Argentine NT: News, Stats & Players [R]

Ota wasnt exactly at fault in that first goal but while second goal was more of a gift , didnt change the fact its still a clumsy attempt.

I'm ok with Colombia celebrating wildly. We beat them when it matter the most, broke their unbeaten streak. They needed moral boost and playing at home, so its normal reaction from them.

I remember when we used to beat them 3-0 like in CA 2004, qualifier 2018 (under Bauza!) , Yet we couldnt win the game that matters the most which is the major tournament final . I'd often use qualifiers or even friendlies victories to regain my enthuasiasm. Glad tbose days are gone.

Now its our opponents time to celebrates matches like this. We celebrates trophies.

 

He didn't get the ball with that stupid tackle. Attackers will look for contact to get VAr

 

This was always going to be a tough match. Just annoying that it was still there for the taking and we weren't at our best (not talking about Messi, just the guys we did play could've been better)

 

Scaloni needs to get out of his comfort zone and begin to really implement change. I am getting a little tired of it if we are being honest. I do not mind to lose if he is putting his best foot out there or experimenting with the attack but this is a bad look on his part.

 

Like SM noted, our forwards post Crespo tend to lack killer instinct. Crespo & Bati scored at higher rate for NT because they almost never takes extra touches or overdribbles. They're very direct , the element which all our modern forwards lacking (Pipita, Kun, Tevez, even Lautaro & Julian).

 

Acuña looked finished out there. It was mistake to let Taglia rest out despite not being injured.

Also, no more Paredes please. There is giant hole in midfield every time he plays.

 

Modern forwards in general seem a little too obsessed with taking shots off their stronger foot when it's really more important to get a shot off before the goalie gets set or a defender can close down on you.

 

Things could finally backfire badly in upcoming WC if Scaloni is too loyal to the veterans and refuse to field younger guys.

We need result like this along the way to knock some sense on Scaloni. We won CA without relying on any youngster & then you have Otamendi scoring two winning goals in qualifier including againts Brazil, those things must have given him false sense of security.

 

Messi is 37 years old. 38 next year. This "we have not messi" has to end.

Ottamendi is 36 he'll be 37 next year. We had a excellent partner ship with cuti and licha that worked wonderful in the copa america. Why are you putting a slow bum in the middle and lisandro on the left.
He should have started Acuna and benched Ota.

Ota has made a mistake every game he's played in since June. Including, his worst performance during the Olympics. He's the reason we lost so many games in the Olympics.

This is WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS. He can't keep up.

 

yes

 

As I said, Ota scored two winning goals in qualifier prior to Copa which probably why he's still in the squad. He also scored the winning penalty against Ecuador. Its things like that keeps him in the squad, not his defensive performance.

He should bow out gracefully like Angelito. I'm sure Di Maria actually still wants to play but he wants the younger guys to be given the chance. He made the right decision. Ota on the hands will continue to play until we finally suffer disasterous result like Masche in 2017-2018. Unlike Masche, Ota has won everything, he absolutely has nothing to lose.

 

We have the following games (We probably just need to win the next 3-4 games to qualify for the World Cup)

- Venezuela Away in 10/10
- Bolivia Home in 10/15
- Paraguay Away in November
- Peru Home in November
- Uruguay Away in March 2025
- Brazil Home in March 2025

Vs Venezuela Away - I think Scaloni will still play the big guns vs Venezuela Away and only play the young kids in that game when the result is more or less guaranteed.

Vs Bolivia Home - I am really hoping that Scaloni is more brave and experiments a lot.

Vs Paraguay Away - Kinda expect a similar situation as that of the Venezuela Away

Vs Peru Home - This is when all the new kids should play as I expect us to clinch qualification before this game.

Vs Uruguay and Vs Brazil - Scaloni will probably play the big guns and hopefully by then 1 or 2 young kids will be established as a key starter (looking more at the likes of Barco, Garnacho, Equi and Soule).

Scaloni should also be brave and stop calling up Otamendi, Pezzella and Guido Rodriguez. Time for renovation is now

 

We have a lot of starters with a yellow. The Venezuela game would be ideal to "clean" them and play the B team against the bolis.

 

Sit this one out, Alex. Not derogatory at all. I too have used it.

 

He played Lisandro as left back and tried double 9. He made early changes. Makes no sense to criticize him for not getting out of comfort zone.

 

I think he wants the captaincy for a spell and will then bow out.

 

We've been getting away with subpar play from our fullbacks for too long.

I don't know about the Right side; Montiel and Molina were thought of as "locks for the next 10 years. But both have been either declining for the last 2 years.

I am optimistic about the Left side, but worried because we are putting all the eggs on the Barco basket.

I trust that Scaloni will have solutions for this. He is old school, the team is fixed "de atrás para adelante"

 

Nothing change.

Is it possible for 30 year old player to improve his shooting? or at least regain his shooting ability from his Udinese's day? I mean he's averaging 7 goals per season back then, 1 goal per 5 games . Since joining Cholo's team he's averaging less than 1 goal per 10 games!

 

^ weird xi but Scaloni needs to get out of his comfort zone. These are mutually exclusive. People just like to blame the manager.

 

Yeah, Enzo is invisible to me lately. In this match I made an effort to watch him but saw very little. Lo Celso made some mistakes but offered more. Mac was pure class when he came on. The only player who impressed today.

 

Starting with slow players like Paredes and Otamendi plus 3 forwards (Nico, Julian, Lautaro) at once wasnt ideal against strong physical side. Scaloni got it right during the Copa. He saves the likes of Lautaro & Paredes for later half to beat the tired legs.

I'm surprise Acuna didnt start in this type of match when physical battle in first half is important. Dybala has around 40 caps , and about 38 of them he played about 5-10 minutes.

 

Looked like Scaloni experimented with Julian in the Messi role which makes sense considering he is looking towards the next world cup. He's not trying to entertain with Dybala. I thought Julian did a decent job. Lautaro has a poor match.

 

I'm not saying the lineup was good. It wasn't. But it was experimental, outside his comfort zone. A perfect match to try something different and he did. Why am I always defending the managers here? Lol

 

Not sure about that, while Julian brings the energy, he's not as creative as Dybala who can provides pinpoint long pass. Julian should have had an assist though, all these Ballon talk must have been getting in Lautaro's head.

 

It's certainly not possible. You can tell RDP doesn't have the technique to bend the ball well and cradle it's. It's awkward. Simply not his game.