HAND OF GOD 0 LAND OF MOD 3
Keeper howler and Luka magic put Argentina on brink of World Cup exit
WILLY CABALLERO’S astonishing blunder put Croatia on the path to a win that left Argentina on the brink of a shock World Cup exit.
The Chelsea keeper’s miscued clearance looped into the air and fell straight to Ante Rebic, who struck a brilliant volley into the roof of the net. Luka Modric’s long-range rocket and Ivan Rakitic’s late goal put the game beyond Argentina.
The defeat means Lionel Messi and Co need to beat Nigeria on Tuesday and hope other results go their way if they are to avoid an early return back to South America.
ARGENTINA’S World Cup bid is hanging by a thread after they were crushed by the ‘Hand of Mod’.
Jorge Sampaoli faces a fight to keep his job after his starstudded side were torn apart by a Croatia performance which sent shock waves reverberating round planet football.
Not even five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi (left) could inspire them as Zlatko Dalic’s men sealed their passage to the next round. The Barcelona wizard did not manage a single attempt on goal until the 64th minute.
Instead, goals from Ante Rebic, Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric and Barcelona counterpart Ivan Rakitic mean the two-time winners now need to beat Nigeria in their
final game to have any chance of progressing. On the evidence of this shambles, good luck with that. You’d be a brave man to back them in St Petersburg on Tuesday.
The long-term – or maybe even short-term – future of Sampaoli must also, surely, be in jeopardy. This demolition was Argentina’s heaviest defeat in the group stages since they were smashed up 6-1 by Czechoslovakia in 1958. And the warning signs were there when they were slaughtered 6-1 by Spain in March.
Messi missed that match and Sampaoli had been accused in the build-up to the tournament of being too reliant on his star man. Of not doing enough to get the best out of the other talents in his team. He denied the charges, insisting it would all come right here in Russia.
Instead he and his side – and country – were humiliated in front of the world. Horribly exposed by a Croatia side organised from the start, efficient in possession and ruthless in front of goal. They
were everything that Sampaoli’s side were not. He looked clueless, pacing on the sidelines in his black T-shirt and jacket combo.
At the final whistle he would have been better off heading straight to the airport rather than joining the players in the dressing room. How can he possibly hope to inspire them now?
The scoring should have started as early as the 32nd minute when Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic, totally unmarked, somehow contrived to send a free header wide.
Shortly after the break, Rebic lost control when a sensational ball, bent around the Argentina defence, should have sent him clear on goal.
Then the scoring started. Eight minutes after half-time, Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero slashed at a clearance to present the ball to Rebic.
The Eintracht Frankfurt winger’s finish was outstanding, volleying the ball over the hapless Blues reserve who clutched the sides of his
head in frustration. Desperate Sampaoli replaced Manchester City frontman Sergio Aguero with Juventus marksman Gonzalo Higuain, who is no slouch himself to be fair.
But why not keep them both on with his side struggling to score goals and Messi being marked out of the game?
Ten minutes from time the writing was on the wall. Modric lashed in a sensational 25-yard strike with Caballero at fault for allowing it to squeeze into the bottom corner.
By the time Rakitic walked the ball into the net in stoppage time, Argentina had given up.
And it would be no surprise if Sampaoli has been sacked by the time you have finished reading this.