Statutory warning: as requested by my football virgin pal Monisha Jain - readers are cautioned as the following post may contain too many references to football, World Cup and World Cup football and no reference to Donald Trump or Kim Kardashian
After last night's final minute thrillers in Group B, the stage is set for at least three other fantastic games tonight at the WC final Group stage games (Groups C and D). I will write about only one of them and briefly touch upon the other two. And yes, we are talking about the must-win game for Argentina against Nigeria. Why must-win ? ONLY if Argentina win against Nigeria AND in the other game of the Group D Iceland fail to win against Croatia (i.e. Draw or lose) - then Messi and Co. go through to the 2nd round as Group D Runner-up behind Croatia. Remember - Croatia have already qualified for Round 2 after winning both their Round 1 matches. Reports from Russia indicate that Croatia will be resting all their crucial players on yellow cards so that they don't risk the problem of second yellow cards for the same players tonight (and subequent one game miss in crucial Round 2 stage).
A quick look at the two teams. Nigeria is the current football Bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics behind Brazil/Germany. The team has a decent number of Premier League players (Victor Moses, John Obi Mikel, Alex Iwobi). They have previously beaten Argentina in a 2017 friendly (yes, believe it or not) 4-2 despite having fewer shots at goal and 34% possession in that game. Plus they have the added advantage that they can possibly scrape through with a draw (assuming Iceland dont thrash Croatia). Alex Iwobi (Arsenal player) who scored two of those goals in the famous 4-2 win is likley to start tonight. So a strong opponent for the men in Blue and White.
Argentina on the other hand (and contrary to popular belief) have had a torrid route to tonight. We all know of their incredibly poor performance against Croatia and a lacklustre delivery against Iceland in the opener. Their South America WC qualifier rounds read something like this:
Beat Ecuador 3-0 (Messi hat-trick)
Drew Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
Lost to Bolivia 0-2
Beat Chile 1-0 (Messi)
Beat Colombia 3-0 (Messi)
Lost to Brazil 0-3, Lost to Paraguay 0-1
Beat Peru 2-0...
And the list goes on....Eventually ending up third in the South American qualification en route to Russia. So honestly, one shouldn’t be surprised about their performance in the WC finals so far.
But the real problem is that they have too many superstar strikers that do not score enough goals. Messi, Dybala, Higuain, De Maria and Aguero were among the top strikers in the Spanish, Italian (both Higuain and Dybala play for Juventus), French and English Premier Leagues. Between them, they have scored more than 100 goals and provided many more assists. Then you wonder why these superstar strikers don't score goals. My two bits:
a. they lack a real world class midfield playmaker like Iniesta or Pogba. And hence their superstar strikers miss being spoon fed with quality assists.
b. Adding to the problem, the superstar strikers like Messi play too upfront and act like Divas. This is in stark contrast to genuine team focused strikers like Douglas Costa, Ronaldo and Harry Kane who often come to aid the midfield and defenders and also to start attacking moves.
However, you cannot write-off the Argentinians. Their fans are behind them; they have an amazing footballing pride that cannot be quantified and this is possibly Messi's last WC (haven't we heard that before ?). Expect some magic from these guys tonight to ensure they provide a Sachin Tendulkar like farewell (the WC victory that the Indian cricketer and India received as a send off gift). Argentina will most likely start with a three man strike force - Messi, Di Maria and Higuain (although I would want Dybala and Higuain to start with Messi given both of them play for Juventus and have very good understanding and 38 goals between them the last season). A 2-0 win for Argentina would be a popular punt but a 1-0, 2-1 or 1-1 maybe possible. My heart is hoping for a 3-1 win for Argentina but my brain says 2-1. Amen.
Given that both France & Denmark can both go through with a draw against each other in the eariler game - I can safely predict a 1-1 or 0-0. Expect it to be a dull/drab game. The Aussies will certainly try their luck to win against Peru as they have a slight chance of qualifying if they win (and Denmark lose). Another 1-0 or 2-1 likely for the boys from Down Under.
What say folks ?
After last night's final minute thrillers in Group B, the stage is set for at least three other fantastic games tonight at the WC final Group stage games (Groups C and D). I will write about only one of them and briefly touch upon the other two. And yes, we are talking about the must-win game for Argentina against Nigeria. Why must-win ? ONLY if Argentina win against Nigeria AND in the other game of the Group D Iceland fail to win against Croatia (i.e. Draw or lose) - then Messi and Co. go through to the 2nd round as Group D Runner-up behind Croatia. Remember - Croatia have already qualified for Round 2 after winning both their Round 1 matches. Reports from Russia indicate that Croatia will be resting all their crucial players on yellow cards so that they don't risk the problem of second yellow cards for the same players tonight (and subequent one game miss in crucial Round 2 stage).
A quick look at the two teams. Nigeria is the current football Bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics behind Brazil/Germany. The team has a decent number of Premier League players (Victor Moses, John Obi Mikel, Alex Iwobi). They have previously beaten Argentina in a 2017 friendly (yes, believe it or not) 4-2 despite having fewer shots at goal and 34% possession in that game. Plus they have the added advantage that they can possibly scrape through with a draw (assuming Iceland dont thrash Croatia). Alex Iwobi (Arsenal player) who scored two of those goals in the famous 4-2 win is likley to start tonight. So a strong opponent for the men in Blue and White.
Argentina on the other hand (and contrary to popular belief) have had a torrid route to tonight. We all know of their incredibly poor performance against Croatia and a lacklustre delivery against Iceland in the opener. Their South America WC qualifier rounds read something like this:
Beat Ecuador 3-0 (Messi hat-trick)
Drew Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
Lost to Bolivia 0-2
Beat Chile 1-0 (Messi)
Beat Colombia 3-0 (Messi)
Lost to Brazil 0-3, Lost to Paraguay 0-1
Beat Peru 2-0...
And the list goes on....Eventually ending up third in the South American qualification en route to Russia. So honestly, one shouldn’t be surprised about their performance in the WC finals so far.
But the real problem is that they have too many superstar strikers that do not score enough goals. Messi, Dybala, Higuain, De Maria and Aguero were among the top strikers in the Spanish, Italian (both Higuain and Dybala play for Juventus), French and English Premier Leagues. Between them, they have scored more than 100 goals and provided many more assists. Then you wonder why these superstar strikers don't score goals. My two bits:
a. they lack a real world class midfield playmaker like Iniesta or Pogba. And hence their superstar strikers miss being spoon fed with quality assists.
b. Adding to the problem, the superstar strikers like Messi play too upfront and act like Divas. This is in stark contrast to genuine team focused strikers like Douglas Costa, Ronaldo and Harry Kane who often come to aid the midfield and defenders and also to start attacking moves.
However, you cannot write-off the Argentinians. Their fans are behind them; they have an amazing footballing pride that cannot be quantified and this is possibly Messi's last WC (haven't we heard that before ?). Expect some magic from these guys tonight to ensure they provide a Sachin Tendulkar like farewell (the WC victory that the Indian cricketer and India received as a send off gift). Argentina will most likely start with a three man strike force - Messi, Di Maria and Higuain (although I would want Dybala and Higuain to start with Messi given both of them play for Juventus and have very good understanding and 38 goals between them the last season). A 2-0 win for Argentina would be a popular punt but a 1-0, 2-1 or 1-1 maybe possible. My heart is hoping for a 3-1 win for Argentina but my brain says 2-1. Amen.
Given that both France & Denmark can both go through with a draw against each other in the eariler game - I can safely predict a 1-1 or 0-0. Expect it to be a dull/drab game. The Aussies will certainly try their luck to win against Peru as they have a slight chance of qualifying if they win (and Denmark lose). Another 1-0 or 2-1 likely for the boys from Down Under.
What say folks ?
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