Argentine FA hopes Scaloni stays & believes he can be convinced

Brother, he needs substitutes too—two starting center-backs were substituted early, using up two of his substitutions. How else can he make changes?

Lautaro is the only player in this squad capable of serving as the core. However, under Scaloni’s system, Lautaro holds virtually no tactical significance. Unless the coach is replaced, Scaloni has no choice but to beg Messi to continue leading Argentina and maintain the “10-for-1” reliance—or else the team will collapse entirely. If Messi retires, Argentina must appoint a new coach who can build the team around Lautaro; only then will the team retain a viable floor.

Without Messi, is Scaloni truly willing to lead those midfield and defensive thugs?

Yes, I understand his push on Pedri—testing the referee’s tolerance—but that later shove was outright stupid.

Without Messi to bail him out, keeping Scalini in charge is pointless; this final also exposed Scalini’s mediocrity and deep-seated weakness.

They’re all bears in one den—without Messi, his “P” is gone too.

Then others also had 0 shots.

We lost today—let them mock us if they want. We’ll have our chance to mock them back, as long as Scaloni’s team remains intact.

We’d be grateful for fewer fanatics—people who don’t understand the game and judge everything solely by results. Let’s give A-Qiu some peace. Having followed since 1998, it’s been quite a satisfying journey overall. Before this tournament, I’d anticipated elimination in the quarterfinals—likely against Colombia or Portugal—but we somehow made it all the way to the final.

So why was the knockout stage of this World Cup so difficult? Because this tactical setup had been figured out: as long as opponents flooded the central area to shut down Messi, he posed virtually no threat in the middle—even against teams like Cape Verde and Egypt. Only later did they resort to their ultimate solution—moving Messi wide and deploying two center-forwards centrally, barely scraping through. In the semifinal, Tuchel’s own surrender played a bigger role; allowing Messi space on the ball was tantamount to criminal negligence. In the final, facing a strong Spanish side, they completely neutralized Messi, and injuries to central defenders prevented Argentina from executing the wide-Messi/two-strikers tactic (though even with Messi wide, it wouldn’t have helped—Baena tracked back diligently). The result? A comprehensive thrashing.

A chip-over dribble, cut inside to the byline, then a curving shot from the top of the arc blocked.

When South American teams collapsed in the first round, who was it that claimed the European Championship winner was “this good”?

Why was Simeone substituted on?

De Paul shouldn’t start; bringing on younger Simeone would provide more attacking impetus.

Stop harming Tarot. Argentina doesn’t evaluate players based on merit—seniority-based hierarchy is even stricter there than in China.

I genuinely wonder what would have happened if Messi had chosen to play for the Italian national team.

Argentina most urgently needs wingers—the key lesson to be learned from this World Cup

Yes, Gang Huang is well-suited to come on as a substitute and inject pace and intensity, whereas Simoni is significantly more effective starting than coming off the bench. Also, leaving out young Lo and omitting Colonel Buendia—whom I’ve long believed could be an excellent alternative when Messi is tightly marked—especially considering he was the standout performer in the Europa League final.

The quality of the Blue-and-White team is truly poor.

The Argentine Football Association should stop using Scaloni as a scapegoat—let him go; it’s better for everyone.