Simeone to the rescue!

[Ben]

SkySports​

Hello all viewers we will cross over to Buenos Aires in approximately 30 minutes to watch the Argentina squad be announced. The likes of Messi, Mascherano, Cambiasso, Tevez and Zanetti are all thought guaranteed to be picked but who else? Positions up front between the likes of Higuain, Milito, Cruz, Bergessio, Zarate and Lisandro Lopez are up for grabs and it will be interesting to see the full 23 man squad!​

We now cross over to Buenos Aires, 30 minutes later than schedules to look at the Argentina squad announcement...​

 

[tiraths]

Who is Bergessio?
Have you thought about Salvio & Defederico for the future? Great players

 

[Ben]

Simeone's squad!
Argentina manager has named his squad for their biggest test yet, the 2010 World Cup. The excitement grows as the squad is about to be announced...
​

Goalkeepers: Carrizo, Leo Franco, Vilar
Strong here. No abbondanzieri but still a lot of experience, I do not think Abbondanzieri can compete at World Cup level therefore am removing him from my plans. Romero and Ustari also miss out. No real big goalkeeper though, like Brazil have J.Cesar, Spain have Casillas etc.

Defenders: Burdisso, Demichelis, Garay, Samuel, Zanetti, Insua, Ansaldi
I feel I am strong enough here, especially in the centre. Gonzalo Rodriguez unfortunately misses out to Garay and I chose to add another striker over Zabaleta, might pay for that though because Zabaleta is versatile.

Midfielders: Mascherano, Cambiasso, Aimar, Pastore, Di Maria, Messi, M.Rodriguez
Very, very strong here, some real game changers and some solid players. The likes of Messi and Mascherano are going to be vital and with players like Cambiasso and Maxi able to step in I feel we are good in the midfield.

Forwards: Zarate, Higuain, Aguero, Tevez, Milito, Cruz
6 world class players make my striking ability formidable. Tevez and Milito will be the likely partnership, Aguero is able to play AM and Zarate on the wing if need be and Higuain really can come on and change a game. Cruz adds experience.

​

 

[Ben]

Who is Bergessio?
Have you thought about Salvio & Defederico for the future? Great players

Gonzalo Bergessio. He started the season off brilliantly but started to fade out, eventually fading out of my plans. And yeah I have a lot of young players that look like they are going to be real superstars

 

[Ben]

Argentina V Denmark​

Argentina
Key man: Lionel Messi
Captain: Javier Zanetti
Denmark
Key man: Simon Kjaer
Captain: Jon Dahl Tomasson​

Odds: Argentina 4/6 Draw 11/4 Denmark 5/2
Sky sports
Denmark have their work cut out today if they are to beat Argentina, if they stay solid however they have a chance of a draw. With the narrow pitch at Ellis Park, will Messi and Di Maria struggle to make an impact?
Prediction: Argentina 2-1 Denmark​

Team to face Denmark​

GK: Vilar
RB: Zanetti
CB: Samuel
CB: Demichelis
LB: Insua
DM: Mascherano
RW: Messi
AM: Aguero
LW: Di Maria
ST: Tevez
ST: Milito​

Argentina 6-1 Denmark
Unbelievable result. My best at Argentina. We won comfortably but 20 minutes in the result didn't look like it was going to be so good. Then Tevez gave us 2 before the break to put us in the lead. Had to bring Messi off at half time as he picked up a knock. Maxi came on. Tevez got another and I was thinking about going defensive just as Maxi put one away and then another 2 minutes later. Tevez scored another 15 minutes before the end to make it really embarrassing for Denmark who will be puzzled as to how they got beat by such a margin.​

MOTM
Carlos Tevez

Possibly his best performance in an Argentina shirt. Many people will wonder if Argentina would of won without him today, what a player!​

Messi out for the group stage!​

Argentina man Leo Messi will miss the rest of the World Cup group stage. The 22 year old sprained his wrist in the opening game against Denmark and had to come off at the break. The Argentina physio's expect him to be back for the 2nd round.​

Argentina V USA​

Argentina
Key man: Carlos Tevez
Captain: Javier Zanetti
USA
Key man: Michael Bradley
Captain: Landon Donovan​

Odds: Argentina 5/6 Draw 5/2 USA 11/4
Sky sports
Argentina should beat the USA. They beat Denmark 6-1 and Denmark are probably about on par with USA. Messi is out but Argentina have other players who can make a difference.
Prediction: Argentina 3-1 USA​

Team to face USA​

GK: Vilar
RB: Zanetti
CB: Samuel
CB: Demichelis
LB: Insua
DM: Cambiasso
RW: Maxi Rodriguez
AM: Aguero
LW: Di Maria
ST: Tevez
ST: Milito​

Argentina 1-1 USA
Might of unerrated the Americans a bit, they seemed a decent side and in the end the game was about level. We seemed a bit intricate wheras they tried a lot of long shots. Not a bad point and we look through unless South Korea give us a thrashing.​

MOTM
Oguchi Onyewu

The American defender was like a brick wall today. He snuffed out most of Argentina's attacks, Milito and Tevez struggled against his physical presence.​

 

[The Icelander]

great story m8, keep it up, good luck in the WC

have you considered federico fazio?

 

[Ben]

great story m8, keep it up, good luck in the WC

have you considered federico fazio?

Yeah, he is in the national pool and has had a decent season in La Liga

Argentina V South Korea​

Argentina
Key man: Javier Mascherano
Captain: Javier Zanetti
South Korea
Key man: Ki Sung-Yong
Captain: Park Ji-Sung​

Odds: Argentina 4/7 Draw 5/2 South Korea 4/1
Sky sports
Argentina really should win their final group game. South Korea have lost to both USA and Denmark and cannot advance to the 2nd round. If Argentina win they're guaranteed 1st.
Prediction: Argentina 3-1 South Korea​

Team to face South Korea​

GK: Vilar
RB: Zanetti
CB: Samuel
CB: Demichelis
LB: Ansaldi
DM: Mascherano
RW: Maxi Rodriguez
AM: Aimar
LW: Di Maria
ST: Higuain
ST: Milito​

Argentina 3-0 South Korea
A very good performance against a poor South Korean side. Pleased with the win however I got 2 dissapointing late injuries and I am expecting the worst as I see the physio about Demichelis and Zarate.​

MOTM
Walter Samuel

Walter Samuel put in an incredible defensive performance for Argentina. He snuffed out many South Korea attacks and never gave their attackers a chance on the ball.


Match screenies from the group stage are up and match stats also ​

 

[Gibbo MCFC]

good group results just unfortunate about injuries.. 2nd round should be interesting

 

[Ben]

Demichelis out for World Cup​

Martin Demichelis, possibly Argentina's best defender will miss the rest of the World Cup after straining his knee ligaments, he could be out for a total of two months! Mauro Zarate who also picked up an injury in the South Korea game will only be out for about a week after he gashed his arm. Simeone says that Argentina will be able to cope without Demichelis talking up who ever steps into the team for the next game. Garay or Burdisso will be his replacement.​

2nd Round-Brazil

After winning their World Cup group Argentina probably feel hard done by as they play rivals Brazil in the 2nd round.​

 

[tiraths]

Losing Demechelis is a big blow
You play a really attacking formation

 

[Ben]

Losing Demechelis is a big blow
You play a really attacking formation

Yep it is, but Burdisso and Garay are decent defenders and yeah it is quite attacking I suppose thats why I leak so many goals. I base the system on 5 forwards and 5 back basically.

 

[bcfc]

I normally steer clear of these national stories but this has forced me to change my mind, I am really enjoying every game of yours. Good luck vs Brazil, you'll need it mate

 

[Ben]

Argentina V Brazil

Argentina
Key man: Lionel Messi
Captain: Javier Zanetti
Brazil
Key man: Kaka
Captain: Lucio

Odds: Argentina 7/4 Draw 5/2 Brazil 5/4
Sky sports
This will be a very close game with the 2 big South American teams coming up against each other. Some of the best players in the world on show so I can see it going to extra time and maybe penalties.
Prediction: Argentina 2-2 Brazil
​

 

[tiraths]

You gona go more defensive against Brazil? 4-2-3-1 maybe?

 

[Ben]

I normally steer clear of these national stories but this has forced me to change my mind, I am really enjoying every game of yours. Good luck vs Brazil, you'll need it mate

Thanks mate Yeah gonna be a hard one against Brazil, gonna play it in a minute, hope I don't go out at this early stage.

---------- Post added at 04:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:08 PM ----------

Argentina team to play Brazil​

GK: Vilar
RB: Zanetti
CB: Samuel
CB: Burdisso
LB: Insua
DM: Mascherano
DM: Cambiasso
RW: Messi
LW: Di Maria
ST: Tevez
ST: Milito​

Argentina 1-0 Brazil
We did brilliantly. Could of went either way though, was rather defensive but we got the goal that sealed it with 20 minutes to go. A good finish from Diego Milito sends us through to the Quarter finals!​

MOTM
Angel Di Maria

Angel Di Maria made some great runs downt he left hand side. He assisted Milito's goal and made a few opportunites. The young winger looked exciting against the Brazilians.​

 

[Ben]

Quarter final-Chile

After getting a brilliant win against Brazil, Argentina face another South American team, Chile in the Quarter finals.​

 

[bcfc]

Good luck against Chile...

Simeone for the WC!

 

[Ben]

Argentina V Chile​

Argentina
Key man: Sergio Aguero
Captain: Javier Zanetti
Chile
Key man: Alexis Sanchez
Captain: Claudio Bravo​

Odds: Argentina 4/7 Draw 11/4 Chile 4/1​

Sky sports
Argentina should beat their fellow South American counterparts Chile today. They have a lot of quality in comparison to Chile and it will be a big surprise if they go out here.
Prediction: Argentina 3-1 Chile​

Team to face Chile​

GK: Vilar
RB: Zanetti
CB: Samuel
CB: Burdisso
LB: Insua
DM: Mascherano
RW: Messi
AM: Aguero
LW: Di Maria
ST: Tevez
ST: Higuain​

Argentina 3-1 Chile
Basically won the match with 10 men today. Mascherano went off in the 7th minute. Tevez was quality today scored 2 goals before Aguero scored a 3rd not long before half time. Chile battled in the 2nd half but could only manage a goal and they got a sending off late on due to frustration. A great performance hindered by Mascherano's 1 match ban and Messi is yet again injured, but he will be back for the final, should we get there.​

MOTM

A great performance from the striker. He put the Chile defense to the scored finishing with 2 goals for Argentina.​

 

[Ben]

Semi final-Italy

Argentina have Italy to face before they can dream of a World Cup. The game looks like it will be very exciting and Argentina and Italy are very different teams. Argentina miss a couple of players though, Messi is out with a stubbed toe and Mascherano is suspended. Demichelis is obviously still out.
​

 

[fmguy]

You're doing great. What's the minimum expectation of you? Final? Win the World Cup?