Argentina 2 Austria 0
Surely they can’t top 2022. I thought we saw the pinnacle of this Argentina team in the Qatar World Cup but I’m starting to think they have one more in them after today, they thought they had the perfect start in the first few minutes when Lautaro Martinez was taken out from behind by Stefan Posch with the referee going to the monitor to confirm a penalty for Argentina. Lionel Messi stepped up and shockingly hit a tame penalty wide of the right post, Argentina continued to dominate the half but struggled to create anything clear-cut until the 38th minute when Medina was found on the left and played the ball to the edge of the box as Almada dummied the ball leaving it for Messi who swept the ball into the net to give Argentina the lead. The second half was largely dominated by Austria but they were so poor going forward with Argentina looking more than comfortable at the back, as the game was drawing to a close Argentina went on the break as Messi played a brilliant pass to Alvarez who’s shot was saved and parried to Paredes who laid the ball off to Messi who’s initial shot was blocked but the follow-up effort was slammed into the net to seal the game for Argentina.
How strong does this Argentina team look? We’ve now had two games to judge the World champions and they haven’t disappointed up against some strong opposition in my opinion, obviously Messi will get all the praise and rightfully so but I’ve been so impressed with Argentina defensively. I don’t think Emi Martinez has had to make a serious save so far and that’s down to the work of Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Facundo Medina and Nahuel Molina, not the standout defence on paper at this World Cup but they’ve looked imperious so far and limited both Algeria and Austria to basically nothing in front of goal. Again the midfield isn’t the standout of the tournament but it just works so well and has been together for years now which does make a huge difference on the international stage, it all works so well because Lionel Scaloni has set-up this team perfectly ever since he’s come and is looking to win his fifth international trophy. Would that make him the greatest international manager of all-time? It’d be tough to argue against him.
Lack of cutting edge costs Austria. I actually don’t think Austria played too badly today but their lack of quality attackers was painfully evident all game when they had control in particular in the second half, their build-up was actually quite good at the back and through midfield but as soon as they got near the Argentina goal they got cut-off by a ruthless Argentine defence. Rangnick did make changes in the second half but I think it was too late bringing Arnautovic on in the 67th minute who only had 2 touches in 30 minutes which shows how scared Austria were to put the ball into the box, overall I think if Austria want to go far in this tournament they have to find a way of playing with a striker or else I just can’t see them scoring apart from a set-piece. The game against Algeria will be interesting to see who finishes 2nd in the group, who goes into that game as favourite?
Lionel Messi overtakes Klose as the World Cup all-time top scorer. It could have been a hat-trick if he scored the penalty but I think he’ll be happy enough with two in a game where Argentina would have struggled without him, I never in a million years thought that he could possibly eclipse his performances in 2022 but we’re getting to a point where if he continues carrying Argentina again in a major tournament he enters Balon d’Or conversations whether you like it or not. He’s in perfect condition to keep up his current form having already been in the USA for the last few years and with the weight of a nation lifted from his shoulders in 2022 he can just play without a mountain of pressure which I think we’ve seen so far in these two games, will Scaloni rest him in the last group game against Jordan? It might be selfish but I hope he plays, keep boosting that record.
What has this result done for the group? If Jordan don’t beat Algeria later on tonight and then Argentina in the last group game then the World champions will top the group, Austria will stay 2nd for now until the Jordan vs Algeria game later on tonight which will tell us a lot more about how this group will end up. The Austria vs Algeria game next week will ultimately tell us who will finish 2nd and 3rd in this group most likely and I think it’s quite a hard game to call, Algeria are better going forward but Austria are better in midfield. Who do you have finishing 2nd in this group?