The restructuring of the starting lineup has not borne much fruit.
sad picture
After the failure with Saudi Arabia, Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni made changes to the starting lineup. Of the last four, only Nicolás Otamendi has kept his job. But Acuña replaced Tagliafico on the left, Lisandro Martinez appeared in center for Romero and Montiel replaced Molina on the right. Only De Paul and Di Maria remained in the midline. But in place of Paredes and Papu Gomez came Guido Rodriguez and Allister. Scaloni did not touch a couple of Messi and Lautaro Martinez in attack.
Decisive reorganisations, however, did not have much effect. Argentines haven’t gotten more creative and sharper. Perhaps they also lost in the structure of the attack, in its organization. With the same Saudis, as we recall, Argentina scored four goals in the first half, but three goals were disallowed due to most often very subtle offsides. That is, in general, the scheme worked. Now there was none of that.
It is also worth noting here that not everything depended on Argentina. We have described Saudi Arabia’s characteristic in defense with a high defensive line and catching offside. Mexico, of course, acted differently, locking themselves tightly in their gates and, it would seem, initially counting on a goalless draw. The first half indicated it. For him, Argentina scored only one shot on goal with the efforts of Lautaro. He didn’t hit the target. The Mexicans responded with three attempts, one of which hit the target. Perfect conditions for another goalless draw in this World Cup.
Personal contribution
And something happened in the second half that you expect from any stellar team, when the game as a whole doesn’t add up. The leaders took up the matter. It didn’t work out in the match with the Saudis. And here, already after the 60th minute, when Rodriguez and Lautaro were removed from the field, freeing Enzo Fernandez and Julián Alvarez, the bet worked. Messi has spoken.
Lionel takes advantage of the fact that the Mexicans momentarily lose compactness in front of their own penalty area. Messi grew up there and from 24 meters put the ball into the bottom left corner. The Mexicans began to change their scheme and rebuild, as they could no longer bet on a goalless draw. But it should be said right away that he did not add sharpness. Mexico had four shots on target from the 50th minute and they stayed. With so a shot on goal in the first half.
And already in the last minutes, Messi, after a corner kick, rolled the ball to Enzo Fernandez, who also showed that he knows how to accurately put it into a corner. But now on top. The individual skill of the performer worked again. The score seems to be comfortable, but Argentina’s victory does not look even a tenth as convincing as, for example, Brazil’s victory over Serbia by the same score. In fact, only two assists have been scored for the entire game in Argentina. And the total number of attempts is also extremely small – five.
The Argentines still suffer in attack, under construction. There is no levity in the attack, non-standard moves and flights of fancy, which is expected from such a team and such performers. Perhaps this is a temporary blues, due to some psychological problems. Indeed, Argentina came close to the World Cup, demonstrating only an extravagance in attack. But there is another level of responsibility and tension. On the other hand, you can’t call young Argentine stars, so it kind of puts pressure on them. In general, the Argentines approach the decisive group match with Poland with many questions about their condition.
Messi figures
Argentina’s match against Mexico cannot be called ideal, nor can Messi’s performance be called exemplary. However, Lionel made his decisive contribution. And this is the main thing at the moment for the team. In this match he has one goal and one assist. Thus he scores in the sixth consecutive match for the Argentine national team: in matches with Mexico, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jamaica, Honduras and Estonia. In total, Messi has made 24 caps for his country this season and PSG, scoring 19 goals and dishing up 16 assists. This does not mean that productivity is low.
If we only talk about the national team, Lionel has a very productive year. In 2022, in which Argentina have suffered only one defeat against Saudi Arabia, Messi has scored 13 goals. And this is the best annual result of his career. And 2022 is not over yet. The previous achievement – 12 goals a year for the national team – Messi had exactly ten years ago.
In total, Lionel has already scored 93 goals for the Argentina national team. According to this indicator, he is in third place. Runner-up Ali Daei, who no longer plays for the Iranian national team, has 109 goals, while leader Cristiano Ronaldo has 118. At the same time, the Portuguese can still replenish his account. So Messi needs to be pushed.
Where Messi is tied with Ronaldo is in World Cup goals. Both have eight balls. And the record, we recall, belongs to Miroslav Klose. The former German international striker scored 16 goals at the World Cup. But in this era, Messi is the best in the world in the number of goals from outside the area. He has four in total. And this is the best result of the last five world championships.
Layout for the last round
After two rounds of the group stage in the C quartet, there is more clarity, but all four teams still have a chance to reach the playoffs. True, they are different. Argentina’s victory over Mexico propelled Scaloni’s team into second place in the group. Now the Argentines lose a point against Poland, they have equal points with Saudi Arabia, but better goal difference. But the Mexicans are late, they have only one point. But even they still have chances before the match against Saudi Arabia.
Sure, Mexico has to beat the Saudis. Even if fate isn’t entirely in their hands. Because in this case you will have to compare the goal difference with Poland or Argentina, depending on the outcome of the match between these teams. So the Mexicans have to defeat Saudi Arabia as big as possible.
Argentina is better. Only a victory over Poland will give access to the next round. And if Saudi Arabia doesn’t suddenly beat Mexico big time, then the South Americans will advance to the playoffs from first place. However, already a draw complicates Argentina’s task, even if it doesn’t make it unsolvable. Then you have to count the difference. If a tie occurs between Saudi Arabia and Mexico, Argentina will go further. If the winner is determined in a parallel match, the Saudis will, if successful, leave Argentina out of the tournament. The Mexicans can do it too, but they have to win big. It is clear that Argentina’s loss to Poland will surely eliminate Messi and company from the tournament.
