 5 games; sub in QF & SF * Ruiz - starter in first game and last two games * Spain has played 7 x 90 minutes total vs. Argentina who has played 2x120 minutes and 5x90 In both cases, Argentina/Spain starting 11 in game 1 of the world cup different than the recent starting 11...
Uno llegó al Mundial con 4 partidos en 6 meses y físicamente al 50%. El otro con 18 encuentros encima y con un físico excepcional.Uno se la pasó en vacaciones de final de año viajando y tomándose fotos por el mundo. El otro se fue para Argentina y entrenó todos los días de… pic.twitter.com/kXy5i81QJX— Gol Garra (@ElGolGarracol) July 16, 2026
Yup if you want to win a summer tournament in crazy hot conditions you must rotate and manage player workload. Obviously we aren't as deep as these 2 teams and theres a reason they are in the final, but that is also on Lorenzo not getting more guys comfortable and playing and also he didn't use viable options when he had the chance.
I think Spain is the favorite, they've had less minutes and a younger squad and they are peaking at the perfect time looking like they had more gears to hit up until the France game where they were superb. Yamal is also gaining in fitness and health each game and he hasn't had a true great game and he tends to show up in the games. Add to the fact they will force Argentina to defend more than anyone else, and Spain also have more ability to stretch the field and pick their spots to attack more than any other team Argentina has played. Essentially Argentina has more weaknesses than Spain, although I think it still fairly close Spain wins most of the team and are the better overall team.
Yeah but the ideal amount of WC-class players will always be around 15 and well spread over the positions. England and France produce too many players and France have many of their top players in attack. It's not easy to have to bench 2-3 of the country's best players but sometimes it's necessary to help the dynamics of the team. Producing 20-30 WC-class players is really not an advantage, it just makes people impatient,.confused and will always make you wonder if you've picked the right ones as soon as things start to go bad.
I'd say it is good to have 11 great players, 5 or 6 great off the bench players and 5 or 6 good players that don't mind riding the bench most of the time. IMHO, it was not that France did not have an unbalanced team, is that Deschamps did not have a plan B. England has a deep bench as well, but instead of trying to score another goal and put more pressure on Argentina, they decided to defend their one goal advantage and give up the ball; that was silly from Tugel. Spain seems to have not only a bunch of great players, almost 2 per position, but their coach seems to understand better what is needed from the team in each game, and they bring the other team to their terms. Argentina adheres more to the 11+5 logic, but they seem to be relentless at the end of the games, and that they actually thrive when they're down and the time is running out.
we weren’t as deep but we had a huge dropoff in minutes played after our core 10. jokes aside about Campaz - but he could have been inserted more and I felt the rage against him is just uncalled for. I still like Carbonero and Gomez ahead of him but Campaz and Gomez both could have seen more playing time in the group stage. Same with cucho. Nestor while he showed some b@lls starting Deiver and Arias against Portugal, didn’t show b@lls in rotating around other players to get their WC feet wet. I guess this all goes back full circle to the Sierra/CAV rumors about players having to overcompensate for James which is why Lerma and Puerta played as much as they did. all we can hope for now is to see what lessons we have learned by the time CA28 rolls around. For the next year’s worth of friendlies, I would rather the team focus on improving tactics rather than trying to win friendlies. Last cycle, it bothered me that people were overhyping friendly wins. I’m ok with friendly losses if we are trying something different/new tactically
The new cycle we'll need A new GK A new LB Then decide what formation we are doing 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 4-1-2-1-2, 4-3-1-2. As this will decide if we are using a CAM. If we are using a CAM We'll need him soon. At the same time Decide who will be our number 9 And who can serve as a backup to Lucho due to (aging, injuries, cards) he'll be 33 by next World Cup.
That is the only match they allowed a goal in. It is going to be difficult for Argentina to come back if they are down.
Agreed and to your point, Spain has a very disciplined and controlled systematic way of playing. Outside of a red card, I don’t see Spain scrambling or changing tactics to preserve a lead. Even if Spain is down 0-1, you will not likely see things like wing play, hero ball, or long ball. Spain will likely stay true to their system.
If we use a CAM it has to be Arias for now, no one else seems worth it to force that position when we have a bunch of good 8's and wide players. If someone comes along and make it worth it other than him we should consider it, but JFQ or James aren't walking through the door so I think we should commit to a balanced offensive approach.
Different players. We need them both! If Lorenzo opens his mind to Arias we can actually be pretty solid for next CA, IMHO. Btw to points above on Scaloni - his motivation skills are wild. Starting Simeone Jr. Vs. England after his dad and Beckham got into it in 98. Genius. That kid would have run through a wall yesterday.
He doesn't play there for club or for us, he's great playing deeper so keep him there. Long term his future is an 8 or even a 6 deep lying playmaker imo. If we play a CAM I want someone dynamic who has good attacking and runs behind if needed and ideally can operate wide too Puerta is a prototype 8 so let him play there.
I understand but I think Puerta is versatile enough to play more forward if needed but that's just me.
#TiempoDeMundial | ⚽️🤩 ¡Dos leyendas en el arco! Así fue el particular encuentro entre Vozinha y René Higuita, dos leyendas de la historia del Mundial.💬 "Iba a hacer el escorpión, pero es muy difícil": le dijo Vozinha a Higuita entre risas.Video: @higuitarene pic.twitter.com/p9MFQbUub4— EL TIEMPO (@ELTIEMPO) July 16, 2026