Argentina-Mexico 2-0: the match –

Leo Messi revived Argentina and put it on the way to the round of 16. Seleccion will have to win qualification for the next round against Poland on Wednesday, but the 2-0 victory against Mexico chased away the ghosts hovering over the heads of Scaloni’s men after the defeat against Saudi Arabia. Merit as said of the PSG star who pulled his teammates out of the 0-0 swamp. Argentina is him, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who also served Enzo Fernandez the 2-0 ball. More than this…

UGLY ARGENTINA

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The exploits of the Pulce made us forget a very disappointing first fraction for the Albiceleste. Scaloni, for an (almost) inside or outside match, changed five players (three quarters of the defense and two thirds in the midfield) compared to the unfortunate debut, but did not touch the offensive trident made up of Di Maria, Lautaro and Messi. From the outset, La Pulce had everyone’s eyes on him, especially those of the Mexicans who lined up with a shrewd 5-3-2 so as not to allow space between the lines. The number 10 retreated to find playable spaces and balls, but had little help from his two team mates. Guardado in front of the defense repelled various dangers and soiled several trajectories and, as long as the Betis midfielder remained on the pitch (he went off due to injury in the 42nd minute), Ochoa had to make only one save, from a free kick taken by Messi in the 34th minute . Even for my colleague Martinez only one intervention, from a set piece by Vega. Overall a very tactical first half, with many fouls and few emotions. More due to the “fault” of Argentina which, despite a marked possession (67%), never raised the pace and did little to score. The Seleccion fans, disappointed when their favorites returned to the locker room, had certainly not imagined such a test, full of fear and not courage. Scaloni’s move to give more support to his halfback with Mac Allister in place of Paredes and Rodriguez for Papu Gomez did not give concrete results: his team was slow in building up and unable to put a technically inferior opponent on the ropes, but with more ferocity.

LEO DECIDE

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At the beginning of the second half, Messi earned himself a free-kick from a good position with a flash of his own, but he kicked it badly. Lautaro, on the other hand, remained out of the match, underserved and never dangerous. Scaloni replaced him with Julian Alvarez, effectively rejecting the Nerazzurri Bull. The coach also removed Rodriguez for Fernandez and Montiel (booked) to throw Molina into the fray. More than his moves, however, he “weighed” Leo’s class which he received on the edge from Di Maria and beat Ochoa with a very precise left foot. A very heavy goal, like Messi, his eighth in the final phase of a World Cup. Equaled Maradona, in terms of goals and appearances in the World Cup, just the day after the second anniversary of the death of the Pibe de Oro. At this point Mexico had nothing left to defend and with Antuna and Jimenez tried to raise the center of gravity also because Argentina had switched to 5-3-2, with Palacios in the middle, to cover the spaces and restart. However, Tata Martino’s team did little or nothing to find an equalizer and was punished by Enzo Fernandez’s 2-0, a key graft for a second half in which Albiceleste deserved the three points and got back in the running for qualifying for the round of 16.