Lionel Messi has scored consecutively in the last 2 matches of the Argentina team.
Two powerful representatives of South American football played impressively in friendly matches before the 2022 World Cup. While Brazil scored 8 goals in 2 matches against Ghana and Tunisia, Argentina was no less competitive when winning Honduras and Jamaica with the same score 3-0.
In June, Brazil was chosen by the bookie as the number one candidate for the World Cup 2022. Meanwhile, Argentina also featured in the top 5 most formidable teams in the tournament. Experts believe that both elite representatives of South American football are able to compete for the World Cup title next to the big boys in Europe.
Scary Brazil
ESPN assesses that Brazil possesses one of the most formidable attack lines in the 2022 World Cup. The quartet of Neymar, Lucas Paqueta, Raphinha and Vinicius Junior helps coach Tite have many options to approach the opponent’s goal.
Tim Vickery, a South American football expert, analyzes Brazil has at least two attack options thanks to the aforementioned faces. In particular, coach Tite’s preferred system is when Neymar is ranked as a “virtual 9”, Raphinha and Vinicius are responsible for the two wing corridors, while Paqueta plays as a public defender.
In addition, the presence of Richarlison, a versatile attacking player, allowed Coach Tite to transition to a new system. At that time, the Tottenham striker kicked the center, Neymar was arranged to play freely, and Paqueta was pulled to the wing to replace Vinicius or Raphinha. When needed, Paqueta can take Fred’s position to help shape the game for Brazil from home.
Brazil runs impressive momentum ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Many Brazilian players have impressive performance in the 2021/22 season. “Selecao” owns 4 Champions League champions in the squad: Vinicius, Eder Militao, Rodrygo Goes and Casemiro. Besides, the harmony of the central defender pair Marquinhos – Thiago Silva and the stable performance of Alisson Becker in the wooden frame help “Selecao” have a solid defense system.
The uniform quality of personnel at all levels helps Coach Tite comfortably choose suitable faces. In the latest gathering, the 61-year-old strategist was criticized for not summoning a trio of high performance in Arsenal colors (Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Magalhaes). However, the faces above the team still ensure the quality in the play of “Selecao”.
Kleberson, a former player who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, commented: “With a group of young players playing in Europe, the team has many chances to win the World Cup. The current Brazilian version plays freely thanks to in the group of stars who are good at creating mutations and rich in speed”.
Neymar is still the leader of Brazil. The striker born in 1992 scored 9 goals and had 8 assists for PSG since the beginning of the season. In the national team, Neymar scored two assists in the 3-0 win over Ghana on September 24 and scored a goal on the 11-meter mark in the 5-1 win over Tunisia on the morning of September 28.
Kaka assessed that “Neymar is no longer lost in the Brazilian team”, when beside the PSG star, there were Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Richarlison, Antony… This group is no longer immature players but has become role models. face enough to take responsibility for the country.
Neymar scored 74 goals in 120 caps for Brazil. This striker is only 3 goals less than the record of “Football King” Pele. This factor helps Neymar have more motivation to shine in the 2022 World Cup.
Argentina get the balance
With Argentina, writer Tim Vickery believes that “Lionel Messi has the best support system in the national team ever”.
ESPN once mocked Argentina’s team of “Messi and friends”. When facing well-organized opponents, M10 was caught, and Argentina did not have effective backup plans.
This changed when coach Lionel Scaloni took over in 2018. Kaka, a former Brazilian player, commented that “Argentina is playing more and more mature and has a good coach”. Scaloni found a formula to help reconcile the egos of the stars and build cohesion in the gameplay.
Messi scored two goals in three minutes in a 3-0 win over Jamaica.
Argentina’s biggest change lies in a midfield that is skilled and has good ball control. The trio of Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso combine well to help reduce pressure on the defense and provide good support for the attacking front. In addition, factors such as goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez or central defender Cristian Romero – Lisandro Martinez help “Albiceleste” limit the number of goals.
Argentina has just extended its unbeaten streak to 35 matches. The last time Scaloni’s teachers and students lost a match was in July 2019 (lost to Brazil 0-2 in the Copa America semi-finals). The changes of “Albiceleste” bring positive results.
Similar to Neymar, Messi also changed at the beginning of the 2022/23 season. M10 showed a brilliant performance with a brace in the last 2 friendlies against Honduras and Jamaica. Messi contributed to 12 goals after only the last 6 matches for Argentina (10 goals, 2 assists). More importantly, Messi knows how to blend in with the team built by coach Scaloni.
At the age of 35, Messi does not have much time to conquer the World Cup gold cup. The Argentine superstar is mentally and physically prepared for his arrival in Qatar. Messi doesn’t want to be known only as the runner-up at the 2014 World Cup.
The common point that creates the strength of Argentina and Brazil is the spirit of solidarity. The image of the Argentine player surrounding the opponent and the referee when Messi was fouled clearly shows this factor. Netizens also joked that “De Paul looks like Messi’s bodyguard”, when the Atletico Madrid midfielder always appears next to M10 and protects his seniors when being played badly.
Similarly, teammates in the Brazilian team are ready to defend Vinicius when this striker is smeared on social networks. In another case, when young striker Antony was criticized for playing individually in the national team, Neymar immediately defended that “let him play the most comfortable football”.
Ghana, Honduras, Jamaica or Tunisia are not too strong opponents to Brazil or Argentina. Victory is predictable. However, the convincing performances of Brazil and Argentina showed the seriousness of the preparation process. The perfect running step added confidence to the two giants of South American football before the World Cup.
Duy Luan – Zing.vn | 21:01 September 28, 2022
