Please forgive me, says Argies coach Sampaoli

First and foremost, I would beg for their ( fans’) forgiveness, especially those who came great distances to see Argentina. I am responsible for this result but I was as dreamy- eyed as the fans.

— JORGE SAMPAOLI Argentina coach

Nizhniy Novgorod, June 22: Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli begged for forgiveness from fans after a 3- 0 drubbing by Croatia left their Cup dreams hanging by a thread.

A contrite Sampaoli said the rout was his fault entirely and apologised to supporters left in tears in the Nizhny Novgorod stadium. “First and foremost, I would beg for their forgiveness, especially those who came great distances to see Argentina. I am responsible for this result but I was as dreamy- eyed as the fans,” said the softly spoken Sampaoli.

“I had to devise a plan for this match. If I had set things up differently, things might have turned out much better. I don’t think it’s realistic to put the burden on ( goalkeeper Willy) Caballero,” said Sampaoli.

He added that his underpressure team, knowing they needed a positive result from the game, crumbled after conceding the first goal. “After they scored we were emotionally broken and we didn’t have any footballing arguments to change the course of events,” he said.

Croatia captain and Man- of- the match Luka Modric said teamwork was the key to the impressive victory. “Our team effort throughout ( was the key) and particularly in the second half when we had more possession. In the first half when Argentina had the ball we cut off Messi and stopped him getting the ball,” he said.