5 top teams looking for redemption after World Cup debacle

#3 Argentina

A Messi-less Argentina will be looking to start again

Just what Sampaoli was thinking before and during the World Cup, nobody will ever know. A ramshackle 23-man squad featuring star men and an assorted mix of average and poor players never got going.

Over-dependence on Lionel Messi, a failure to organize the defence, a porous midfield, confusing tactics, and abject goalies; these and more defined La Albiceleste’s campaign in Russia. Expectedly, Sampaoli was sacked and in his stead, former player Lionel Scaloni has been appointed on an interim basis.

The poverty of the Argentine Football Association and the reluctance of the country’s high powered coaches: Diego Simeone, Marcelo Bielsa, Mauricio Pochettino to work in such a chaotic and trouble-ridden setting means he may get the job full-time.

Like Ronaldo, Messi has asked to be left out of the forthcoming friendlies against Guatemala and Colombia (though his absence may be for the foreseeable future). Scaloni has been bold in his selection with Gabriel Mercado the only above-30 player named in the squad.

#SelecciónMayor Lionel Scaloni dio a conocer la lista de convocados para enfrentar a Guatemala y Colombia en Estados Unidos. pic.twitter.com/yivZX2KZ37

— Selección Argentina 🇦🇷 (@Argentina) August 17, 2018

Real Sociedad’s Geronimo Rulli may finally get a long-overdue first cap while there is a recall for Mauro Icardi who was inexplicably dropped by the mad hatter that was Sampaoli. Defenders Alan Franco and Leonardo Di Placido, midfielders Santiago Ascacibar, Exequiel Palacios and forward Giovanni Simeone are among the potential debutants in the team.

With Scaloni looking to play a faster, more direct style, these friendlies will offer interesting viewing.