{"id":778067,"date":"2026-07-04T07:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T07:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/778067\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T07:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T07:18:13","slug":"argentina-keep-winning-world-cup-games-but-why-do-they-make-it-such-a-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/778067\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina keep winning World Cup games but why do they make it such a struggle?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Argentina have a game-state problem.<\/p>\n

It seems strange to be saying \u201cthey never make it easy for themselves\u201d \u2014 a phrase generally used by supporters of eternally frustrating bottom-half clubs \u2014 about the reigning world champions. But honestly, why do Argentina keep on doing this?<\/p>\n

To clarify, at the last World Cup, Argentina were guilty of squandering a lead no fewer than four occasions. They memorably lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their opening game of the tournament, having been 1-0 up. They went 2-0 up in the quarter-final against the Netherlands, before conceding twice to Wout Weghorst and having to win on penalties.<\/p>\n

In a memorable final, they blew France away in the first half, going 2-0 up and seemed set to win at a canter. Then Kylian Mbappe\u2019s quickfire double changed everything. Lionel Messi promptly put Argentina 3-2 up \u2014 only for Mbappe to equalise again. They also made heavy weather of their first knockout tie in 2022, an eventual 2-1 win over Australia, that seemed to be game over before Australia scored and gave Lionel Scaloni\u2019s side a scare late on.<\/p>\n

All this sprung to mind on Friday, against a Cape Verde side<\/a> that were dogged, well-organised and capable of scoring spectacular goals. The pattern was very familiar. Argentina took the lead, switched off, and conceded. Argentina took the lead again, switched off again, and conceded again. Argentina took the lead, switched off again\u2026 and had to rely on Emiliano Martinez to ensure they didn\u2019t concede for a third time. \u201cWe received many tough blows tonight,\u201d conceded Scaloni after the game. \u201cEveryone thought the match would be a walk in the park \u2014 we didn\u2019t think it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

A walk in the park? Perhaps not. But why was it quite such a struggle? Complacency? Tiredness? A tactical problem or a mentality problem?<\/p>\n

Here, it felt like Argentina were trying to win the game in second gear. This will be a physically gruelling knockout stage, the first World Cup with five knockout matches, and conserving energy for later matches makes sense. The problem, of course, comes when you conserve so much energy that you get sloppy and are forced to play another 30 minutes unnecessarily.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you need rest the most is when you least have it,\u201d said Scaloni, pointing to only three days off before the next game, a round of 16 clash against Egypt. But this is a starting XI that was rested for the final group game, a 3-0 win over Jordan.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just about physical fitness. Argentina\u2019s style is a little different to the leading European nations. They don\u2019t attempt to offer constant intensity or high pressure. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t press them well, and our lines were a bit too far apart,\u201d said Messi. \u201cThey always had an extra man because we couldn\u2019t match them. And, well, that\u2019s why they had the ball and made us run, because we couldn\u2019t press them properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare for Messi to offer proper tactical critique after a match.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Lionel Sclaoni was pleased with Argentina\u2019s character (Chandan Khanna\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s plan in attack is to rely on sudden bursts of energy, epitomised by the way Messi suddenly sprung into life to go in behind, collect a diagonal ball from Lisandro Martinez, control it beautifully and fire home for the opener. But when the opposition are obliged to come forward and make the running, Argentina are too content to sit deep.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not terrible at defending their own box, but they spent too long doing it. Eventually, opponents find gaps \u2014 like for Deroy Duarte\u2019s equaliser, hardly against the run of play \u2014 or produce something outrageous, like Sidny Cabral\u2019s absolutely wonderful shot to make it 2-2. \u201cYou need to bounce back from that,\u201d Scaloni said calmly afterwards. In fairness, they always did.<\/p>\n

What Argentina don\u2019t do particularly proficiently, for all their strengths, is offer a serious threat on the counter-attack, punishing opponents for pushing forward. Their nominal wide players aren\u2019t explosive wingers who sprint 50 yards in five seconds, but more languid players who like drifting infield and playing passing combinations.<\/p>\n

Messi, while still a brilliant creator and ruthless in the final third, doesn\u2019t have the legs to bounce on the break. Indeed, Messi\u2019s physical limitations mean the striker alongside him \u2014 usually Lauturo Martinez, sometimes Julian Alvarez \u2014 has to focus on their defensive tasks without possession, and isn\u2019t able to wait on the last line of defence and spring in behind.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Lautaro Martinez is asked to track back in Argentina\u2019s system (Roberto Schmidt\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It should be acknowledged that Argentina responded impressively to both equalisers. There was never any sense of panic. They dominated possession and barely conceded a chance. Both goals came from centre-backs at set pieces \u2014 Lisandro Martinez\u2019s blast and Christian Romero\u2019s header which eventually went down as an own goal \u2014 which was a reflection of them piling on the pressure, and needing something different against a defence sitting deep. Scaloni took the positives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still remember those matches that went to extra time in Qatar \u2014 it was a similar situation, the team continues to trying to score, and end up very tired,\u201d he said. \u201cThere were some moments where it felt like the Saudi Arbia game back in Qatar. But if we compare with Saudi Arabia, I think the team reacted this time compared to Saudi. We have much more experience now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cape Verde manager Bubista was more succinct. \u201cThey showed why they\u2019re world champions,\u201d he said. But they also showed why they needed two penalty shootouts to become world champions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Argentina have a game-state problem. It seems strange to be saying \u201cthey never make it easy for themselves\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":778068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[12910,64,63,126352,596,18943,13198,85],"class_list":["post-778067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-argentina","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-football","tag-international-football","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}