Argentina’s depth the key to World Cup upset over Germany

Date: 12th July 2014 at 9:20pm
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Argentina may be underdogs for tomorrow’s World Cup final but their wealth of talent throughout their squad will bethe  key to winning their third World Cup.

Germany’s 7-1 demolition of host country Brazil has the pundits appointing them overwhelming favorites and with La Albiceleste’s less than impressive performances in the lead up to the final, it’s clear to see why Die Mannschaft have been labeled the overwhelming favourites.

Lionel Messi’s performances in the group stage covered for a team that has failed to light up the tournament in Brazil.  Despite a stout defence, Messi’s wonder goals have disguised a lack of offensive prowess from the rest of the Argentina lineup.

Switzerland was the first team with enough talent and tactical acumen to effectively mark Messi and shape their game plan around him. As a result the Argentine’s looked dangerous on rare occasions and needed a late strike from Angel Di Maria in extra time to take down the Swiss.

Next up was Belgium and another 1-0 win thanks to Gonzalo Higuain stabbing a redirected pass into the net early in the match.  The early strike allowed Argentina to defend for the next 82 minutes with only an occasional foray to the other side of the field.

Lastly was the semi-final account the Netherlands, a match everyone seemingly watched and nobody seemingly remembers thanks to a dull and lifeless encounter that was only decided via the penalty shootout.

Thus after scoring six goals in the group stage, Argentina only managed to find the back of the net twice over their next three matches.  As a result there is reason for concern against a stingy German defence, but there is still much to be optimistic about.

This is due to the depth at the disposal of coach Alejandro Sabella and it starts at the forward position. Besides the magician Messi and the aforementioned Higuain, Sabella can turn to the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Rodrigo Palacio and Sergio Aguero should his side fail to impress during the encounter.

Although Angel Di Maria presence on the wing will be missing due to injury, Maxi Rodriguez can provide an attacking push from the wings or through the middle.

As a result Argentina have enough skill players in position to win should Messi be completely marked out of this match. While many of those names have failed to light up the tournament so far, all it takes is one player to have an exceptional game to change the course of history and Argentina has enough of these players in place to accomplish that.

At the back is where the Albiceleste have shown their true mettle with Javier Mascherano’s performance being a sight to behold. The Barcelona man was the best player on the field against the Netherlands, being assigned to help with the dangerous Dutch forwards and making several key tackles to disrupt goal scoring chances.

Add to that the performances of Pablo Zabaleta and the rejuvenated Sergio Romero and it would appear that if anyone can slow down the German machine, it is this defence.

If their depth lets them down the Argentine’s have two x-factors that they can turn to for the match.

The first is the crowd as the Argentine fans have been plentiful in this World Cup and, with the chance to capture their third World Cup crown in front of their hated Brazilian rivals, the short trek from Buenos Aires could mean that the Maracana crownd is solidly behind the Albiceleste.

The second is Messi, who despite being effectively marked in the knockout rounds remains the best player in the world.  A World Cup trophy could cement his legacy and elevate him among the all-time greats.

Argentina is rightly an underdog heading into Sunday;’s match however with their depth and quality, however, the time could finally be right to secure their first World Cup crown since 1986.

 

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