With France on the verge of a quarter-final, Argentina is clearly not the team to be favored, but what tactics Sampaoli adopts is still a concern. According to the relevant media, this time, the Argentine coach is ready to put Aguero and Higuain on the bench, yes, he wants to play a frontless team.
Manchester City's top scorer may not be able to play in Argentina's life-and-death battle
In this formation, Messi will be placed in the center position, the so-called No. 9, while the youngster Pavine and Di Maria are on both sides, which is a formation that looks like a 4-3-3, Messi is in the center, but there is a lot of tactical freedom, and it is up to him to take the ball back or to shoot forward. This is somewhat similar to Messi's tactical arrangement at Barca, but the difference is that at the club, Messi has Suarez in front of him, and the Uruguayan can go to the wing, but is also a good player in the box, and can run flexibly according to Messi's ball. What about argentina's lineup? It seems that there is none.
At Barca, Messi has a powerful helper like Suarez on his side
Pavin is a very promising player, with a very characteristic breakthrough pass on the wing, but his height of 1.69 meters makes it difficult for him to take advantage of the long-standing penalty area, and the same flaws will appear in Di Maria, both of whom are pure wingers, once Messi withdraws to take the ball, Argentina has no players who can stand in the box. Some people may think that Messi is an all-round player who can go up and down, and there is no place in the midfield that he can't play. But it must be said that in the French team, there is also a player like Kante who is omnipresent in the whole field, he can build a fence in front of the defender line, or he can become a kraft candy glued to Messi's body, from the height point of view, the two are half a pound and eight two, but the round confrontation, Kante has a great advantage, in addition to Kante, Matuidi, Nzonzi and other people are also defensively strong, plus Pogba who can attack and defend, in other words, Deschamps can think of many ways to curb Messi, tall short, fast and slow, people staring at people or regional defense, Each of these will make Messi difficult. If it is really this lineup, the friends will hurry up and shoot, why? Buy France to win.
Kanter can put Messi defensively against doubts about life
As strong as Maradona, there are also strong helpers, the 1986 World Cup is unlimited, but in the final, it is Bruchaga, the director who has just been kicked out of the team by the Argentine team. In the 1990 World Cup, only the old horse with a flash of inspiration was left, as well as the heart of the son of the wind, Caniggia, and the courage of goalkeeper Goyechea, a penalty expert. When they didn't have the light of day, Argentina had to be beaten by Germany on penalties and conceded the title.
Old Horse and Son of the Wind
Messi needs players who can make a fatal hit in the box, Pavine is not, Di Maria is not. Higuain, after losing Allegri's tactical system and Dybala's coordination, does not seem to be. What can really help Messi is Aguero, who stumbled in The Manchester City's tactical system, and can still score 20 goals in a season without a strong center to cover himself and a defender.
Jesus has potential but still can't replace Akun
Argentina's first goal in this World Cup was scored by Aguero, which earned Argentina its first group point. But Sampaoli's formation in the second game allowed Croatia to easily cut off their front and back links, and Aguero was replaced in the 54th minute. In the third game, Aguero was not replaced until the 80th minute, and the moment Rojo scored the goal, it was Aguero who attracted at least 3 Nigerian defenders in the penalty area to defend, and only then did the Manchester United defender easily get up and shoot.
Rojo's killing of Aguero attracted a lot of defense
If Argentina really want to win, Aguero has to be in the squad and that's the only person they can rely on now besides Messi, because it's impossible to count on a defender to deliver a killer every time. With every game likely to be their last World Cup, the veterans will go all in.