World Cup Recap: Argentina Fall Flat, In Danger of Progressing
SteemSports Presenter:@thesportsguy
SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets
That lingering stench in the air was left curtesy of the Argentina National Team after their dismal performance earlier today in a 3-0 defeat. Croatia looked the part as they were the dominant side and frustrated the Argentinians throughout the match. The great Lionel Messi was no where to be found and surely will take the brunt of the criticism once again, as even more comparisons with Ronaldo are sure to come pouring in. It was a night to forget in Nizhny Novgorod for Messi and company, as they are left with some serious scoreboard watching in tomorrow's other Group D match between Iceland and Nigeria.
The disaster didn't start until the 53' for Argentina when goalkeeper Willy Caballero inexplicably botched a pass that set-up Ante Rebic perfectly for the first goal of the match. It was an absolute gift from Caballero, who was attempting to chip Rebic but instead, made terrible contact, and flubbed it into the air. Rebic's one-time effort was bold, but it slammed home into the corner of the net. Of course, Caballero wasn't the top pick at goalkeeper for Argentina, but Sergio Romero was injured before the World Cup (although he claimed he would have been ready for the opening match). Certainly his exclusion will be debated even more after the horrendous mistake by his backup got Croatia going.
From there, it started to untangle for Argentina. They brought on Higuin in the 60' hoping to inject some creativity into the lineup but it didn't materialize. Croatia started to get heavier on their tackles and looked to frustrate Argentina and the strategy seemed to work perfectly. Between well-deserved Yellow Cards shown to Mandzukic and Vsraljko in the 58' and 67' respectively, Messi nearly weaved his way magically through a sea of dark-shirted defenders to goal, but once in the box, had it poked away at the last moment. It was one of only a few moments for the Argentina Captain as the match wore on.
Dybala was brought on in the 68' for Argentina and a few minutes later he produced a good effort in the 71' but it was always heading over the goal as he tried to bend one in outside and high at the far post. As the half wore on, Argentina was unable to capitalize as opportunities were turned away in their front third. They simply weren't wide enough on their attack and didn't offer many chances from the wings with their efforts. Lacking creativity, they just couldn't find any successful crosses.
Then in the 81' it was an emphatic effort for Croatia that sealed Argentina's doom. Luka Modric received the ball from the top of the circle in a one-on-one isolation with Otamendi. He worked his way to the right, looking to free up a sliver of space and once he did fired a pearl of a dagger. It was an exquisite effort from 19 yards out that put Croatia ahead 2-0. The shot was expertly taken and executed by the talented Croatian Captain.
Looking at the Argentina bench, the pressure, intensity, and frustration were evident. Things began to get chippy on the pitch as Argentina looked to take out some frustration. Higuin fired a solid effort in the 84' but it went right to the keeper. A few moments later, the frustration boiled over a bit for Argentina as they were somewhat disgraceful after taking Rakitic down for a foul. Moments after Rakitic had fallen from the foul, Otamendi kicked his clearance directly into the head of the fallen Croatia player. This caused a bit of a scrum, which the officials were able to keep in check and led to a Yellow Card for Otamendi.
Argentina attempted to push forward looking and searching for two quick goals in a last-gasp attempt to still salvage something from the match. Messi got free one last time and managed to get into the box, where he was swarmed, and his attempt in the 90' was deflected out for a corner. They poured men forward searching for a much-needed goal from the set piece. Instead, Argentina got caught the other way by Croatia on the counter-attack. They used numbers and easily worked the ball around the box, getting an open look at goal and this time Rakitic got his goal. His first attempt was saved by Caballero but it fell directly to Kovacic, who unselfishly played it right back to Rakitic for the tap-in. It was a beautiful effort all-the-way around for Croatia, who were very much deserving of the 3-0 scoreline.
It was a dominant performance by Croatia and quite honestly they earned and deserved the surprisingly lopsided scoreline. Argentina plainly did not look good in defeat. They were thoroughly dominated by a very complete Croatia side, and lacked any kind of cohesiveness and creativity - especially in the front third. Messi was largely disengaged for most of the match and was unable to produce when needed the most. That being said, this catastrophe was caused by much more than just a lack of production from Messi. It is clear that Argentina need some major changes and that the concerns over team chemistry heading into the competition were well-founded, as they are left without a victory in the Group Stage after two matches for the first time since 1974.
In the end, it was Croatia's coming out party as they announced to the world they will be a force moving forward in this competition. Argentina were left crushed, and will be doing some serious scoreboard watching tomorrow. Manager Jorge Sampaoli rushed to the tunnel following the final whistle and Messi and the rest of the squad weren't far behind as they couldn't leave the pitch fast enough.
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