The World Cup is happening in Doha’s fan parks and on the streets, with Saudi Arabia supporters and even some Brazil supporters chanting.
“Where’s Messi? We gouged out his eye!” they sing in Arabic, utilizing a slang expression meant to disgrace an individual.
Messi and his Argentina group are being mocked after their humiliating 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia which has left their match presence in main – and utterly surprising – jeopardy. Argentina have to bounce again instantly towards Mexico on Saturday, or face an embarrassing early exit.
“We always said we were going to win every game,” Messi mentioned, “and now more than ever.” A compatriot – in reality the group’s former coach – might deal the deadly blow to Argentina.
Gerardo Martino led his native Argentina from 2014-16, shedding the Copa America finals in back-to-back years in that point earlier than leaving. Now Martino is Mexico’s coach and desires to take the group to the final 16 – maybe on the expense of Argentina – and past.
After all, Mexico has misplaced its first match of the knockout stage twice in every of the final seven World Cups, to Argentina in 2006 and 2010. Do or die scenario in simply seven days of the match, particularly for Argentina.
“Now it’s three finals for each of us,” mentioned Martino, whose group drew its first Group C recreation 1-1 with Poland.
This is Lionel Scaloni’s first disaster as Argentina coach – he had not misplaced a recreation earlier than the Saudis rallied at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday – and it stays to be seen how he responds.
Will he give the identical gamers an opportunity to enhance? Or did they see dangerous sufficient issues within the opening group recreation to require some modifications to their lineup? Center backs Cristian Romero, full backs Nahuel Molina and Nicolás Tagliafico, and midfielders Rodrigo de Paul and Leandro Paredes are most in danger. Of course, Messi is not going wherever from the beginning lineup, even when he could possibly be deployed in a different way.
However, Scaloni is bound of 1 factor.
“We will not change our style after what happened on Tuesday,” Scaloni mentioned on Friday. “We’ll play like that.” Argentina’s 36-match unbeaten run ended with a defeat by the hands of Saudi Arabia and Scaloni mentioned he was prepared for it.
“For a long time, everything was perfect for us. Everything was blissful,” he mentioned.
“I used to be the primary one to prepare for that blow… It would have been nice to proceed on that streak however it isn’t potential.
“Luckily, it got here in our first match. It is necessary for us to strategy each match as whether it is our final. One match will be misplaced however that is the way you come again, the way you rise.”
Mexico have by no means crushed Argentina in three makes an attempt on the World Cup, and Martino’s worst defeat as Mexico coach was by the hands of his countrymen. That was in September 2019, when Lautaro Martínez scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win.
Argentina will look to safe any victory on Saturday on the Lusail Stadium, the place the World Cup remaining may also be performed on 18 December. It can be silly for any group to look that far forward.
“There is no pressure because we are still counting on ourselves,” Martinez mentioned Friday by way of an interpreter. “We think about the technical employees, we think about each participant. “We are calm, confident and we will break our backs for Argentina.”
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
