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It's that time of the season where national teams play friendly matches to test their tactics and plans for the final time before the World Cup. Yes, the international friendlies are much awaited by fans nowadays. One of the most talked about team, Argentina played Haiti in a friendly match.
Sampaoli has not been very clear with his lineups and it was a great opportunity for him to try and implement his ideas. Haiti is clearly a much weaker side and it would allow Argentina to dominate the ball and impose their game for 90 minutes.
The match ended 4-0 in favour of 'La Albiceleste'. It was a very convincing victory with Messi grabbing a hattrick and Aguero adding one to his name. Recent performances by the Argentina national team have not been great but this match showed what makes them a contender for the World Cup.
Let's have a look at things that went in favour for Jorge Sampaoli:
#3 Starting Eduardo Salvio at right back
Instead of putting the experienced Sevilla full-back, Mercado, Sampaoli opted Salvio to do the job in the right back spot. A couple of hours before the match, it was rumoured that Salvio would start against Haiti but not playing him in the midfield was a smart move.
Salvio was in action throughout the game. Running up and down the right flank, he hardly made any major mistakes. His pace was fully utilized by Sampaoli. Salvio also showed great composure on the ball and even connected well with his teammates.
Mercado is more physical and experienced but lacks pace and attacking abilities like Salvio. Sampaoli was aware and thus opted for a more attacking full-back in his defensive back-four.
#2 Starting Di Maria on left Wing
It was a great outing for Angel Di Maria playing on the left flank. One could not make out that this isn't his natural position. The PSG star was great on and off the ball. He looked confident when dribbling and building-up the play alongside Messi. Di Maria needs some more practice on his finishing as he missed a couple of opportunities in his 60-minute performance.
Sampaoli's idea to play Di Maria was a success. His overall performance was great but he can connect even better with Messi like Jordi Alba does in Barcelona. The typical Alba-Messi cutback passes prove to be lethal and surely Di Maria can adopt that technique to link up with the Argentina captain.
#1 Playing Messi as an attacking midfielder
3 goals and an assist, what more can you ask from a midfielder. Sampaoli allowed Messi to play as an attacking midfielder, similar to the way plays for Barcelona and surely it paid off well.
Leo was on fire throughout. He looked determined to win convincingly. Messi was busy creating chances for his side. After a long time, Argentina played a very smooth attacking game. The players connected well, created lots of chances and Messi was involved in all. Just like an eye of a tornado.
Leo was easily the best player on the pitch and managed to prove that Argentina can't be written off easily.
Other points to highlight:
Higuain had a disappointing game. He missed several chances to get his name on the scoresheet whereas, Aguero looked sharp. Shortly after coming on, Aguero grabbed a goal from a pinpoint through-ball from Messi. Sampaoli needs to reconsider that who should start for his team in the world Cup.
Nicolás Tagliafico was a surprise inclusion by Sampaoli but he was on spot. He played simple but he was very efficient and effective for his side. In just 70 minutes, he proved why Sampaoli has decided to take him to the World Cup.
Sampaoli chose Lo Celso above Ever Banega and the young PSG midfielder didn't disappoint. Lo Celso was a great performer, getting involved in attacking and maintaining possession, he proved that he can be trusted by his boss during the upcoming mega event.
