Official Worldwide Football (Soccer) Discussion Thread (55 Viewers)

[Budha]

Here at least it's in the box and he's trying to get a penalty. Embolo was in the middle of the pitch near the sideline... like what is he trying to achieve with the dive??????????

Oh yeah, I agree - it was stupid!

 

[Argenchino]

I was wrong about last night's VAR, already edited the last post you reacted to.

The Messi stomp against Algeria with no VAR review is pretty damning when other calls missed live against the US and Mexico were later reviewed and turned into straight reds, which is exactly what VAR isn't supposed to be used for. It gives a "rules for thee but not for me" message.

I know you have a rooting interest for Argentina and you're passionately defending them. I have no rooting interest. Just calling things as I think I see them.

My comment wasn’t directed at any one person here. It was about the broader anti-Argentina mob mentality that I’m tired of seeing all over social media and now in this thread too.
Hakimi and Bernardo Silva made very similar challenges, but of course everyone chooses to focus exclusively on Messi. It's tiring.

 

[GamingWithChips]

Ya, this typically comes with being very successful teams/nations.

Couple that with some suspect calls or missed calls just opens the door for everyone to pile on. Most of it is from people being misinformed and or dramatic, but I will say, knowing how our world works, and how much corruption is normalized, it’s very easy to see why people would guess things are rigged, I’d also say it’s naive to believe that everything is done in an ethical/fair way.

 

[Argenchino]

100% agreed. But just to be fair, it's not only against Argentina, it was against the US and England as well, for the same reasons you mentioned above. It's sad but that's the world we live in now. I won't go further on that...



I rather focus on the above, which I don't agree completely, only partially.

The team was put together to cater to Messi, that's clear. The mid-field the last couple of games was composed of FOUR defensive mid-fielders, LOL! Paredes, MacAllister, Fernadez and De Paul are all better at defending than attacking. Yes, I know they all can play a little more forward, like Enzo sometimes does for Chelsea and MacAllister for Liverpool, however their DNA is defending.

So that leaves Messi without any defensive responsibilities but also without any real creative help from the mid-field. He could have had more help from either Alvarez or L. Martinez but, imo, they are not having a good Copa. Yes, they scored but the their help hasn't been great. I like the team a little better with Almada (the first three games, but I could be wrong). Tough choice which of the four to push out. Scalonni left Paredes out but he's been great the last couple of games. Purely based on performance, I think I'll take Fernandez out, and I'm a fan of his...

I think that's the source of the issues Argentina has been facing, especially when ahead on the score. They come back to their defensive posture.

It happened several times now on 2026 and also in 2022 against The Netherlands and in the final against France, they scored and sat back. So, when needed, whether they are behind of tied in need of a goal, they press a little harder.

Having said that, there is no team that can play as hard as Argentina. When they were down 2x0 to Egypt, they were tackling all over the place. It was an absolute joy to see.

The game against England will be EPIC! And I don't mean the best technically played game ever, as I know it won't be. I mean fought tooth and nail, which is what I love of Argentina and to some extent, England...

Love your take on the current state of the team. Hope Scaloni has the balls to make some changes and sit some big names like De Paul and Enzo.

Nobody asked but I'm a little scared going into the game Wednesday because they just don't look great but this game will be very special for all of them so I'm hoping your right on the epic part