{"id":14986,"date":"2018-06-21T22:42:42","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T22:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/?p=14986"},"modified":"2019-06-26T20:13:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-26T20:13:31","slug":"argentinas-demise-long-time-coming-messi-isnt-blame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/argentinas-demise-long-time-coming-messi-isnt-blame\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina&#8217;s Demise Has Been A Long Time Coming And Messi Isn&#8217;t To Blame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Argentina&#8217;s loss to Croatia on Thursday night has been something that was bound to happen sooner or later in this nascent world cup. From struggling to make qualification and winning one friendly against a not so much fancied opponent in Haiti, Argentina haven&#8217;t looked encouraging or promising in a long while.<\/p>\n<p>To blame one player for such a situation is forgetting what this sport of football is all about. Lionel Messi is a great player on his day but even the greatest need a supporting cast to compliment them. How is Messi to stop Caballero from making such a stupid error in judgement when a simple boot of the ball would have done the trick?<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\n<a class=\"yoast-link-suggestion__value\" href=\"http:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/cristiano-ronaldo-proves-real-football-behemoth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cristiano Ronaldo &#8211; A Real Football Behemoth<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Argentina&#8217;s problems stems from something far more deeper than one player. The whole team lack cohesion. From Di Maria who was a peripheral figure against Iceland and rightly lost his place, to Aguero who despite scoring a goal against Iceland looked a shell of the ruthless Manchester City striker we all know. Mascherano was lethargic in both games and seems unable to control that midfield with authority. I could go on&#8230;<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\n<a class=\"yoast-link-suggestion__value\" href=\"http:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/c-k-akunnor-race-nasco-coach-month\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">C.K Akunnor In Race For Nasco Coach Of The Month.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But as is always the case the buck always stops with the manager. Jose Sampaoli was not much fancied man for the job by many and in build up to the tournament his selections were called into question with many feeling there far befitting players than those selected. He went into the tournament with a nation&#8217;s hopes on his shoulders but failed to find a solution to a problem Argentina has had for so long in defense. It was a night to forget for the him and his team.<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\nArgentina can still qualify to the knock out stages but at this point they are better off going home and solving this conundrum of building a solid team capable of competing at the biggest of stages. Messi might have one last crack in four years to come but will have to hope the supporting cast won&#8217;t be as bad and anonymous as this one was.<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Argentina&#8217;s loss to Croatia on Thursday night has been something that was bound to happen sooner or later in this nascent world cup. From struggling to make qualification and winning one friendly against a not so much fancied opponent in Haiti, Argentina haven&#8217;t looked encouraging or promising in a long while. To blame one player<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7863],"tags":[6017],"class_list":{"0":"post-14986","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-russia-world-cup-2018","8":"tag-world-cup-2018"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/977240_1-2.jpg?fit=590%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8jzHl-3TI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15764,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/messi-ronaldo-race-win-ballon-dor-early-voting-shows\/","url_meta":{"origin":14986,"position":0},"title":"End Of An Era:Messi &#038; Ronaldo Out Of Race To Win Ballon D&#8217;or, Early voting shows.","author":"Selasi Fiawoyi","date":"November 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Former Real Madrid Star Ronaldo And Barcelona Rival Lionel Messi are set to be excluded from the Ballon d'or race as preliminary round of voting reveals. The duo have been at the pinnacle of the world stage for over a decade with many calling for the trend to be ended\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World Football&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World Football","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/worldfootball\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Former Real Madrid Star Ronaldo And Barcelona Rival Lionel Messi","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Ronaldo.Messi_.combo_.2018.356x237.png?fit=356%2C237&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15119,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/france-vs-croatia-who-wins-the-world-cup-final-can-england-clinch-3rd-place\/","url_meta":{"origin":14986,"position":1},"title":"France Vs Croatia: Who Wins The World Cup Final? &#038; Can England Clinch 3rd Place?","author":"Selasi Fiawoyi","date":"July 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Three weeks ago we began a journey in which 32 nations contested for the biggest prize in international football and now only 2 remain standing. Argentina's Demise Has Been A Long Time Coming And Messi Isn't To Blame On Sunday in Moscow France and Croatia will contest for that coveted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World Cup (Russia 2018)&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World Cup (Russia 2018)","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/russia-world-cup-2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"France and Croatia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/modric-mbappe_1nyt4p8nen3sm1dbxfp7h5zhpn.jpg?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/modric-mbappe_1nyt4p8nen3sm1dbxfp7h5zhpn.jpg?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/modric-mbappe_1nyt4p8nen3sm1dbxfp7h5zhpn.jpg?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/modric-mbappe_1nyt4p8nen3sm1dbxfp7h5zhpn.jpg?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/modric-mbappe_1nyt4p8nen3sm1dbxfp7h5zhpn.jpg?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35342,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/enzo-fernanadez-wins-young-player-award-at-the-qatar-2022-world-cup\/","url_meta":{"origin":14986,"position":2},"title":"Enzo Fernanadez wins Young Player Award at the Qatar 2022 World Cup","author":"Selasi Fiawoyi","date":"December 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Argentina's Enzo Fernanadez wins Young Player Award at the Qatar 2022 World Cup The 21 year old Benfica player lit up the tournament with his fantastic performances in midfield through out\u00a0 the competition. READ MORE :\u00a0Kylian Mbappe wins World Cup Golden Boot award, beating Messi Enzo was on target against\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Enzo-Fernandez.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Enzo-Fernandez.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Enzo-Fernandez.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Enzo-Fernandez.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Enzo-Fernandez.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31233,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/show-me-a-player-like-ronaldo-or-messi-in-ghana-and-i-will-include-him-in-the-squad-kurt-okraku\/","url_meta":{"origin":14986,"position":3},"title":"Show me a player like Ronaldo or Messi in Ghana and I will include him in the squad-Kurt Okraku","author":"Selasi Fiawoyi","date":"January 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Mr Kurt Okraku says the squad that represented Ghana at the 2021 African Cup of Nations football tournament were the best they had so far. 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Mbappe scored three goals in the final which brought his goal tally to 8 goals in the tournament. READ MORE:\u00a0Argentina crowned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Mbappe.webp?fit=770%2C513&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Mbappe.webp?fit=770%2C513&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Mbappe.webp?fit=770%2C513&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Mbappe.webp?fit=770%2C513&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31238,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/we-dont-have-messi-or-ronaldo-in-ghana-gfa-president-kurt-okraku\/","url_meta":{"origin":14986,"position":5},"title":"We dont have Messi or Ronaldo in Ghana &#8211; GFA President Kurt Okraku","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"January 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Following Ghana's embarrassing exit from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the Ghana Football President insists they took the country's best player to the tournament. 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