Argentine NT: News, Stats & Players [R]

Do not call Mastantuono again, until he does SOMETHING at club level.

 

We all know based on form it should have been Paz and Soule we're seeing on the pitch. Seems that Scaloni has a certain bias toward Soule like Pekerman on Zanetti.

 

I wouldnt bet anything against Messi though. He hit a hattrick against them when the team was playing like sh!t throughout the campaign. Athough ADM helped to setup the first 2 goals and we didnt have that luxury now.

On side notes , I love the fact that clowns on EPSN are actually believe Messi isnt committed to play in next year WC.

 

On a positive note, Foyth was solid today for once for the NT. Made good interceptions and was good in buildup play. He’s a good option as long as Scaloni doesn’t use him as RB. The guy is not the same player from 6 years ago. He’s a CB now. He’s without a doubt my third choice behind Cuti and Licha

 

de paul seems to be barking at people on the team and equally playing like garbage

 

The part where I said "honestly" was the indicator I was joking. I was more concerned with no Nico Paz at that point. I don't see why not when it's as meaningless a game as it was and everyone else was basically on cruise control.

 

Correct!

 

To be fair, its pretty common in football game when things dont go your way . We've seen Messi angry at his teammate at Barca every now and then.

Acuna can be heard arguing heavily with Dibu in CA 2021 semi. Basically blaming each other for conceiding a corner.

 

Scaloni, I know you read this forum. Follow my lineup and we'll win the 4th

Alvarez----------Messi-----------Soule
------------MacAllister-----Equi
---------------------Enzo
Tags----Senesi--------Romero-------Molina
----------------------Dibu

 

Licha seems to get injured all the time when playing at club level, but not when playing for NT. Di Maria used to be the opposite. Licha needs to know how to pace himself. There's no need to treat weekly game like its a WC knockout stage and always goes so hard at your opponent. I know Cuti has this tendency aswell but dont get injured as often.

 

Personally I'm not going to read too much into this Ecuador needed the win, there was a red and a suspect penalty and we walked half the game. I don't think any of the boys wanted to get injured.

Contact was after the ball and arms were certainly in natural position, for someone jumping so high. Bad call IMO.

 

I'm tired of him and his antics. Thanks for everything but we should move on. We have potentially better CMs waiting for a chance now.

 

Yep, the subs should be Lautaro, Paz, Licha (depend on his form after recovery) and then RDP/Paredes , depend on how the game unfolds. Ota should be at retirement house. RDP and Paredes at this point are veterans, Messi 95% will be there, so why would Ota still needed?

 

Also good sign of passion and someone who really wants the ball.

 

Yea, but Ota also didnt actually made contact with the Colombian player when they got that penalty last year. That still doesnt change the fact that he always made a risky play, his WC final failed clearance was another prime example . Ecuador equalizer in Copa was also down to him failing to clear the aerial threat.

Anyway, its the first time that Messi finished as top scorer WC qualifier. He's still breaking his own record at 38.

 

Everytime we draw or lose a game, many will goes nuts and overanalyze anything. Brazil just to lost to Bolivia and Uruguay held draw by Chile. When we beat Bolivia and Chile, the fans would say, beating those teams dont matters, right

 

Last night’s loss to Ecuador was nothing short of disappointing and a night to freaking forget.

From the opening, we looked flat, unmotivated and disconnected. The energy wasn’t there, the urgency was missing, and once the red card came (and it was a Red Card!!), the game became unwatchable. Both sides were guilty of unnecessary fouls, but what stings the most is that we failed to show grit or character. Worse still, we fell into anti-game tactics that only made the performance harder to defend.

This was one of those nights you file away, but with a warning: the mistakes made here cannot be repeated.

The Bad
1. Franco Mastantuono: Not ready. If the choice is between Echeverri, Nico Paz, or Mastantuono, Echeverri deserves another chance. Bundesliga fans are about to see why.

2. Nicolás Otamendi: Ooof. Brutal outing. Beyond the red card, his lack of pace and inability in 1v1 situations is glaring - and it will cost at least 3 goals in a WC!!! At best, he’s a bench option now, but not a starter. He is a comfort blanket, a true legendary warrior, but just too old now.

3. Nico González: Useful as a sub who can add width and stretch defenses late. But starting? Absolutely not!! He doesn't do much beyond that. Not at a high level.

4. Giovanni Simeone: Yes, that goal against Brazil was niiiiiice. But one moment doesn’t earn a guaranteed spot in every call-up. Still unconvincing, and I would start giving guys like Taty another look.

5. Rodrigo De Paul: Hard truth: he no longer looks like a starter either. He is the Messi "protector", but if we're going with 3 midfielders, he can't be one of them.


The somewhat Good:
1. Leonardo Balerdi: Arguably our best defender on the night. Maybe not even a question,. But the questionable yellow card aside, he won every aerial duel, made smart interceptions, and was one of the few players showing presence.

2. Dibu Martínez: Once again, our safety net. Thank God for him.

3. Alexis Mac Allister: Solid, versatile, and creative. What a man. His ability to link play while covering ground box-to-box is one of the few bright spots from this mess.

This was one of those games that leave you shaking your head. Scaloni is probably not happy. But as bad as it was, the bigger danger would be not learning from it. Ecuador punished us, and rightly so. Now it’s on the players and Scaloni to respond, regroup, and make sure Argentina doesn’t repeat this kind of lifeless display again.

 

Equador wins and all I see on social media, youtube and these boards is complaining about everything Argentina.

The fans can't even enjoy their win - still complainin about everything Argetina. These small south american nations really have extreme inferiority complex

I shouldn't be surprised though, this is the same old same old

 

Balerdi had a very poor game and Mac was ineffective

 

He was our best defender but he was also poor, both are true

 

Somewhat good who?? Belardi? He got toyed with. Not only did he mess up in the first half but he got outpaced and outsmarted in the second half. Nah, he can stay in France. Foyth was more much better

 

Guys I think we're over reacting and over analyzing, we've been playing like this since the end of the WC, the only games that we played well were the ones in Argentina when the players knew people spent a lot of money to see them and in 24 Copa America final when Messi was subbed and the team saw him cry. The team lacks motivation, we're playing similar to France before 2022. Also, the reason our best game since the WC was the 4-1 against Brazil was thanks to Raphinha trash talk.
I would also add that 2025 is probably our best year since the WC

Now about the team, Mastantuono is still green, but he had a whole season till the WC, we don't know how much better he can get so better to give some minutes now so he knows what is to play for Argentina and be better prepare when his time comes. Scaloni and Xabi Alonso rate him high, clearly they see something that we don't, I trust them to why they giving him minutes.

I didn't understand why Paredes was subbed, he and Dibu were the best. Balerdi was having a good game till the error that leads Otamendi's red.
Besides them the team in general played really bad, Tagliafico wasn't playing enough at his club due some problems with his contract with Lyon and Mac is coming back from an injury so I'm not that worry about them.

My only real concern is the CBs, we have to pray for Romero and Licha to be healthy when the WC comes, I don't mind Otamendi as and option for the last minutes. We also can pray for Anselmino and Valentin Gomez to do great this season so Scaloni calls them, because at this point I lost the hope for him to call Senesi. Balerdi played okay in general but I'm afraid that maybe last game can transform him in another Pezzella. I don't like Foyth and Medina hasn't played enough to form and opinion. I know Scaloni rates both of them high because they can play as CB and FB which is important in a WC.
Montiel and Molina are not playing well but with Romero helping them can be different, of course if Giay or someone else shows up it would be better, but at this point I don't see Scaloni leaving both of them out, same with Tagliafico and Acuña with Soler and Barco.

The players I guess will go to the WC if the final number for the list is 26 are:
Dibu, Benitez, Rulli
Montiel, Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Balerdi, Licha, Tagliafico, Acuña, Medina/Foyth.
Enzo, MacAllister, Paredes, De Paul, Lo Celso, Almada, Exe Palacios, Nico Gonzalez, Simeone, Mastantuono, Paz
Messi, Alvarez, Lautaro
If the list expand to 29 or 30 probably both Medina and Foyth will be in and the final 2/3 will be all offensive players, Garnacho, Echeverri, Castellanos, Lopez, Soule, Carboni or anyone who thinks is better.

 

Wheres Lisandro? I think your lineup is very good but imo RDP still has a place and Messi cant be a 9 anymore.

Otamendi was sent off because of Balerdi he was abysmal.

 

It's dissapointing that no new young players, who weren't involved in the 2022 squad, have not broken through in the following 3 years. The squad is quite old, I guess Masta might be one, but we could do with a few more. Might be clutching at straws but I haven't totally given up on Garnacho.

 

I'm not actually worry about the last game result, we've qualified and guarenteed to finished 1st since few games back, not expecting the team to treat it like KO stage matches. As I said earlier, we always had a lackluster final game everytime we many games to spare, happened in 2002, 2006, 2014, 2022 qualifiers. its always a draw or a loss. When we needed to win to qualify we won it in 2010 and 2018. Same pattern.

However, I'm worry that Scaloni seems forcing himself to give a push on Mastantuono instead of more experience and proven youngsters like Paz , Soule and Equi. They're in early 20s, same age brackets as the likes of Mac, Enzo and Julian in WC 2022 , so they've got enough game experience under their belt.