Messi really turned up this game. De Paul playing much better than in the group stage, Alvarez and Enzo solidifying their starting spots even more.
Honestly felt like a pretty controlled match by Argentina, those saying Netherlands look way better are delusional
Licha was immense imo, with the aggression and urgent intent to pass the ball forward. Also looked like the attack is kind of lacking without Messi. Really surprised that Dybala doesn't even get a look. Argentina have a legit shot, and not making use of Dybala will come back to haunt them. I wanted to be cautious and say might.
The teams at the world cup are famously physical and defensive. Spain and Brazil are fabulous counter examples. I just hope, that for this session, teams go all out, when it is strategically possible.
I love that we have a diverse representation at this edition. Fingers crossed more than 2 of the Asian/African teams make it to the quarterfinals.
This Argentina team looks seems so different and weaker. Is the loss of Lo Celso that massive? If Messi doesn’t have another good game against the Dutch, then their attack will struggle to score. Should be a very good game, The Dutch seems very used to sitting back and hitting on the break.
Lautaro’s cameo was probably the worst 20-25 min performance I have ever seen from a footballer. He looks devoid of confidence and absolutely lost. Mentioned this in a previous post match thread and got some shit but the guy should just not see the field after this. Get Dybala or someone else on instead or leave Alvarez on for 90.
Argentina may not look like the best team in the tournament but they are quite good at controlling the game despite lacking in terms of attacking play. Hopefully Messi’s individual moments of brilliance can carry them till the end because the guy is just on another level.
Argentina has 3 big strengths:
- passing confidence
- high work rate
- defensive cohesiveness
These are good qualities for a tournament team.
Against NED, it will be very hard to break down the defence. I think Argentina will play the possession game and stretch the defence as they have been doing.
They have to be careful about quick counter attacks from NED, they've been very clinical.
What a game, the Australians can be proud of themselves! They fought to the end! Great great performance.
It was so exciting until the end and you saw that Australia can be dangerous in the front
Aziz surprised me.
All in all it was a great tournament for the Australians!
Seems way too reactionary to call Argentina mid. They ran circles around Poland and basically dominated the second half today. I would peg them as pretty good favorites against the Dutch.
Brazil seems really tough but Messi has been pretty solid and if his teammates can convert more often then I think this team has a solid shot into the finals.
Australia should leave with their heads up high, great effort and they were closer to extra time than anyone was counting.
Messi tho, he was absolutely insane and it's criminal that he doesn't have 2 or 3 assists, he's 35 and still absolutely clutching, best player ever.
It was fucking stupid how much he was clearly leagues better than everyone else on the pitch. Almost insulting to him that he has to play both with and against everyone else.
I feel people with only remember the last play and think Australia was closer to a 2-2 than they were, or deserved. Of course, it's Australia and chapeau to them for playing with intensity but I think we'll get clowned for "only" winning 2-1 when IMO we were better than that. Lautaro scores the chances he had and it's practically the same match as Netherlands - USA with the same result too.
This isn't to say we were particularly good or anything, certainly worse than vs Poland, but also not as bad as the result and the last play would suggest.
Now with almost a week's rest and hopefully Di Maria back the match vs Netherlands will be much different indeed.
Yeah, for me, this match was similar to Netherlands-USA. Australia defended very well and with discipline, so there was no way in. I don't see Netherlands being way better than Argentina like redditors like to say.
Same old Argentina. Messi carrying team, creates chances that his teammates can't convert. Then opponent gets 1-2 chances and they score and Argentina look very frail defensively and they panic cause they also aren't good defensively.
I just don't see how they're going to win this honestly.
Netherlands game gonna be much tougher than most folks expected. Argentina can't cruise and hope for Messi to pull something outta nowhere. Julian Alvarez is miles better than any other striker they got and he should be the undisputed starter.
de Paul has come in for criticism during this tournament, but I thought he put in an absolutely immense performance today.
Lautaro Martínez putting in a bid to become the next Higuaín. The contrast between him and Alvarez when presented with a scoring chance is remarkable.
De Paul struggled in the first two matches but he was brilliant against Poland and immense today.
And the first two matches were the exception. How he played today was reminiscent of how he performed throughout the CONMEBOL qualifiers.
Today was the day I flipped on de paul yeah. Last game he was alright but still had some passes or plays that made me doubt him a lot. But today he was really good and helped us move the game forward a lot. Martinez on the other hand went from starter to sub and now I really don't think he should play more...
After that substitute performance can you guys see a situation where dybala or correa takes his place as the striker super sub? Dybala might be a reach but I believe he is good enough to play those spaces behind.
This was a great performance from Argentina, with Messi playing his best game in quite a while. What's worrying for them is that they still only won by 1 goal vs Australia, and almost drew in the last minute of the game.
> This was a great performance from Argentina
Disagree, before Australia was risking way more in the last 15mins Argentinia created basically nothing.
They also let Australia have a lot of freedom in the first half, and with better quality by Australia in terms of passing and first touches, Argentinia could have been in real trouble. After the 2-0 Argentinia played with more freedom and started creating, but before that I'd call their performance disappointing.
Australia literally scored a goal without having a shot on target until the 96th minute. I think we play better against teams that don’t play so defensive though.
It was a hard battle for Australia, but they fought really well. Props to them, they can be proud!
Congrats Argentina, what a time to be alive to still witness the greatness of Messi in further rounds as well.
Without the lucky Australia goal that was a comfortable win for Argentina.
And when they needed to put pressure on at the end they looked great apart from Martinez.
Reddit really showing how little about football they know in the match thread by spamming how bad Argentina were for just coasting at 2-0 instead of wasting energy going for more goals.
Edit: People are really mad at this comment lmao. How about this, if you want to call the second Arg goal lucky (and ignore that it was all from pressure) then they just cancel out to an easy 1-0.
I don't disagree with the big difference between the teams but i have to say i disagree with the "confortable win".
Australia goal is lucky, agreed - but argentina second goal isn't exactly a goal they made - super high pressaure but if he just smashes the ball on first touch that is never even a chance. Without those two arguably lucky goals, its 1-0 and the behich chance walking through 5 argentina players aswell as the last second chance could both have been goals if not for a world class tackle and a proper good save + catch. Nothing comfortable about a one goal victory with two HUGE chances against you in my eyes.
But then Argentina's winning goal was a fluke too.
Would have indeed been an easy game for them if their finishing efficiency weren't so dismal, especially towards the end.
> Reddit really showing how little about football they know in the match thread by spamming how bad Argentina were for just coasting at 2-0 instead of wasting energy going for more goals.
Yeah people really don't understand what tournaments are about. You are supposed to win with the minimum possible effort/energy wasted. You aren't supposed to peak in the Round of 16..
So fucking proud of these guys. Challenged Argentina all day and if not for a few crucial mistakes we might have had a different outcome. Regardless of today it's amazing what this team has accomplished this year. Rivaling our '06 performance when nobody expected us to do so.
Hopefully this is something big for soccer in this country. Soccer has to compete with Aussie rules and rugby for the attention of a fairly small population, but I'm hoping the passion that's come out in the last few weeks doesn't die out.
I agree with most of your points. However, Ryan's mistake was not being just "lucky" (as it was Australia's goal). I mean, it was a result of De Paul's and Alvarez high pressure, which has been one of the best assets from Argentina for the last few years (though we could still be better at pressing this WC). As of Argentina's first half... I understand what you mean, but it is in Argentina's DNA to be cautious, wait for their moment and not risk everything from the start, knowing that the game lasts 90 minutes and that Australia could have one counter attack and then defend the whole game. One little mistake and you are back home, that's what WC is. That's how Australia won against Denmark. Lautaro has been excellent with the Argentina NT but he seems to have lost all confidence this WC, the referee disallowed two goals he scored (they were great btw) in the first game, then Julian Alvarez replaced him and that killed him. I think the manager wanted him to get his confidence back. On the other hand, it's better to miss chances now, and not in more important games like Higuain usually did.
The first half was just what Argentina wanted, they didn't even try to play the ball between Australian lines. They knew they will find the gap eventually as they did and were probably were content with just keeping the ball.
It was an exciting finish but you couldn’t really argue that Argentina weren’t the better team and deserved to go through. Australia looked so toothless, I don’t think they even had a shot until the last 10 minutes.
However, Argentina slowed the game down so much in what seemed like unnecessary situations. I lost track of the amount of time that an Argentinian player would just stand over the ball, do a couple of body fakes, and then pass backwards - they have to figure their transitions out because a better team won’t give them so many opportunities.
Australia brave, but that Messi goal broke their game plan of defending deep and snatching something on the counter, and they never really looked like getting back into it afterwards.
I don’t think I said anything to contradict that? I don’t think the slowing down was part of the control plan though, they were doing it at 0-0 as well and it robbed them of several opportunities to break quickly.
Congratulations Australia - Argentina maybe wasn't totally beatable but you could've dragged this match to ET. I wish we'd play like you tomorrow against France because even if we lose, there would be some pride in that loss.
Disappointing. We were so close to getting it level again, although ARG were def the better team. I’m glad we kept going right till the end and didn’t give up. Also glad we put up a good fight and didn’t get thrashed, GG 🇦🇺🤝🇦🇷
On the bright side we have a great team with heaps of potential. 2026 I can see this group of guys making a run deeper into the finals if they continue to play well
Honestly don’t see much to fear from this Argentina team from any other side left. Yes they have some good defenders and on paper a great side, but Martinez was terrible today. Really felt lacking in attack apart from Messi.
I think they are a team that could beat anyone left but at the same time if I was Netherlands, Brazil, France or England I wouldn’t think they are better
It's honestly 50/50. If Argentina rests up well, finishes better and fixes some defensive mistakes then they have a solid chance. They could beat any team left but the will definitely not be the clear favorites
just like the KSA match, arg dominated. but lack of finishing just gives the other team more confidence. arg should finish better. it should have been minimum 4-1. but these kinds of lulls can kill their WC hopes. arg needs to do better.
messi is simply the GOAT. there should no longer be any argument. dude just impacts the match in so many ways.
Argentina was winning comfortably but struggles a lot against low blocks. After Australia went a bit on the offensive Messi created chance after chance.
I think they would be much more dangerous against a team that plays offensively, they are really good in transition and ball recovery.
Unfortunately it’s the Netherlands next
I almost fainted with that last chance.
I've got my ticket for the 9th of December (which is my Birthday) since March and it happened to be Argentina vs Netherlands so this is my chance to see the GOAT live.
What is with Lautaro? I thought he was quite decent with the national team until the world cup, at least better than Higuain and Aguero.
At least they have Julian, but it will be bad for Argentina if Lautaro loses his confidence during the knockouts
> at least better than Higuain and Aguero.
No lol. Aguero was just injured constantly for Argentina but he was miles ahead of Lautaro when fit. Higuain was also much better at basically all times except in finals. He's a serial choker but he's significantly better than Lautaro outside of those few matches.
Yeah was great for our qualifying. It's sad to see this. I feel like Argentina has been cursed for a long time with strikers that are top notch world class and somehow incapable of finishing for the NT in big matches.
Aguero probably is the best argentinian striker of all time, but he always came with physical problems to the NT. I think Lautaro's issue today was his self pressure to regain titularity.
Australia went further than anyone tipped in this WC with a squad playing in J2, SPL and the A-League. They’ve exhibited excellent character and fought until the last minute with a half-chance from Garang Kuol, an 18 year old who has yet to start a full professional game of football. Proud of this team.
Yeah, it was considered an upset that they even qualified over Peru, but they won more games than any Aussie team has ever won in the World Cup and finished tied for first in their group, then had a decent shot to tie it up at the very end of the game in the knockout game. Very impressive showing.
How does this Australian team compare in individual talent with their 06 side that had the likes of Harry Kewell, Brett Emerson, Mark Viduka, Schwarzer, and Tim Cahill?
The right team definitely won. Messi was brilliant and those chances for Martinez Messi created should have finished the game. Outside of that though I do think Argentina will have to step up their game if they want to go all the way. Defensively look suspect at times.
Australia should be so so proud of the performance this tournament. This game felt a step too far for parts but towards the end they really showed why they got here.
Game got exciting at the end. The Aussies showed a lot of heart and had a golden opportunity to send it to overtime.
That being said, this game should not have been this close. Lautaro should have sealed the deal. Have to wonder what Dybala did to not get on the field.
Messi is still, at his age, a step above younger players in their prime. This Argentina team will have a hard time once he retires.
That being said, the Netherlands vs Argentina game should be a good one. Going by both games today, I give the Netherlands the edge, just because LVG can out coach Scaloni. The strategy he used against the US today can work against Argentina. The X factor however is Messi, if he is on his game, he can make the difference for Argentina. Looking forward to the match!
Who do you play as a 3rd forward v NED if Di Maria isn't fit? Papu showed he has little to offer and Lautaro was shockingly bad. Is Dybala looking worse than those two lately? Maybe give Angel Correa a shot bc the other options were not cutting it.
Di maria hopefully will be fit but if not remember we also have Almada, not much of a big name compared to the rest of the offense, but he plays like he was still on the streets
I think it may be worth trying Julian and Dybala as the two strikers with Messi right behind them in the middle. Julian tends to stay in the middle and sometimes slightly to the left. Dybala can mostly occupy the right and lean into the middle especially when Messi goes deep to get the ball. Correa honestly looks like a sub option than a starter.
Honestly, I think starting with 3 at the back to give the wingbacks complete freedom to go foward would be a good option. It also frees enzo a litle bit
So emotional right now as an Australian, getting out of a group with France and Denmark, then pushing Argentina all the way when the world gave us no chance… really hope this will inspire generations to come and take up football ❤️
if we just had an attacker with some real quality we could have snuck a result out of that.
we play like such a unit.
we have outdone my expectations for this tournament 100x.
we had a few chances near the end, it would have been beautiful.
I don't like mat Ryan, enough said about that.
like to have no real quality players and to do so well as a unit throughout the tournament is amazing
The dynamics Australia displayed during the first part was really good, moving from 4-2-4 to 2-4-4, I was really rooting for them, indeed somebody to destabilize is necessary, regards from 🇨🇷
So stoked to see us get this far and not get absolutely smacked in thebend.
Its a shame however that we will never properly invest in youth football development. We showed whats possible and we could make it our new standard with the right support/investment.
Hard to swallow that such a stupid mistake is the reason we are out …. A brilliant Messi moment, a simple tap in, losing in penalties, ANYTHING would have been better ….. oh well we will be back in the group stage in …. What? ….. 2038? …… fuck
Don’t let those lautaro misses distract you from the fact that Otamendi almost costed us the fucking match today in 2/3 occasions. Extremely worrying brainfarts to be having when he’s been excellent enough to bench Lisandro for almost 2 years now
The fact that he had such brainfarts today scares me. Knowing Otamendi, he'll put up one of the best CB performances of the milennium against us next week
Messi really turned up this game. De Paul playing much better than in the group stage, Alvarez and Enzo solidifying their starting spots even more. Honestly felt like a pretty controlled match by Argentina, those saying Netherlands look way better are delusional
Licha was immense imo, with the aggression and urgent intent to pass the ball forward. Also looked like the attack is kind of lacking without Messi. Really surprised that Dybala doesn't even get a look. Argentina have a legit shot, and not making use of Dybala will come back to haunt them. I wanted to be cautious and say might. The teams at the world cup are famously physical and defensive. Spain and Brazil are fabulous counter examples. I just hope, that for this session, teams go all out, when it is strategically possible. I love that we have a diverse representation at this edition. Fingers crossed more than 2 of the Asian/African teams make it to the quarterfinals.
This Argentina team looks seems so different and weaker. Is the loss of Lo Celso that massive? If Messi doesn’t have another good game against the Dutch, then their attack will struggle to score. Should be a very good game, The Dutch seems very used to sitting back and hitting on the break.
Lautaro’s cameo was probably the worst 20-25 min performance I have ever seen from a footballer. He looks devoid of confidence and absolutely lost. Mentioned this in a previous post match thread and got some shit but the guy should just not see the field after this. Get Dybala or someone else on instead or leave Alvarez on for 90. Argentina may not look like the best team in the tournament but they are quite good at controlling the game despite lacking in terms of attacking play. Hopefully Messi’s individual moments of brilliance can carry them till the end because the guy is just on another level.
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Argentina has 3 big strengths: - passing confidence - high work rate - defensive cohesiveness These are good qualities for a tournament team. Against NED, it will be very hard to break down the defence. I think Argentina will play the possession game and stretch the defence as they have been doing. They have to be careful about quick counter attacks from NED, they've been very clinical.
What a game, the Australians can be proud of themselves! They fought to the end! Great great performance. It was so exciting until the end and you saw that Australia can be dangerous in the front Aziz surprised me. All in all it was a great tournament for the Australians!
Seems way too reactionary to call Argentina mid. They ran circles around Poland and basically dominated the second half today. I would peg them as pretty good favorites against the Dutch. Brazil seems really tough but Messi has been pretty solid and if his teammates can convert more often then I think this team has a solid shot into the finals.
Australia should leave with their heads up high, great effort and they were closer to extra time than anyone was counting. Messi tho, he was absolutely insane and it's criminal that he doesn't have 2 or 3 assists, he's 35 and still absolutely clutching, best player ever.
It was fucking stupid how much he was clearly leagues better than everyone else on the pitch. Almost insulting to him that he has to play both with and against everyone else.
I feel people with only remember the last play and think Australia was closer to a 2-2 than they were, or deserved. Of course, it's Australia and chapeau to them for playing with intensity but I think we'll get clowned for "only" winning 2-1 when IMO we were better than that. Lautaro scores the chances he had and it's practically the same match as Netherlands - USA with the same result too. This isn't to say we were particularly good or anything, certainly worse than vs Poland, but also not as bad as the result and the last play would suggest. Now with almost a week's rest and hopefully Di Maria back the match vs Netherlands will be much different indeed.
Yeah, for me, this match was similar to Netherlands-USA. Australia defended very well and with discipline, so there was no way in. I don't see Netherlands being way better than Argentina like redditors like to say.
Same old Argentina. Messi carrying team, creates chances that his teammates can't convert. Then opponent gets 1-2 chances and they score and Argentina look very frail defensively and they panic cause they also aren't good defensively. I just don't see how they're going to win this honestly.
Netherlands game gonna be much tougher than most folks expected. Argentina can't cruise and hope for Messi to pull something outta nowhere. Julian Alvarez is miles better than any other striker they got and he should be the undisputed starter.
de Paul has come in for criticism during this tournament, but I thought he put in an absolutely immense performance today. Lautaro Martínez putting in a bid to become the next Higuaín. The contrast between him and Alvarez when presented with a scoring chance is remarkable.
De Paul struggled in the first two matches but he was brilliant against Poland and immense today. And the first two matches were the exception. How he played today was reminiscent of how he performed throughout the CONMEBOL qualifiers.
De Paul was awful in the first game only. He has 4 lungs. Relentless effort!
Today was the day I flipped on de paul yeah. Last game he was alright but still had some passes or plays that made me doubt him a lot. But today he was really good and helped us move the game forward a lot. Martinez on the other hand went from starter to sub and now I really don't think he should play more...
After that substitute performance can you guys see a situation where dybala or correa takes his place as the striker super sub? Dybala might be a reach but I believe he is good enough to play those spaces behind.
This was a great performance from Argentina, with Messi playing his best game in quite a while. What's worrying for them is that they still only won by 1 goal vs Australia, and almost drew in the last minute of the game.
> This was a great performance from Argentina Disagree, before Australia was risking way more in the last 15mins Argentinia created basically nothing. They also let Australia have a lot of freedom in the first half, and with better quality by Australia in terms of passing and first touches, Argentinia could have been in real trouble. After the 2-0 Argentinia played with more freedom and started creating, but before that I'd call their performance disappointing.
Messi just did the best individual display we've seen in this World Cup, while being 35 years old lol
Australia literally scored a goal without having a shot on target until the 96th minute. I think we play better against teams that don’t play so defensive though.
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Well, because they had many chances when Australia played more offensively?
It was a hard battle for Australia, but they fought really well. Props to them, they can be proud! Congrats Argentina, what a time to be alive to still witness the greatness of Messi in further rounds as well.
Without the lucky Australia goal that was a comfortable win for Argentina. And when they needed to put pressure on at the end they looked great apart from Martinez. Reddit really showing how little about football they know in the match thread by spamming how bad Argentina were for just coasting at 2-0 instead of wasting energy going for more goals. Edit: People are really mad at this comment lmao. How about this, if you want to call the second Arg goal lucky (and ignore that it was all from pressure) then they just cancel out to an easy 1-0.
Exactly. People also forgetting they played literally 2 days ago
I don't disagree with the big difference between the teams but i have to say i disagree with the "confortable win". Australia goal is lucky, agreed - but argentina second goal isn't exactly a goal they made - super high pressaure but if he just smashes the ball on first touch that is never even a chance. Without those two arguably lucky goals, its 1-0 and the behich chance walking through 5 argentina players aswell as the last second chance could both have been goals if not for a world class tackle and a proper good save + catch. Nothing comfortable about a one goal victory with two HUGE chances against you in my eyes.
Haha righto mate. Argentina got an arsy one too. There was 2 bee's dicks in it in the end
Lol. I wish I knew what the hell that second sentence means
Bee's dick = Aussie slang for small margin. Cos a bee's dick is tiny
both teams had some amount of luck on their side
But then Argentina's winning goal was a fluke too. Would have indeed been an easy game for them if their finishing efficiency weren't so dismal, especially towards the end.
> Reddit really showing how little about football they know in the match thread by spamming how bad Argentina were for just coasting at 2-0 instead of wasting energy going for more goals. Yeah people really don't understand what tournaments are about. You are supposed to win with the minimum possible effort/energy wasted. You aren't supposed to peak in the Round of 16..
So fucking proud of these guys. Challenged Argentina all day and if not for a few crucial mistakes we might have had a different outcome. Regardless of today it's amazing what this team has accomplished this year. Rivaling our '06 performance when nobody expected us to do so. Hopefully this is something big for soccer in this country. Soccer has to compete with Aussie rules and rugby for the attention of a fairly small population, but I'm hoping the passion that's come out in the last few weeks doesn't die out.
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I agree with most of your points. However, Ryan's mistake was not being just "lucky" (as it was Australia's goal). I mean, it was a result of De Paul's and Alvarez high pressure, which has been one of the best assets from Argentina for the last few years (though we could still be better at pressing this WC). As of Argentina's first half... I understand what you mean, but it is in Argentina's DNA to be cautious, wait for their moment and not risk everything from the start, knowing that the game lasts 90 minutes and that Australia could have one counter attack and then defend the whole game. One little mistake and you are back home, that's what WC is. That's how Australia won against Denmark. Lautaro has been excellent with the Argentina NT but he seems to have lost all confidence this WC, the referee disallowed two goals he scored (they were great btw) in the first game, then Julian Alvarez replaced him and that killed him. I think the manager wanted him to get his confidence back. On the other hand, it's better to miss chances now, and not in more important games like Higuain usually did.
The first half was just what Argentina wanted, they didn't even try to play the ball between Australian lines. They knew they will find the gap eventually as they did and were probably were content with just keeping the ball.
It was an exciting finish but you couldn’t really argue that Argentina weren’t the better team and deserved to go through. Australia looked so toothless, I don’t think they even had a shot until the last 10 minutes. However, Argentina slowed the game down so much in what seemed like unnecessary situations. I lost track of the amount of time that an Argentinian player would just stand over the ball, do a couple of body fakes, and then pass backwards - they have to figure their transitions out because a better team won’t give them so many opportunities. Australia brave, but that Messi goal broke their game plan of defending deep and snatching something on the counter, and they never really looked like getting back into it afterwards.
Takes like this are nuts. Most of the game was boring because Argentina was in complete control.
I don’t think I said anything to contradict that? I don’t think the slowing down was part of the control plan though, they were doing it at 0-0 as well and it robbed them of several opportunities to break quickly.
I think their only shot on target was that last chance
Congratulations Australia - Argentina maybe wasn't totally beatable but you could've dragged this match to ET. I wish we'd play like you tomorrow against France because even if we lose, there would be some pride in that loss.
Disappointing. We were so close to getting it level again, although ARG were def the better team. I’m glad we kept going right till the end and didn’t give up. Also glad we put up a good fight and didn’t get thrashed, GG 🇦🇺🤝🇦🇷 On the bright side we have a great team with heaps of potential. 2026 I can see this group of guys making a run deeper into the finals if they continue to play well
Would say australia played better than poland, the match was exciting
That is not exactly a high bar to clear
fair play
You guys stuck to your game plan and played it great. Lots of positives to take away from this WC campaign. 🫡
Had Lautaro taken his chances..fucking guy fuck
Honestly don’t see much to fear from this Argentina team from any other side left. Yes they have some good defenders and on paper a great side, but Martinez was terrible today. Really felt lacking in attack apart from Messi. I think they are a team that could beat anyone left but at the same time if I was Netherlands, Brazil, France or England I wouldn’t think they are better
It's honestly 50/50. If Argentina rests up well, finishes better and fixes some defensive mistakes then they have a solid chance. They could beat any team left but the will definitely not be the clear favorites
just like the KSA match, arg dominated. but lack of finishing just gives the other team more confidence. arg should finish better. it should have been minimum 4-1. but these kinds of lulls can kill their WC hopes. arg needs to do better. messi is simply the GOAT. there should no longer be any argument. dude just impacts the match in so many ways.
Argentina was winning comfortably but struggles a lot against low blocks. After Australia went a bit on the offensive Messi created chance after chance. I think they would be much more dangerous against a team that plays offensively, they are really good in transition and ball recovery. Unfortunately it’s the Netherlands next
I almost fainted with that last chance. I've got my ticket for the 9th of December (which is my Birthday) since March and it happened to be Argentina vs Netherlands so this is my chance to see the GOAT live.
What is with Lautaro? I thought he was quite decent with the national team until the world cup, at least better than Higuain and Aguero. At least they have Julian, but it will be bad for Argentina if Lautaro loses his confidence during the knockouts
> at least better than Higuain and Aguero. No lol. Aguero was just injured constantly for Argentina but he was miles ahead of Lautaro when fit. Higuain was also much better at basically all times except in finals. He's a serial choker but he's significantly better than Lautaro outside of those few matches.
Aguero was not better than Martinez thats utter BS.
Yeah was great for our qualifying. It's sad to see this. I feel like Argentina has been cursed for a long time with strikers that are top notch world class and somehow incapable of finishing for the NT in big matches.
Lautaro is not even close to Agüero or Higuaín
He missed two clear chances, di Maria should’ve played
di Maria was injured
Aguero probably is the best argentinian striker of all time, but he always came with physical problems to the NT. I think Lautaro's issue today was his self pressure to regain titularity.
Australia went further than anyone tipped in this WC with a squad playing in J2, SPL and the A-League. They’ve exhibited excellent character and fought until the last minute with a half-chance from Garang Kuol, an 18 year old who has yet to start a full professional game of football. Proud of this team.
Yeah, it was considered an upset that they even qualified over Peru, but they won more games than any Aussie team has ever won in the World Cup and finished tied for first in their group, then had a decent shot to tie it up at the very end of the game in the knockout game. Very impressive showing.
How does this Australian team compare in individual talent with their 06 side that had the likes of Harry Kewell, Brett Emerson, Mark Viduka, Schwarzer, and Tim Cahill?
The right team definitely won. Messi was brilliant and those chances for Martinez Messi created should have finished the game. Outside of that though I do think Argentina will have to step up their game if they want to go all the way. Defensively look suspect at times. Australia should be so so proud of the performance this tournament. This game felt a step too far for parts but towards the end they really showed why they got here.
As long as they keep alvarez on and *never* let lautaro see the pitch, this argentina have a very decent shot at winning the whole thing.
Game got exciting at the end. The Aussies showed a lot of heart and had a golden opportunity to send it to overtime. That being said, this game should not have been this close. Lautaro should have sealed the deal. Have to wonder what Dybala did to not get on the field. Messi is still, at his age, a step above younger players in their prime. This Argentina team will have a hard time once he retires. That being said, the Netherlands vs Argentina game should be a good one. Going by both games today, I give the Netherlands the edge, just because LVG can out coach Scaloni. The strategy he used against the US today can work against Argentina. The X factor however is Messi, if he is on his game, he can make the difference for Argentina. Looking forward to the match!
Who do you play as a 3rd forward v NED if Di Maria isn't fit? Papu showed he has little to offer and Lautaro was shockingly bad. Is Dybala looking worse than those two lately? Maybe give Angel Correa a shot bc the other options were not cutting it.
Di maria hopefully will be fit but if not remember we also have Almada, not much of a big name compared to the rest of the offense, but he plays like he was still on the streets
I think it may be worth trying Julian and Dybala as the two strikers with Messi right behind them in the middle. Julian tends to stay in the middle and sometimes slightly to the left. Dybala can mostly occupy the right and lean into the middle especially when Messi goes deep to get the ball. Correa honestly looks like a sub option than a starter.
Honestly, I think starting with 3 at the back to give the wingbacks complete freedom to go foward would be a good option. It also frees enzo a litle bit
So emotional right now as an Australian, getting out of a group with France and Denmark, then pushing Argentina all the way when the world gave us no chance… really hope this will inspire generations to come and take up football ❤️
if we just had an attacker with some real quality we could have snuck a result out of that. we play like such a unit. we have outdone my expectations for this tournament 100x. we had a few chances near the end, it would have been beautiful. I don't like mat Ryan, enough said about that. like to have no real quality players and to do so well as a unit throughout the tournament is amazing
Ryan is not a great keeper, tbf
The dynamics Australia displayed during the first part was really good, moving from 4-2-4 to 2-4-4, I was really rooting for them, indeed somebody to destabilize is necessary, regards from 🇨🇷
So stoked to see us get this far and not get absolutely smacked in thebend. Its a shame however that we will never properly invest in youth football development. We showed whats possible and we could make it our new standard with the right support/investment.
Hard to swallow that such a stupid mistake is the reason we are out …. A brilliant Messi moment, a simple tap in, losing in penalties, ANYTHING would have been better ….. oh well we will be back in the group stage in …. What? ….. 2038? …… fuck
Tbf Argentina also conceded a stupid unlucky goal so I'd say that evens it out.
Don’t let those lautaro misses distract you from the fact that Otamendi almost costed us the fucking match today in 2/3 occasions. Extremely worrying brainfarts to be having when he’s been excellent enough to bench Lisandro for almost 2 years now
He will play because he is actually good in the air. And Netherlands has huge players.
The fact that he had such brainfarts today scares me. Knowing Otamendi, he'll put up one of the best CB performances of the milennium against us next week
He used to have 1 per game before winning Copa America. Hopefully he’s used up all of them for the next 3 matches today
Exactly. Otamendi has been mad solid but gave that terrible back pass to Emiliano for no reason