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Nothing went right for Jorge Sampaoli and his men until the high-voltage final group fixture win against Nigeria at Saint Petersburg. Almost all his tactics backfired in the first two games against Iceland and Croatia.
The opening fixture against Iceland ended in a 1-1- stalemate after Lionel Messi missed a crucial penalty, which could have earned them full points.
In the next game, switching to 3-4-2-1 formation against the Croatian side comprising of players like Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic backfired as Argentina suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat against the Croatians who were ruthless on the day.
Goal keeper Willy Caballero's blunder and Modric's brilliance earned the Croatians a dominating result over the La Albiceleste at the Nizhny Novgorod stadium.
After a draw and a demoralizing defeat, Argentina needed to win their final group fixture against Nigeria at Saint Petersburg. But that wasn't enough for Messi's men who were hoping for a Croatian win over Iceland to make it to the Round of 16.
Everything went well for them on the night as they defeated the African nation 2-1 and were rightly helped by the Croatians who won by the same margin against Iceland.
Argentina will now meet France in the Round of 16 on June 30 at the Kazan Arena for a place in the last eight. But it won't be easy for Argentina to stop the mighty French attack. Let us now look at four players who will be crucial for their success in the knockout phase.
#4 Franco Armani
Though he is not a household name in the footballing world, Armani is arguably one of the best goal keepers of South America.
The 31 year old shot-stopper who played eight seasons for the Colombian club; Atletico Nacional (2010-2018) won the Colombian league, domestic cup, the Colombian Super cup, Copa Libertadores and Recopa Sudamericana during his successful stint with the Colombian outfit.
Armani, who won the Supercopa Argentina (domestic cup) with River Plate in March 2018 as his club won 2-0 against Boca Juniors in the finals made his Argentina debut in the crucial final Group D fixture against Nigeria at Saint Petersburg.
Sampaoli failed to include Sergio Romero in the World Cup squad (in spite of the player himself announcing that he is fit) and was widely criticized for not deploying Franco Armani instead of Caballero. The humiliating 0-3 defeat against Croatia forced the Argentine management to bring Armani in for the game against the 'Super Eagles'.
Making his debut, he made some decisive saves in the high-pressure game against the African side. Nigeria would have scored more had he not made those brilliant saves. If not for the penalty in which Victor Moses scored for Nigeria (awarded due to Javier Mascherano's unwanted foul), Armani had a decent debut in the Argentine colours.
The 31 year old looked a far better goal keeper than Willy Caballero (who was error-prone in the game against Croatia) with his works in front of the goal. Armnai's role under the bar will once again hold the key for Messi's men who will be facing the French in the Round of 16 at Kazan. He needs to be at his best to stop the French force comprising of a plethora of superstars.
#3 Marcos Rojo
The Manchester United midfielder was undoubtedly Argentina's hero against Nigeria. Rojo who started against Iceland in the opening fixture was overlooked by Sampaoli when he employed the 3-4-2-1 formation against Croatia.
After the tactic backfired, Albiceleste switched to 4-4-2 for the game against Nigeria, and in came Marcos Rojo at the heart of Argentine defense.
Apart from scoring the all-important winner, Rojo who had the experience of playing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil had an outstanding night against the African side.
He finished the game with 79 touches, 3 interceptions, 100 percent tackle success and pass accuracy, won eight aerial duels and scored the winning goal for Argentina.
After sitting out the Croatian game, Rojo was fresh and raring to go and was simply the game changer for Messi's men against Nigeria.
His role at the back will be key to Argentina's success in the Round of 16 against France. He needs to replicate his form to stop the mighty French attack comprising of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud.
#2 Ever Banega
It was the first start of the 2018 World Cup for Banega who was simply the best player on the pitch against Nigeria. It remains a surprise as to why Jorge Sampaoli did not start the central midfielder in the first two group fixtures. His return arguably made the difference for the Argentinians who were desperate for a victory.
The Sevilla play-maker recorded more through balls and was spot on in his long passing. His lob pass to Lionel Messi which opened the scoring for Argentina was one of the best examples of his brilliance on the field at Saint Petersburg.
16 of the 63 passes Messi received came from Banega who finished the game with 111 touches, 90 passes - most by an Argentine player in the game (3 key passes), 2 interceptions and one assist.
If Banega combines well with Messi in the Round of 16 fixture against France, then the duo might be unstoppable for the French defenders.
#1 Lionel Messi
There is no better person to carry Argentina's World Cup dreams forward than this man, Lionel Messi. Stepping up when it matters the most is nothing new for Messi whose hat-trick in their final World Cup qualifying fixture against Ecuador last year earned Argentina a spot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The game against Nigeria was no different, as their Talisman once again stepped up by braking the deadlock in the 14th minute with a brilliant goal, courtesy of Banega's decisive lob pass over the top.
Messi controlled the ball well and blasted it past the Nigerian keeper in style to open the scoring for Argentina. He was everywhere on the pitch, running at full pace and dribbling past the opposition.
He finished the game with 90 touches, 64 passes, 7 dribbles, 2 shots on target and an all-important opening goal for Albiceleste which earned him the Man of the match.
Messi was criticized for missing the crucial penalty against Iceland and for a poor performance against Croatia. But he silenced his critics with a brilliant display of football under pressure against Nigeria and proved once again why he is one of the all time greats.
The FC Barcelona star needs to replicate his magic in the Round of 16 against the mighty French to secure an Argentine win.
