Johnbright

Few considered Argentina to be one of the favourites for winning the World Cup this year. But in a group comprising Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria, nobody really expected them to exit at the first time of asking either. Yet, that is the prospect that faces us as we get ready for the third round of fixtures in Group D.

This is how things currently stand:

1) Croatia – 6 points (GD +5)
2) Nigeria – 3 points (GD 0)
3) Iceland – 1 point (GD -2)
4) Argentina – 1 point (GD -3)

On Tuesday, Lionel Messi & Co. will take on Nigeria in St. Petersburg, knowing that nothing other than a win will do. Croatia look to consolidate on their mightily impressive start to the tournament, as they attempt to make it three wins out of three against Iceland in Rostov-on-don.

It’s been a strange tournament for Argentina. They started very well in the opening game against Iceland, took the lead and then conceded a pretty basic equalizer. They dominated the whole of the second half, as Messi missed a penalty to give them all three points. Then, in the second game against Croatia on Thursday, they simply failed to turn up. There were poor performances all over the pitch, as the Europeans ran out comfortable 3-0 winners. Earlier in the same day, Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0 to take second spot in the group. He equation is now simple. Nigeria only need a draw to qualify, while Argentina have to win, and hope Iceland don’t better their result.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, though, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Argentina were to fail to make it through. There is no cohesion and no chemistry in the side, and reports of a falling out between the players and the manager have surfaced as well. Jorge Sampaoli hasn’t been starting Paolo Dybala, while stars like Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain have been greatly underperforming as well. The defence, with Willy Caballero in goal and Marcos Rojo and Nicolas Otamendi as centre backs, has looked extremely vulnerable. Messi has been trying to do everything on his own by taking up a more deeper role, and teams have found it easier to eliminate his influence.

It is going to be interesting to see how both teams approach his game. Sitting deep and defending is not really Nigeria’s forte, so we can expect them to try and keep possession and create chances themselves. Argentina, however, are in a do or die situation, and this might bring the best out of their superstars. They were on the cusp of elimination in qualifying, and needed to win their last game against Ecuador. Cue a Messi masterclass, as the little man scored a hattrick in a 3-1 win. Until he’s around, Argentina can never really be counted out completely.

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