Argentina 0-3 Croatia: 3 things we learned

Group D heavyweights Argentina and Croatia met in what turned out to be a very exciting affair. Here are three things we learned.

In what proved to be a chippy affair that generated enough nervous tension for Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli to wear out the grass in front of his bench from all his pacing, Croatia got the best of the two-time World Cup champions on Thursday.

Both sides traded clear scoring chances in the first 45 minutes in a high-tempo match before Croatia caught a break and took the lead early in the second half following a goalkeeping blunder en route to a resounding 3-0 win. Under fire entering this match, Sampaoli made some tactical and lineup changes in an effort to grab a win. The changes didn’t really work and what we got was a match even more frustrating than last week’s 1-1 draw against Iceland.

Argentina is still alive in this tournament, but it looks like a team destined for failure. Of course, the first round often does little to tell us how good a team can really be. That verdict is usually reserved for the knockout stage — but only if Argentina advances can we even start to look at that prospect. Given the defeat and the goal differential, Argentina’s fate rests on the outcome of Friday’s Nigeria-Iceland match.

With Argentina-Croatia in the history books, here are three things we learned.

1. Argentina’s defense failed again, its goalkeeper got worse

At a tournament where Argentina was in no position to give away any gifts, goalkeeper Willy Caballero did the unimaginable in the 53rd minute and gave away a goal to Croatia early in the second half following a poor clearance. You can’t blame Lionel Messi for that one.

Sampaoli opted for three in the back rather than four with a new-look 3-4-3 lineup meant to give more numbers in the midfield to support Messi positioned further forward. Argentina’s backline failed again and it was Caballero, a backup at Chelsea, who was the biggest failure. He wasn’t Sampaoli’s first choice after veteran starter Sergio Romero was injured on the eve of the tournament, but lack of depth at the position proved fatal when selecting three goalkeepers.

Croatia’s opening goal left Argentina’s players and fans stunned. It did nothing to exude confidence that Sampaoli knows what he’s doing when it comes to choosing players and assessing lineups.

2. Argentina lacks passion and chemistry

Indeed, there are some serious problems with this Argentina squad, which again lacked chemistry, rhythm and passion. Too many talented players rode the bench, including offensive options such as Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala. Juventus stars Higuain and Dybala eventually came in, but only after they went down 1-0. Both did nothing. For a team that lacked offensive pizzaz and with Messi creating less than usual, it was head-scratching as to why Sampaoli was so conservative.

While this game did little to quell the who’s better debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, it did show that the Barcelona star can only succeed if his teammates help him. They didn’t once again. The pressure on him prior to kick off was so palpable as Messi was caught with his eyes closed and rubbing his forehead in a moment of concentration during the playing of the national anthems. Again, no blaming Messi for this embarrassing loss.

While it’s true that most of the players Sampaoli played over the past two games wouldn’t start for a club side in either the Premier League or Serie A, this is a team that can win games if they get their stuff together. The inclusion in midfield of Enzo Perez was key, although he missed a clear scoring chance in the first half and in the end showed little hustle, while Sergio Aguero was also livelier on the wing, although only in spurts.

Next: Who is the better player: Ronaldo or Messi?

3. Croatia remains an underrated team that can make a deep run

The Croatians made just one lineup change compared to their 2-0 win against Nigeria. Against Argentina, Croatia showed their tougher side, chasing every loose ball and made crunching, even reckless, tackles every chance they got. Winger Ante Rebic was by far the most physical during this game, although he was the one who capitalized on Caballero’s error for the goal.

Croatia are an interesting team. They play hard and are strong in all areas of the field. They like to defend in numbers and also push forward with the help of midfielder Luka Modric and striker Mario Mandzukic, two of the most-lethal strikers in Europe. Modric’s goal to make it 2-0 was yet another example of how good a player the Real Madrid player can be.

This is a team that may not always be pretty to watch, but one that could go far in this tournament. All the ingredients are there for a deep run like the team’s third-place finish 20 years ago at France ’98. History could very well repeat itself with a new generation of stars that have been very successful for various clubs in recent years and now want to make their country proud.