But on November 22, they unexpectedly lost to Saudi Arabia and ranked last in Group C after the first round. And on December 3, Argentina defeated Australia 2:1 and advanced to the quarterfinals.

As the champion of the American Cup , the Argentina team is regarded as the favorite to win the World Cup in Qatar . But on November 22, they unexpectedly lost to Saudi Arabia and ranked last in Group C after the first round. And on December 3, Argentina defeated Australia 2:1 and advanced to the quarterfinals. From fourth place in the group to reaching the quarterfinals, what changes has the Argentina team made in the past ten days?

new midfield combination, cracking the trouble of injury loss

midfield core Lo Celso missed the World Cup due to injury, which had a great impact on the Argentina team's already formed left offense. Before the World Cup started, left winger Gonzalez's injury retreat made the left offense even worse.

In the first game, head coach Scaloni lined up 442 formations and chose Gomez to serve as the left midfielder, taking on the task of receiving the ball, holding the ball, and launching an offense on the left. At the same time, Di Maria mainly widens the width on the right side, allowing Messi to move more freely in the middle. However, due to Gomez's lack of absolute speed, it is difficult to suddenly start on the left side by one's own strength to open up the space. Messi's transfer to the left side also failed many times.

Under such arrangement, Argentina only had two players left in the middle of the midfield. He almost did not use the rib space to play any effective offensive routines in the whole game, resulting in the team's wing attacks often ended with crossing . Most of the time in the penalty area, Lautaro alone grabs the points in the double-team of the guards of Saudi , and Messi even competes for a header in the penalty area.

Due to the insufficient number of midfielders, the Argentine team suffered many disconnections in the front and back courts, and completely gave up the midfield to , which hoarded heavy troops, Saudi team , which also made it difficult for their passes to find Messi in the middle, and the final defeat was reasonable.

In the following three games, Scaloni chose McAllister, who played for Premier League Brighton in the left midfield position, and changed to 433 from the game against Poland. Compared with Gomez, McAllister has a stronger ability to run in the midfield and frontcourt. He stepped forward into the penalty area many times in the game to become a contact point. The changes in personnel and formation give Argentina more room to make trouble at the front of the penalty area and the ribs, and the assists of the two full-backs are also higher.

At the same time, Enzo Fernandez has appeared in the bench from the first two games to the start of the last two games, and has also used his excellent passing and movement ability to bring more choices to the Argentine team's offense. Fernandez received the ball in the ribs shortly after making his appearance against Mexico and scored with a wonderful long shot. In the subsequent game against Poland, he also cooperated with Alvarez at the same position and assisted the latter. Messi's goal against Australia in the quarterfinals was also due to his cooperation with Otamendi in the ribs. The new midfield combination and offensive mode that Scaloni found in the group stage seems to be gradually getting on the right track.

Put down your psychological burden and enjoy the bottoming rebound

Argentina came to Doha with a 36 unbeaten record, just one game away from the 37 unbeaten record set by the Italian team from 2018 to 2021. In the World Cup with extremely low fault tolerance, such pressure can be imagined. Recently, midfielder DePaul mentioned at a press conference that the strong sense of responsibility to represent the national team was heavily pressed on his heart.

"I had a hard time enjoying the game at the beginning, and the defeat against Saudi team was a big blow to us. It was not until after we defeated Mexico and against Poland that I felt a little enjoying the game." DePaul said.

At the same time, he also admitted that the loss in the opening game has positive significance for the team. “We find ourselves in a state of unaccustomedness, and we haven’t lost in a long time. But it’s also the moment we bottomed out and rebounded."

The first World Cup match against the recognized "big gift package" Saudi team. The Argentine took the lead by penalty kick just 10 minutes into the opening. This start further strengthened the team's idea of ​​winning the game in an "economic and affordable" way, but the "Blue and White Legion" obviously underestimated the Saudi team's determination.

less than 10 minutes into the second half, Saudi Arabia scored two goals in a row to overtake the score, which made Argentina, who had hardly played against the wind in the past two years, instantly lost the feeling of playing. As the youngest head coach of this World Cup, 44-year-old Scaloni and his coaching staff also seem to have no way to deal with it.

against Mexico in the second game. Team, Messi broke the deadlock for Argentina with a long shot without winning the ball, and Aimal on the coach's seat covered his face and burst into tears. After Fernandez scored the second goal, Scarloni also had tears in his eyes, unable to suppress his emotions. Until this moment, the Argentine seemed to have finally lifted the burden, and the players' previous lifeless running has also restored their original vitality.

When Argentina arrived at the stadium before the quarterfinals, the players in the broadcast camera were talking and laughing all the way, and the atmosphere was relaxed. Perhaps as DePaul said, after experiencing a bottoming rebound, they were starting to enjoy the game.

What is more threatening? A Messi who is gradually finding his state

Before the start of the World Cup, rumors about Messi being injured and missing the first game were rampant because he was absent from some public training. But Messi personally denied the rumors of injury at a press conference. However, in the first game, Messi did not seem very excited. He had almost no desire to drive the ball through the whole game. After the ball came to his feet, he would pass it to his teammates without too much holding the ball.

In the second half of the game against Mexico, Messi significantly increased his attempt to break through with the ball, and together with Di Maria, the Mexican team's formation was compressed to the front of the penalty area and made it appear defensively. Messi also got the opportunity to hold the ball head-on in the penalty area many times, and the final goal was natural.

Messi's condition improved again against Poland's team in the third game. He held the ball and attacked the Polish team's penalty area many times throughout the game, including a long-distance run after getting the ball from his side at halftime. Unfortunately, he lost his center of gravity when he shot in the final shot.

Messi staged a long-distance run again in the 8th minute of the game. In the 64th minute, he was in the middle. After receiving the ball near the circle, he faced several Australian players' defenses and brought them to the penalty area all the way, but was finally cleared by the defender. In addition, he created excellent scoring opportunities for Lautaro many times, but unfortunately Inter Milan's forwards failed to grasp it. In the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, a Messi who gradually found his form is of course very important, but what is also important is whether he can lead his teammates to become a better self.

Source Xinhua News Agency

editing Internship editor Zhao Siyao

process editing Liu Weili