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Nigeria has a mediocre record against Argentina in its regular clashes against Albiceleste, but after the South American giants have moved closer to Iceland and have been outclassed by Croatia, the Super Eagles are able to eliminate Lionel Messi and his teammates.
A draw could even be enough for West Africans to reach the last 16, and Irfan Kawri believes that Nigeria can reserve its ticket for the knockout stages on Tuesday.
What are the strengths of Argentina?
Although he had his critics after the first match, Lionel Messi can still do something.
With the quality that he possesses, he can be a winning match. Obviously, he has an incredible individual ability, where he can dribble, drive with the ball and beat the players, either creating opportunities or scoring himself.
Nigeria will have to press against him and deny him time and space, otherwise he will hurt them.
The Eagles must also be wary of him who drifts and who comes deep to receive. If he can get rid of his discomfort, he can turn with the ball and get the opposition.
Sergio Aguero has not enjoyed much success at the World Cup, but he is a proven striker and can punish the Eagles to any equality in and around the box.
He is strong, has a low center of gravity and can turn and turn efficiently. He can also accelerate with the ball, show rhythm and power, while his movement is excellent and the Eagles must get closer to him.
Despite his years in advance, Javier Mascherano is strong, aggressive and a very experienced midfielder.
In possession, he came in deep and entered between the three backs to receive the ball.
He was the main holder in the central midfield, and can get on the ball and start a move.
He is ready to set foot and can win the ball for his team, but he may have trouble coping with the dynamism and movement of Oghenekaro Etebo. Nigeria needs to be dynamic and fluid in the middle of the park.
What are the weaknesses of Argentina?
In the end, Willy Caballero looked nervous and was never really convincing.
Against Croatia, it almost cost his team a goal in the first half with a bad pass to his center-back, then in the second half, made a total scream to give the Europeans the first goal.
Nigeria must test it early, and it would also be wise to put a man on it in spare parts in order to expose the man from Chelsea and keep the pressure on him from the start.
If Argentina plays again in the 3-4-3 formation – an approach that does not seem geared to the players – it will seek to dominate the ball and exit the game in possession of the ball.
However, their central defenders did not use the ball well, it was too slow, and Ahmed Musa and Victor Moïse had to press and shove the defense in order to provoke errors.
Sometimes they gave the balloon at a low price and seemed nervous in possession, and that must be exploited.
The last three, out of possession, were also reckless and clumsy, and Musa and Moses must use their pace and ability to dribble to reach the defenders, play directly and incite them to make mistakes.
In large areas, Argentina was also weak at the back, Croatia exposing the space.
Defending himself in wide areas was a weakness in the first half against Croatia in particular, while the Europeans beat both chains, beating Gabriel Mercado and Nicolas Tagliafico, who were unaware of their men .
In transition and possession, the two great players Eduardo Salvio and Marcos Acuna never come back. Too often, they have a bad defensive form out of the possession, and if Gernor Rohr encourages his players – including Tyronne Ebuehi – to advance, they can enjoy a real success against this defense.
You suspect, however, that Musa and Moses will be the key.
Argentina started with a really high line, and was easily exploited in transition if balls are played in the space behind.
Conclusion
Worrying for Nigeria, Argentina must surely get better after its poor performance against Croatia. They did not function as a team, either in possession, in possession, or in transition, and looked like strangers.
There was also a real lack of fighting spirit, and if Nigeria played with its strength, with the dynamism and openness that characterized its posting against Iceland in the second half, then they can book their tickets for the last 16.
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