Argentine NT: News, Stats & Players [R]

And WHO LEE ANN scores. The only worth anything for Atletico.

Let's see if VAR waves it off. I think they'll call it off.

Damn it.

 

And then there's this crazy club world cup tournament immediately afterwards.

 

Some players just dont give a F about this tourney. Nobody care that much when Messi won this tourney back then. Everyone treated it like its a super cup. No great player ever care being called CWC winners.

 

The tournament probably will defunct within soon or later. It has zero prestige. Then again, seeing Messi for $6 would still be a steal.

 

Every tournament has zero prestige in the beginning. I'd rather not let the Euro snobs have their way and let their clubs continue to duck and hide from the rest of the world. I think the format will get tweaked but as long as enough money is on the line it'll keep going.

 

Its basically nations league of club football.

It would end up like copa del la liga instead of WC.

Then again, I hope Argentine club would win.

 

How good is he? Do you know?

 

I'll be honest, I've enjoyed it so far. Perhaps it is a novelty value, after all who would have ever thought we would see Bayern Munich play Auckland, but it's been fun so far and the Atletica v PSG was a proper match. English football punndits think everyone outside of the EPL is a waste of time, I'd ignore them.

 

Last time I hear that Roma wanted him, but I didn't watch any game recently outside yesterday's game, he was not good, but to be fair with him, he was playing as a stopper and not a full back

 

So, it is rumored that Paz will stay at Como for another year. Reports suggest that the purchase of Mastantuono has somewhat crowded the midfield, and both Paz and Madrid believe that another year away from the club will benefit all parties. Cesc will also be at Como for another year, so this is a positive step for Nico.

 

It can only be good if there is some parity between leagues around the globe. If all good players keep going to European clubs it will be a joke. Fifa is trying to make it the premier club tournament but it will depend on parity. Saudi Arabia can keep strengthening its league, MLS can remove the salary cap, might be potential in China. South American clubs will continue to sink.

 

If Licha is healthy, I believe the starting duo could be Cuti and Lisandro. This is what we got for the Copa America. The backups will be Otamendi and Balerdi. I will speculate that Kevin will be right under that.

 

Otamendi's has 8 goals this season for Benfica and 3 goals in WC qualifier. He's definetely still there due to his aerial threat, not because his defensive form.

Licha definetely a starter if he's fit as we saw in CA, but him being injury prone means we could be in trouble at WC if Ota play full minutes.

 

But when you watch him play on the NT, are you seeing him at fault on many occasions and committing errors? As far as I can see, his positioning and intelligence have been top-notch. He brings intimidation, but doesn't often cross over into recklessness. No, he will not win any foot races and should never be left alone in a one-on-one duel, but he's probably the team's best aerial threat. If Licha is healthy, great, and I pray Balerdi will become undeniable, but I generally don't get the rush to drive Otamendi out (not saying that you are doing that right now).

 

Varela playing for Porto. Wasn't he supposed to be a prospect for the NT? Not that we are lacking in mid.

 

He was yeah. Not sure why he fell off the radar

 

Messi looking pretty good in this match but looks like he got slightly injured on that run. It's those sprints on the counter that mess him up.

 

Messi still being Messi, football will never be the same when he does eventually call it a day.

 

Javier Mascherano: "Leo Messi played whilst injured, with the pain he had in his quadriceps and how he kept running is crazy. His presence was not guaranteed before the game" @DAZNFutbol pic.twitter.com/HFGtHGweh5

— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) June 19, 2025

Javier Mascherano: "Leo Messi played whilst injured, with the pain he had in his quadriceps and how he kept running is crazy. His presence was not guaranteed before the game"

 

I was at the game today with my 3 kids in Atlanta.

It still amazes to this day, but the way Messi touches the ball is completely different than any other player. Even his short range passing and the passing lanes he sees are just different.

I saw Maradona play in 1987 in Saudi Arabia, and it was the same thing. The way they touch the ball, caress it - the quality of the first touch is so otherworldly, so different from any other player. Not sure you can appreciate it on TV that much.

Only those two…

And yes, Messi was injured - kept on touching his leg. But sadly, this is the way it may be from now on. He will play with these minor ailments throughout from now on; hopefully he can be 100% soon.

 

I always thought an old Messi still plays like prime Riquelme. Except Messi still occasionally has short burst acceleration which Roman never had.

According to Opta, Messi has scored FK in 12 different tournaments. Messi also reached 50 goals for Inter Miami with that strike.

On other (not so important) notes, Messi is only 1 goal behind Cry7ng who's an all time top scorer in this competition.

 

You have seen both Maradona and Messi play, live, that's not fair, should have been me

 

Yes, have been blessed to see both their careers in their entirety while in teens and adulthood.

One thing I also noted was how much better the pitch was in Atlanta compared to our Copa 2024 opener against Canada. I went to that game as well, and the pitch was like ice that day, absolutely terrible. Very hard to cut and find footing.

They’ve improved the pitch so much when seeing yesterday’s game. Players were still slipping a little bit, but a really, really improved playing surface. Important to note if we have games in Atlanta at next year’s World Cup.

Not sure why the pitch was so bad at the Copa America. Probably something to do with money, I assume.

 

Mainly, Conmebol was the one responsible of organizing everything for 2024 including security and pitches to which they clearly misprepared. The bad pitch affected our play a lot since we rely on good passes and intricate plays unlike other teams who just play Route 1 football and crosses.

FIFA is a lot more organized and well prepared for events like this so they took extra measures. They will take this same approach for WC26, so hoping for a better game.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/41053663/fifa-wants-perfect-pitch-26-world-cup-copa-fiasco