Lionel Scaloni and the Argentina national team are finding out every day how expectations are growing after winning the last World Cup and having to defend the title of world champions at the next World Cup. The final two scheduled friendlies against Mauritania and Zambia didn’t go to anyone’s liking after the final against Spain was called off
Both clashes were expected, but Albiceleste responded only in the last game, winning 5-0. The 2-1 victory over Mauritania left many questions. Perhaps the level of these two opponents was not the best test for Argentina, who will go into the World Cup without having played against a great team to check their own level.
Mauritanian players stand in awe as they face Lionel Messi on the pitch
According to some reports, the big problem mainly appeared against Zambia, where Scaloni noticed a lack of hunger among the Argentine players. This set off alarm bells as the need to give Leo Messi the trophy he missed out on at the World Cup four years ago was the key to achieving his goals with grit, intensity and heart. Now, everything has happened that has never been seen before, and the risk of the world champion not being up to the task is starting to become a concern.
In fact, Argentina’s rivals in the group, Austria, Algeria and Jordan, made very good impressions in their previous friendlies and could prove to be a more complex opponent than expected. No one has forgotten that at the last World Cup, Argentina lost in the first match to Saudi Arabia and had to recover from that huge blow.
De Paul sends a clear message
After defeating Zambia, coach Rodrigo de Paul wanted to calm things down and show his team’s spirit with less than three months until the World Cup. “We are human beings and sometimes we have bad days. We have always shown regularity over the last five or six years and that is something everyone has to adhere to.”
