Sampaoli must act fast to turn Argentina around ahead of World Cup
After a 6-1 loss to Spain, Argentina have plenty to worry about with the World Cup approaching. Does have Jorge Sampaoli have time to turn things around?
Being on the receiving end of a rout is never good. Sometimes, however, it can be the wake-up call a team needs. In Argentina’s case, it’s the chance to fix a broken situation before playing games that matter. The Albiceleste‘s 6-1 loss to Spain in Madrid this past Tuesday exposed a cornucopia of weaknesses. Those weaknesses, from manager Jorge Sampaoli’s tactics to his player selection, need to be fixed with just a little over two months to go before the start of the World Cup.
If there’s a silver lining here, it’s hard to see. The criticism leveled at Sampaoli for the team’s abysmal performance came from all sides. The Argentine press was, as expected, not too kind following the hammering.The daily Clarin called the outcome “a catastrophe.” La Cronica was equally pessimistic, saying that “Without Messi, Argentina simply doesn’t measure up against the true heavyweights.”
While the team’s dependence on Lionel Messi remains their primary weakness (the Barcelona star was sidelined for both friendlies against Italy and Spain with a muscular problem), the humiliating loss to Spain revealed that Argentina’s problems may be far worse. Argentina defeated Italy 2-0 last Friday in Manchester.
“I take the blame for the goals, don’t point to the players,” Sampaoli told reporters in the post-match news conference. “The difference [between the sides] in the game wasn’t as large as the result. We have to learn from this. It cannot happen in the World Cup.”
Here are three areas Sampaoli needs to do immediately if Argentina wants any shot at lifting the World Cup this summer:
Shore up the defense
While everyone worried about the Argentine attacking and who to play alongside Messi, the defense proved disastrous against a Spanish side that was aggressive in the attacking third. Without Messi to keep Spain preoccupied, La Roja were free to roam the midfield and push forward. While Argentina played Spain on equal footing for much of the first half, it was only a matter of time before Spain would capitalize.
Down 2-1 at halftime, Argentina fell apart in the 50th minute when Isco’s goal made it 3-1. The two-time World Cup winners were vulnerable to counter-attacks for the remainder of the match. Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who replaced Manchester United’s Sergio Romero, who injured himself trying to stop Diego Costa’s opening goal after 12 minutes, looked poor in his second appearance for his country.
Indeed, Argentina’s problems grew worse with each passing minute. As Spain piled on the goals, Argentina were never able to bounce back. The backline was consistently out of position. Center-backs Nicolas Otamendi and Marco Rojo were unable to keep up with the Spanish attack. The midfielders also found itself flatfooted with Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia failing to track back when needed and unable to get the offense going once Argentina went down.
Mascherano, in particular, looked as if this will be his last big tournament. It makes you yearn for the days when Javier Zanetti roamed the midfield, giving stability to the defense while aiding the attack.
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Find an alternative to Higuain
Not calling up Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi proved to be a big mistake. Without Messi in the lineup against Italy and Spain, Sampaoli’s choices were limited. Add to that the absences of Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria against Spain and all Sampaoli had to go with were younger, inexperienced players. Maximiliano Meza, playing in his first senior international, and Giovanni Lo Celso, earning just his fourth cap, were no match for the experienced Spanish backline.
Once again, Higuain failed to put away an easy goal early in the game. The exact same thing had played out in the three recent finals (2014 World Cup, 2015 Copa America and 2016 Copa America Centenario) that Argentina lost. While Higuain has scored some big goals for Juventus, he has been unable to handle the pressure that comes with big games and high-level international opponents.
With Messi sidelined, Dybala could have been a factor. Similar to the Argentine playmaker in style and ability, Dybala is having a stellar season with Juventus. His familiarity with playing alongside Higuain would have been a plus for Argentina.
Instead, the attack Sampaoli fielded was a non-factor. Should Aguero be healthy for the World Cup, Sampaoli needs to start him and bench Higuain. Otherwise, he could always deploy other options such as Icardi or veteran Carlos Tevez.
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Become more flexible in his tactics
Sampaoli prefers a 4-2-3-1 and wants players who can play within that rigid system. Given the unpredictable nature of international soccer (where players often come into a tournament like the World Cup nursing injury and fatigue), Sampaoli needs to be more flexible.
In a short tournament like the World Cup, where so many games are played in a tight time frame, Sampaoli would benefit from a system that highlights the best players, not the other way around. By insisting on a specific tactical formation, Sampaoli is limiting his choices. It could be the same reason he chose not to call up players like Dybala and Icardi. Doing so again would be a grave error.
As the veteran tactical analyst Roman Iucht tweeted from Argentina: “More worrying than this defeat is the scarce amount of time left to work on the objective. And the confusion in the game plan, the ideas and interpreters.”
Sampaoli needs to move quickly if he wants to turn things around. Argentina have come into tournaments on shaky ground before. With the stakes raised in Russia, Sampaoli will have to show that Argentina can not only compete for the title, but avoid future defeats as humiliating as the one they experienced this week.