Argentina are out of the World Cup now. It was a highly interesting encounter between France and Argentina in the round of 16 in this World Cup. The match had ended with a scoreline of 4-3. It was a Kylian Mbappe show at the Kazan Arena in Russia and he just stole the glamour away from Lionel Messi in this big stage. There were several reasons behind the exit of Argentina from the round of 16 stage of the tournament. Here we will discuss about three mistakes made by Sampaoli that cost Argentina a place in the Quarter Final :
1. Absence Of A Proper Striker In The Box :
Argentine national side’s head coach Jorge Sampaoli had fielded his side without a proper centre forward. Though, two World class centre forwards named Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain was present in the squad of Argentina for the World Cup. Lionel Messi was used in the false nine position where he is not very much used to play. We all know that, Lionel Messi likes to play from the right flank or he can even play from behind the striker. But it was quite odd for Lionel Messi too. He was not seeming much comfortable in that position. Lionel Messi was not able to create any type of attack from that position. Even he has to come back in the midfield to collect the ball. So there was no threats in the penalty box for Argentina in this match. It was the biggest mistake of Jorge Sampaoli to choose the right lineup for this match.
2. Why Paulo Dybala Was In The Squad Of Argentina? :
Paulo Dybala had a great season in 2017-18 campaign for Juventus. He has scored 26 goals in all competitions for Juventus in the last season. But, the manager of Argentina, Jorge Sampaoli did not even bother to call him up when his presence was much needed. Paulo Dybala could surely take some pressure off Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi has a loads of burden upon him to carry the Argentine national team all the time. Sometimes, the pressure becomes so high that it affects in the performance graph of the player very much. If Paulo Dybala was there in the starting line up of Argentina it could have been a different story altogether for the Argentines. Dybala could have shared the workload with Lionel Messi and they both could have got enough free space to destroy the defense of France. But, Paulo Dybala is not a type of player Jorge Sampaoli wants to be in his side. This stubbornness was the reason of Argentina’s downfall in this World Cup.
3. Not Selecting Mauro Icardi In The World Cup Squad When They Needed Him :
Was Sampaoli not confident about the ability of his strikers? If the answer is yes then why he has not selected Mauro Icardi in the World Cup Squad of Argentina. It was a big mistake not to select such a prolific goalscorer like Mauro Icardi. With his goal scoring form in the previous season, Mauro Icardi could well have been the hero of Argentina in this World Cup. But alas, he was not in the squad of Jorge Sampaoli’s Argentina.
