- Roo Legend: Rooney Retires from England duty!
- Australasia gets represented in the Premier League this year!
- Sanchez in North London, Where Have We Heard That Before?
- Sigurdsson Sale: Swansea could face Ragnarok after losing Thor!
- 2017/18 Premier League Predictions!
- PSG set to trigger record Neymar Fee!
- Mourinho thrives with a Prag-Matic approach!
- The Loan Ranger: Game of Loans!
- Rome(-lu) Wasn’t Built In A Day, But Hernandez Is Heading Hammers Way!
- Man United, Arsenal, and Huddersfield are all in a dash to splash the cash!
Road To The World Cup Final – Argentina
Argentina have been favorites to go far in the World Cup since even before the groups were announced. Grant Wahl, along with many others, called that they would win the tournament altogether, and when the groups were announced and the Argentines were given a straight shot to the Quarterfinals, their odds of glory rose tenfold. The South American nation were drawn in Group F with Nigeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Iran, and by topping the group would likely face either Switzerland, Ecuador, or Honduras in the Second Round. So far, they have passed this challenge, and more.
With their first match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, they got off to a fine start. Argentina went up just three minutes in via a Bosnia-Herzegovina own goal, and with a beautiful, long, snaking run from Lionel Messi doubled their lead halfway into the second half. Yet it wasn’t the kind of performance Argentina would have liked to begin their tournament on. They weren’t quite as dominant or imposing on Bosnia-Herzegovina as they would have liked – their European opponents more than doubled their shots-on-target tally, and late on pulled one back via a error from goalkeeper Sergi Romero. Sergio Aguero had started up front with Messi in a 4-4-2 – Messi would drop back as a false nine and find the overlapping runs of the wingers – but had failed to impress. Likewise, he was substituted after yet another disappointing performance against Iran, who Argentina only beat after a brilliant curler from Messi in stoppage time, and due to an injury was pulled out before the half against Nigeria. Once again Messi pulled the nation through against the African side in their final group game, with two goals that help gave them a 3-2 win.
As Argentina went into the knockout stages, they turned up the heat, however. Alejandro Sabella’s side saw 61% of the ball and found the target twenty-two times in a dominant Second Round performance against Switzerland. It took a late extra-time goal from Angel Di Maria to pull Argentina through to the Quarterfinals, yet the 1-0 extra-time scoreline didn’t do justice to Argentina’s performance – simply, Switzerland’s defense held strong throughout most of the match.
Still, though, Argentina had to up their game once more if they were to make it to the Semifinals by passing a stern Belgium in the Quarterfinals. Certainly, they make that step. Just eight minutes in they took the lead, via a brilliant Gonzalo Higuain volley. For the most part, they held off Belgium pretty comfortably for the remaining eighty-two minutes. Then it was onto the Semifinals against the Netherlands. In a most even and tactical match, the two nations complimented each other perfectly. Only in penalties did Argentina pull through. However, neither did they impress. In fact, they haven’t looked quite up to par with their expectations since the start of the tournament. In facing a relatively easy road to the final, with matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria, and Switzerland, they never won by more than a goal. It almost seemed as if Messi pulled them through. In six matches, Messi had a direct hand in five goals – five out of Argentina’s eight goals, aside from those in their penalty shootout against the Dutch. It almost seems like a run like that of Brazil – they just pulled through because of their biggest star – expect with more luck. The Brazilians were forced to face the likes of Germany, Colombia, and Chile in the knockout stages, and were lacking their main man Neymar in the semifinals. Certainly, it hasn’t been at all a poor performance from Argentina, yet not one of the likes Germany have had. And certainly, if they want to claim the final glory against Germany, they will need to take another step up in their game.