Sampaoli gets it right in Argentina’s ‘biggest’ test
SAINTPETERSBURG: Argentina profited from a line-up that was set up to propel Jorge Sampaoli’s highpress game.
He made five changes from the game against Croatia, where Argentina had suffered a 3-0 humiliation. Goalkeeper Franco Armani made his international debut, replacing Willy Caballero, while Eduardo Salvio, Marcos Acuna, Maximiliano Meza and Sergio Aguero made way for Marcos Rojo, Ever Banega, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain.
The midfield, which had looked fragile against Croatia, had a completely different feel about it as Banega helped Argentina control proceedings alongside Enzo Perez and Mascherano. With a four-man backline and three forwards up front – Di Maria started on the left with Higuain in the middle and Lionel Messi on the right flank – the midfield trio held sway in the middle of the park.
In the 14th minute, it was Banega’s pinpoint long ball from midfield that found Messi, whose right-footed finish handed the Argentines a much-needed early lead. Argentina had more chances to score but failed to add to their tally in the first half.
Things changed early in the second half when Nigeria earned a penalty from some grappling inside the box during a penalty corner.
Once Victor Moses converted the spot kick, Argentina were suddenly on the backfoot.
It was time for Sampaoli to ring in the changes again. At the hour mark, he brought on Cristian Pavon in place of Perez. Pavon immediately injected pace. Twelve minutes later, Sampaoli replaced Di Maria with Meza on the left before bringing on Aguero in place of Higuain.
Arguably the most lethal finisher in the team alongside Messi, Aguero immediately drew the attention of the Nigerian backline. It was perhaps because of this attention that Rojo was able to roam into the box unmarked and score the winner.
On a night when failure wasn’t an option, Sampaoli finally got his tactics right. The chips had been down when the players had held a meeting after the loss to Croatia. It had led to speculation on the immediate future of Sampaoli. The former Sevilla manager, however, indicated that he listened to his players before putting out his team for Tuesday’s game.
“The way I manage the team requires players to know on the pitch what we want to do in that exact game,” he said, adding, “I take the final decisions but it’s important to listen to the players and know what they think. Often the coaches’ egos don’t allow them to.”
Bigger tests await Sampaoli and his side in the coming days.