FIFA World Cup 2018 - Round of 16: Argentina vs. France - June 30 [R]

The three changes I would have loved in our squad would be Paredes, Lamela and Icardi for Biglia, Perez and Salvio. Just see how much better we would look then.

And Higuain should not start again, he is just not mentally or animically in a great moment. Either Aguero or Dybala should get the call.

 

Higuain played well off the ball, held it, and pressed extensively.

 

But when presented with 2 gilt edged chances he missed both. So do we want a striker who will put a shift in, or one who will score if he gets a chance?

 

Salvio isn't a right back rather a winger, but i agree totally we needed a another Defensive midfielder and not Biglia.

 

And bare in mind that we may only get 2 or 3 chances against France, would you really trust Higuain to be the guy to out one or more of those away?

 

I understand that people rate Dybala very highly and want to see him in the lineup but his inclusion in the starting lineup will only make things worse. The best formation for Argentina is either 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 and in both of these, if Dybala was to play, he would have to either play in the wing or as a midfielder. He is neither of these 2. Di Maria/Pavon are better wingers than him, Higuain/Aguero are better 9 than him, Messi is a better 10/right winger than him, Banega/Lo Celso are better midfielders than him. So, how exactly is he going to improve the starting 11?

It also seems like most people here underestimate the importance of off ball movements in football. We have a very static midfield and on top of that Messi is also not one of those who often makes hurting runs to open up space for his teammates. It is therefore very important that players like Di Maria and Higuain play, especially against teams like France who will not be parking the bus.

So for me the best possible lineup will be the one we used against Nigeria, minus Perez and plus Lo Celso. We need Higuain and DiMaria who will make vertical runs as soon as our defenders/midfielder wins the ball back.

This game is very winnable. The Nigeria game has lifted a lot of pressure from most of our players and now that we are not the favourite anymore and will not be playing against the parked bus, I think we will win this game. Messi is going to have another great performance on Saturday.

 

Early rumoured line up, although according to TyC Sports, the only doubt is whether Pavon will play instead of Higuain with Messi as a false 9

Early Argentina rumored eleven: Armani; Tagliafico, Rojo, Otamendi, Mercado; Di Maria, Banega, Mascherano, Enzo; Higuain, Messi.

Same eleven that started vs. Nigeria

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) June 28, 2018

 

Aguero scored in first game and won a penalty. His presence dragged 3 Nigerian defenders and allowing Rojo to hit the ball freely.

I dont remember Higuain contribution other than missing 2 close range chances. Aguero didnt score against Croatia has nothing to do with his form as we all know how bad the team performance that day.

 

That is not a bad idea actually. Pavon is like 5 x faster and stronger than Higuain. Even though he's not a finisher, neither does today's version of Higuain.

 

Sitting a bit deeper against france the speed of pavon could be a game changer.

 

Plus I don't rate both of France's fullbacks so the pace of Pavon and Di Maria are perfect if we are to sit back and counter. Throw in Meza as a sub when one of them gets tired.

 

Were people happy with Enzo in the last game? And please god, no more higuain

 

Pavon can finish though he has had his share of boggling misses. Gotten better at it this past season. Not sure about him playing more centrally though. Just go with Aguero if going that route.

 

No, please don't throw on Meza, I thought he was terrible when he came on against Nigeria. I wonder what full backs France will go with, they have much better full backs on the bench than the ones they have actually used.

 

Yep, at least Kun mostly score when presented with good chances. Higuain would be my last choice.

 

Both Pavon and Di Maria are bound to get tired as they should make a lot of attacking and defensive long runs and I trust Meza more in that role than Salvio and Acuna. Meza usually plays well when having a lot of space to run like he did vs spain in march and he's not that good when teams sit back and limit space like Nigeria did in the 2nd half. If we sit back and counter against France, I think Meza will be more useful than the previous 3 games he played.

 

He did alright after a shaky start. His cross should have been buried by Higuain.

Still no sign of Lo Celso and Dybala. Two outstanding talents especially Lo Celso and not even given a chance.

 

To be honest there is little point in France or Argentina turning up on Saturday, because as far as the media over here (England) are concerned England are already 2018 world champions.

 

Indeed they are. It is getting a bit nauseating. Danny ''Frankensteins Assistant' Murphy. We've nothing to fear from Colombia, Senegal or Japan. Hubris and nemesis are two words he should remember.

 

It's really disappointing that you can have a world class talent like Dybala and we can't even find a way to use him as a sub (apart from against Croatia when Sampoli seemed to lose his mind).

 

They'll get shock therapy at knockout stage. Brazil, Spain, France, Argentina, Portugal , Uruguay are still alive. Granted at least two of those will be out by QF, but I dont see them beating Brazil , Spain, France or even Portugal.

If anyone saw their game against Panama, it was a joke. Its like Argentina vs Haiti.

 

This also gives us more coverage on the wings as both Pavon and Di Maria stay wide and can track back. Allows Messi to conserve energy.

Anyone know if Messi played as false 9 for Barca this season?

Our lack of another hardworking DM is ridiculous.

 

Poland have scored via Bednarek. So Colombia will qualify. On a knife edge though.

 

He overlaps with Messi too much. We have this problem every single world cup on at least one offensive position. The worst thing we can do is try to shoehorn stars into positions and formations which they're not suited to. That never works for us.

The big shame is that all our hardworking midfielders (Masch, Biglia, Enzo) are old as hell, tired, and playing terrible to average.

Can Lo Celso play a box to box role like Enzo or is he too offensive to play alongside Banega (poor defensively) and Masch (terrible form)?