Ice men frustrate Argentina in opener

Three thoughts plus one over Argentina

1. Lionel Messi cannot make it alone

The world’s greatest player  cannot do it alone or carry on his shoulders the whole Argentinian National team. Remember he is only human and for him to make his squad a contender he is in serious need of his squad unity and desires to win.

       2.  The World Cup is not that easy

There is no such thing than an easy foe and for the Argentinians their next matches will be played like an eliminator rather than a group match. They will not underestimate their foes. With Croatia and Nigeria next, the need to step up their game is obvious.

3. The need to finish

Argentina had a much better second half with 16 shots at goal versus none for the Icelanders. This makes manager Sampaoli’s primary challenge to work out how to fire up his star studded squad to put the ball in the opposing net.

The Plus

The plus is Cristian Pavon, whose lively performance off the bench staked a claim for a starting spot for future games, after his introduction in the 75th minute. He showed hunger and determination to be a one two combination with Messi.

They need to unite this group and revive that lost magic that can deliver some amazing matches of pure and genuine top class Argentinian made football.

Their next match is against Croatia on June 21, at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod (2:00 PM ET/ 10:00 AM PT, Fox, FS1, Telemundo and Univision.