Very soon Russia will host the FIFA World Cup among national teams. Many federations have started announcing their squads. One of the first to do this was the Argentine national team.
Argentina's national team will come to the World Cup as one of the main favorites. At the last tournament, she reached the final, and only the golden goal of Mario Goetze from Germany did not allow Lionel Messi to raise the coveted cup over his head. Therefore, the great footballer of our time yearns for revenge and hopes that this time everything will end much more successfully.
Recently, the final application of the players for the main tournament of the four years was presented. It was announced by Jorge Sampaoli, head coach of the team.
Argentina squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Goalkeepers:
Willie Caballero (Chelsea, England), Franco Armani (River Plate, Argentina), Nahuel Guzman (Tigres, Argentina).
Defenders:
Christian Ansaldi (Torino, Italy), Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla, Spain), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City, England), Federico Fazio (Roma, Italy), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax, Holland), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United, England), Marcos Acuña (Sporting, Portugal).
Midfielders:
Maximiliano Mesa (Independiente, Argentina), Christian Pavon (Boca Juniors, Argentina), Angel Di Maria (PSG, France), Giovanni Lo Celso (PSG, France), Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune”, China), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica, Portugal), Lucas Biglia (Milan, Italy), Ever Banega (Sevilla, Spain), Manuel Lancini (West Ham, England).
Forwards:
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, England), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus, Italy), Paulo Dybala (Juventus, Italy).
At the last moment, the main goalkeeper of the team, Sergio Romero, was injured and was removed from the application. Also, there was no place in it for the main goalscorer of Serie A, Mauro Icardi. None of Zenith's five star Argentines were included in the final bid.
At the tournament itself, the Argentine national team will play in the same quartet with Iceland (June 16 at 16:00 Moscow time), Croatia (June 21 at 21:00) and Nigeria (June 26 at 21:00).
Of course, there are still a couple of weeks before the World Championship, and someone may get injured and not play in this tournament. Moreover, Argentina has two friendly matches with the national teams of Haiti (May 30 at 2:00) and Israel (June 9).
In general, the composition of the Argentine national team looks combat-ready and may well swing at the main title.
Where will Argentina's national team live during the 2018 World Cup
When choosing a place of residence, the Federation made its choice based on the fact that it was easy for the players to get to the matches. Therefore, the Argentine national team will be based in the capital in a quiet and cozy health complex "Bor". It used to house the Russian national team under the Dutch coach Guus Hiddink. The location is ideal for training and other post-match recovery procedures.
What is the scheme of the Argentina national team
The head coach of the team prefers to play with two defensive midfielders in the center of the field. Jorge Sampaoli also tried to play three central defenders in defense. But this scheme is not the main one. Still, preference is given to the game of four defenders. In attack, the players place themselves in a rhombus. In the center of the attack, there is one forward, who is supported from the edges by fast midfielders. Lionel Messi, most often, acts under the attacker or moves to the right flank of the attack. Gonzalo Higuain will play in the center of the attack at the 2018 World Cup. This player has enough experience in big tournaments, but there is one big problem. In matches with strong opponents, Gonzalo is lost on the field and almost never scores. In midfield, the choice of players is quite rich, as well as in defense. But the goalkeeper's position raises questions. Sergio Romero is injured and will not take part in the tournament. Remains veteran Willie Caballero and two young debutants of the national team.
The history of the Argentina national team's performance at the World Cup
1930 year
The very first tournament brought relative success to the team. Argentina immediately reached the final and lost to Uruguay in this match. Moreover, in the final game, two soccer balls were used at once. One of them was presented by the Uruguayans, and the second by the Argentines. The overall success was ultimately on the side of Uruguay.
1934 year
This World Championship was for the first time held according to the Olympic system. And the Argentines were not ready for the elimination games. In the first match, they were defeated by the Swedes and dropped out of the tournament.
Argentina did not participate in the next three tournaments for political reasons.
1958 vs 1962
At these tournaments the team was unable to qualify from the group and did not achieve a positive result.
1966 year
In England, the Argentines showed their sharp attacking style of play for the first time and were able to leave the group. In the ¼ finals, they got the hosts, who were helped by the judge. The representative of West Germany undeservedly removed the Argentine captain Ratinn and sent the South Americans home.
The 1970 and 1974 World Championships were also not successful for the Argentines. But the 1978 World Cup finally brought this country the coveted title. At that tournament, Mario Kempes became the real star. He scored a lot and provided assists. As a result, he was recognized as the best player in the tournament.
The next few tournaments in the national team was the great Diego Maradona. In 1982, he failed to fully reveal himself at the world championship. But 1986 was a real benefit for this player. Argentina's national team was able to win the second and last title at the moment, and Diego Maradona became the best player. He also came close to winning the 1990 World Cup. But in the final, the Germans were able to defeat the Argentines. The last tournament for Diego Maradona was the 1994 World Cup in the United States. But there he already played little, and his form was not ideal. As a result, Argentina was eliminated in the 1/8 finals.
1998 year
The team went to France as one of the favorites for the title. It also included a star - Gabriel Batistuta. And although he scored five goals, the Argentines lost in the ¼ final to the Dutch, led by Dennis Bergkamp.
2002 year
The national team of this year is called the strongest in the history of Argentine football. It featured Claudio Canigia, Oriel Ortega, Gabriel Batistuta, Roberto Ayala, Hernan Crespo, Juan Sebastian Veron and other great players. But ironically, they couldn't get out of the group. Having defeated the Nigerians in the first match, then they lost to the British and drew with the Swedes. This great team went home right after the group stage.
2006 year
Lionel Messi first appeared at this tournament. And although he was still very young, he managed to score a goal. In general, the team showed a spectacular game, but lost in the ¼ final to the Germans, the hosts of the tournament.
2010 year
In this tournament, the team was led by the greatest player - Diego Maradona. But again the German team got into the ¼ final. This time it all ended in defeat and the Argentines again failed to get to the title of the winners.
year 2014
This tournament was held under the sign of Lionel Messi. He brought his team to the final, but again the same Germans. In the final, Germany won 1-0 and shocked the whole of Argentina. Therefore, the upcoming World Championship will be decisive for the main star Lionel Messi. Most likely, he will be the last for him in the jersey of the national team.
