Do The Lackluster Argentinians Have What It Takes To Progress Further In The World Cup ?

Messi’s four goals in the World Cup for Argentina so far has been crucial to their advance to the Quarter-Finals

“One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The aforementioned statement resonates the current state of affairs as far as the Argentine team is concerned.

Despite boasting of more than one star player, it looks like Alejandro Sabella’s only tactic is: pass the ball to Messi, he knows best.

In the scalding heat of the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, two unfamiliar foes faced off for a place in the quarterfinals of the most coveted competition in football. The opening-half of this match was dominated by Switzerland as they produced a legion of threatening counterattacks led by Josip Drmic and Granit Xhaka, only to be rendered ineffective by the Argentine defence.

The Swiss had a couple of clear goal-scoring opportunities too. However, they were unable to convert and those misses consequently came back to haunt them deep into extra time as Argentina relied on individual brilliance to ultimately take them through to the next round. The victory was not plausible whatsoever and if Sabella has the intention of booking a spot in the final at the iconic Maracana with these kind of performances, then I strongly believe that he should stop presuming things and start refurbishing his tactics for the games to come.

Reliance on Messi

Argentina’s reliance on Lionel Messi was expected, but being so dependent on a single player is not acceptable in a gargantuan tournament like a World Cup. You can bank on a player to get you out of a difficult match successfully, but expecting the same player to win a World Cup for you is mere absurdity. It was one of those matches when a decisive goal for Argentina was scored by a player other than Leo Messi. Although DI Maria got the all important goal to help Argentina progress to the next stage of the tournament, it was Messi, who earned the plaudits, courtesy of a thrilling display in the build-up to the goal.

Lack of a solid game-plan

This fact further highlights the plight of the Albiceleste. The team on the whole hasn’t lived up to expectations, the star players haven’t really stepped up (with the exception of Messi) in dire times and the coach doesn’t seem to have a dynamic game-plan which has resulted in his exemplary attacking players firing blanks in front of the opponents’ goal. When you look at the forwards in the Argentinian starting eleven, you cannot help but imagine how they were unable to nick a goal past Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side early on in the game. But a chunk of the credit needs to be given to the Swiss defence too, as they gathered around Messi, Di Maria, Higuain and Marcos Rojo like sharks, whenever they looked menacing on the attack.

Alejandro Sabella: Has come under scathing criticism becasue of his tactics

Lack of dynamism on the counter and questionable tactics

Their ineptitude to penetrate further up the pitch is a worrying prospect and one which needs to be addressed promptly. As mentioned earlier, the absence of dynamism and penetration has forced fans and pundits alike to mull over the tactics adopted by manager Alejandro Sabella. The most recent example of this has been their group-stage match versus Iran, where the 1986 World Cup champions failed to find a goal till the very last second of stoppage time. These were nervy moments for the South American giants and an individual moment of brilliance was all that could've salvaged something for them.

Speak of brilliance and in comes Messi, cutting in from the right on the edge of the penalty box and curling an absolute belter past the goalkeeper to clinch three momentous points for his team; thereby scything the Iranians. Carlos Queiroz’s side had done all they could to keep the Argentine magician at bay throughout the encounter, but one moment of brilliance from the ‘little master’ of football was enough to shatter their hopes and expose the travesty of this beautiful sport.

The scenario did not change when they were up against Nigeria or Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the match against the Bosnians, when all players had tried and failed to find that all important goal which could catapult their World Cup campaign, a moment of 'Messi Magic' was the only hope the travelling supporters had and, that is what they got. A brilliant one-two exchange with a teammate coupled with a sweeping run across the Bosnian defence by the diminutive ‘Number 10’ followed by an accurate finish gave Argentina the all-important second goal they were vying for, making Messi the cruel master of soaring hope and sinking despondency. The match against Nigeria saw the Barcelona man going full throttle and scoring for his team in the third minute with a tap in from a Di Maria shot which was saved by Enyeama and eventually rebounded in his path, followed by a strike at the stroke of half time

This clearly shows how over-reliant Argentina is on their talisman and it is this dependency which has cost the team as a whole dearly. They have looked absolutely directionless and aimless while on the attack, and they don’t possess an influential game plan which makes them really vulnerable. The absence of dynamism in their overall game followed by their over dependence on Messi has irked Diego Maradona too, and this is what he had to say - "The team has no rhythm, no movement up front. [Messi] is very alone. I have something very strong inside -- a bitter taste, anger, fight. Argentina has the team to do a lot better than this".

Absence of a quality playmaker

Another reason for their mediocre displays can be the absence of a world-class playmaker in the centre of the park, dictating the tempo of the game and providing those cutting-edge, incisive passes which can rip-open the opponent’s defence. Mascherano does an excellent job forming a protective layer in front of the back four and influencing the entire team on the pitch but that isn’t enough. Gago is far from world-class and Di Maria’s favoured position is on the wings rather than the central role which he is confined to in the current line-up

Measures needed to improve

All in all, the Argentina squad needs a major performance revamp if they are to go further in the tournament. Their opponents till now have been pretty easy with the exception of Switzerland. Their next opponent, Belgium is however considered the dark-horses in the tournament and has performed far better than their South American counterparts in the tournament so far.

It will alluring to see how Sabella will marshal his troops against a spirited and a more balanced Belgian side which has a perfect recipe for an enticing encounter given the kind of players the Red Devils have in their ranks. Argentina will stand a chance in this pivotal encounter only if all of their players perform to the maximum. Coupled with this, if Messi is able to recreate his wizardry (which he has done so often in this tournament), then Sabella’s side can cause some serious problems to Marc Wilmot’s men.