Argentine NT: News, Stats & Players [R]

Well, Luka was world class against Atletico, his close range dribbling and long shot caused so much threat throughout the match.

The kid just needs to get better physically and work his way into rhythm, he hasn’t played much in 3 years.

Honestly the team doesn’t have any need for a classic number 9 currently. Except for Alvarez who is mobile and dynamic. and obviously Romero or Dybala would be more like a David Villa/Samuel Eto’o kind of striker who can invert onto the wing when needed, which Lautaro can’t.

 

You think Soulé is going to solve all those issues? He is not going to start with Angel there and he’ll be there until the CA. We also should not sub a player that is like for like. And even at 35, he’s far more than dangerous than Mati.

I am not concerned. When push comes to shove, our players will be up for it.


I trust the players and Scaloni.

 

Yes but you need someone who can come off the bench for him when he’s tired, or injured.

The guy didn’t play a full 90 in either the CA or WC.

Which winger can provide that relief? Certainly not Nico.

 

Messi with two goals so far in a 5-0 demolishing of Orlando by Miami

 

I saw some journalist who said something in the lines, "Orlando knows how to get into Messi's head..." Messi is probably thinking, "Orlando... Orlando, who? Bloom?"

 

Luka Romero is not a number 9.

Current Messi plays his best with a number 9 like Lautaro.

 

Lol yeah those clowns on Futbol Americas on ESPN. That said I'm still surprised. Felt like everyone figured out Miami by now but Orlando embarrassed themselves tonight. Suarez had a couple goals to start the match so if he's going and they keep putting teams behind early it'll be a lot easier for them

 

Suarez looked like he could barely move last game, but he was sensational tonight. I don't see him staying fit long though.

 

Neither European ESPN knows anything about Argentina footballers.

Also had a perfect assist. Everytime Dybala stays fit for more than 5 matches, he'd be in this kind of form. I think its his 10th FK goal.

On other notes, Paredes still has never miss a penalty, he has scored 10/10 (3 on shootout).

 

MLS is where any past prime player can do wonder.

 

You dont earn starting place in national team just by having 2-3 good performances. Players like Angel Correa & Erik Lamela looks like world beater here and there but their MOTM performance is pretty far in between . They never show the same kind of consistency which the likes of Dybala and Lautaro has.

 

A mobile 9 with great dribbling like Eto’o, Villa, Suarez or Mbappe.

He has never played well with a static target man type of 9, like Aguero, Higuain, Ibrahimovic.

It only worked with Lautaro in 2021 cuz Lo Celso was able to play as an inverted winger, so we a strong dribbling presence on both sides.

 

Injuries ruined Lamela but he still should’ve been selected for the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

And the main issue with Angel Correa is he wasted his career at Atletico, he was never going to start over Griezmann. If he chose to play at a small club like Vallecano or Cadiz, no doubt he would be giving 7.5/10 performances every week, and he would be a better fit for the NT than Nico Gonzalez and Lautaro.

 

Soule had a dip in form during December, but he has been very good again in the last 2 months.

The guy has been much better this season than Nico, and his characteristics are much more suitable for the NT than the crossing merchant.

And honestly his characteristics are much more suitable for the team than Garnacho

This selection makes 0 sense.

 

Yup, they'll rip him to shreds if he plays badly on the senior team. He's not ready for that pressure.

 

He was about to retire because his legs was damaged forever. But then decided to reunite with Messi.

 

True, he's been been playing great. The only issue for him is he's playing on a garbage team.
It's his team mates that stink, kind of like Enzo position.

Enzo today layed a beautiful pass to jackson that put him in the clear and once again another Chelsea player blows a tire.

Enzo and Soule are not really goal scorers, like Batigoal or Messi that can turn the tide of a game through just scoring. They are utility players, so they're as awesome or great with whose around them.

 

I' okay with the selections barring the amazing reappearance of Armani and Pezzella.

Quarta for Pezzella, Gazzaniga for Armani. Soule does deserve his spot as does Varela. However it's quite possible Scaloni has his eyes on two tournaments this summer and wants to send two very strong squads. One to win the Copa, the other despite Mascherano to win the Olympics.

In the long run it might be better if Soule, Varela for instance grab their tournament experience in Paris and then migrate as many have done before from successful Olympic squads 96,04,08 into the senior squad.

Lionel is not stupid not to recognize how the likes of Soule are playing. I'm sure he or his staff and the Euro based members of the coaching staff have given him a call explaining their plans for him. I reckon we'll see an experienced keeper like Gazzaniga, defender like Medina and a senior forward like a Simeone sent. In midfield the likes of Varela are already a veteran in terms of experience and quality.

Mac was superb again yesterday. Fortunate that the referee made a cock up earlier but his pass to Nunez was Messi like. One quick look and pinged in. Barco not even on the bench for Brighton much to their fans disappointment.

I expect the medical staff and their AI programs have decided he needs to be rested and built up before being bled into the side. Buonanotte lost his spot to the returning Enciso but in his substitute appearance did hit the post. He needs to be a bit more lively at times. For a kid he does appear lethargic at times. He needs to demand the ball more.

 

I repeat, Luka is not a number 9, has never played in that position and will never play in that position.

Current Messi plays better with a dynamic number 9, but to say that he has never played well with a static target man is not true at all. Plus Lautaro, although he's not the fastest, is still dynamic and mobile and helps out defensively as well.

 

To be fair Suarez also tore up the Brazilian league last year, but yeah. Speaking of Higuain, Messi is almost halfway to his goal total with Miami already lol

 

Speaking of MLS, I'll always remember Claudio Lopez pulling Beckham's halfline goal in front of Beckham

 

Honestly, it's tough being a coach. As spectators, there are things we see on the surface level that we think should theoretically work, but it is a lot more difficult when you are managing in person.

I see it happen in every sport, even the best coaches, they have oversights. Like Pep playing over Alvarez cuz of his wages, or Deschamps playing Konate > Varane cuz of his past success.

The truth is, as a coach, when you are figuring out which players should play together and how they should play, a lot of times you are gambling, because a lot of times, you don't know how the opposition is going to line up, and even if you know, they could make last minute changes cuz of injuries or whatnot and your whole gameplan is scuffed. So as a coach, they pick teams that work through experimentation rather than logic.

With Argentina, we know that Nico Gonzalez is not a useful LW for the team, his strengths are his speed, his 1-2s and his crossing ability. But for a team like Argentina who plays high pressing possession football, we don't need a guy who does that. We need a guy who has exceptional close-range dribbling, who can pull defenders out of position and open up space in the middle and weak side. When you play a guy like Nico or Garnacho against a low block, they're just going to spam crosses at every opportunity cuz they can't beat the fullback. They couldn't dribble past the Indonesian and Australian right back, what do we expect them to do against Brazil or Uruguay?

That's why you need Soule, or even Buonanotte, Echeverri, Angel Correa, Lo Celso or Luka Romero when they're in form. Cuz all the threat will be from Messi, De Paul, Molina and sometimes Di Maria on the right wing, and you have Tagliafico, Gonzalez and Enzo on the left, they're at playing combinations but there is no dribbling threat. And until we address that, beating low blocks is always going to be an issue. Cuz the defence can just cheat and overload the right side.

But the problem is, we're not even calling up Soule, so there's not even an opportunity to experiment that he could work, just like how they rarely gave an opportunity to Papu despite being of the best forwards in Europe in his prime. This Nico Gonzalez obsession feels like a political matter, there are much better players than him available since he debuted, but they've all been blocked from even being a substitute just so he can play a full 90.

 

Well, it's not about statistics, that's why the coaching staff has a video crew and scouting to see the games, and there's no doubt that despite his lack of goals, Soule is one of the best players in Serie A.

There are other characteristics that Soule brings to the team that make him super important compared to Nico and Garnacho.

 

But Lautaro is not a good dribbler. He can drop deep and provide assists with his holdup play but most teams are going to be playing the low-block from the moment the game starts.

So having Nico and Lautaro starting together with Messi is not going to help us break teams down.

 

Honestly, f*ck the Olympics.

Winning a Copa America is far more prestigious than winning the Olympics, and if we are trying to balance the squad for both tournaments, instead of bringing our absolute best players to the Copa, then the ideology of Claudio Tapia needs to be questioned.