Same here but I have more dislike for Argentina. I enjoyed it nonetheless. Would be HILARIOUS if Nigeria eliminates them in the final group game.
The psychological part is so true. The expectations he faces when he suits up for Argentina are tons higher than what CRonaldo faces when he plays for Portugal. A QF or SF appearance at Euros or WC would be a success to the Portuguese fans. A QF or SF appearance at a Copa America or WC is an failure to the Argentinians. Add in the #10 shirt and the comparisons to Diego and it's no surprise.
Messi doesn't inspire his Argentine teammates. Ronaldo does. They trust he'll deliver the goals so they play for him. They see him play hard so they play their asses off.
Was just going to comment on this. I don't even know if it's inspire of makes them get some fear in them that helps them perform above their abilities. I've heard and read TOO many damn excuses for Messi and this Argentina team over the last few hours. Ridiculous. "Oh this Argentina team is trash". "Before Aguero's goal vs Iceland, they hadn't scored for over 600 minutes in games without Messi or Messi scoring" or some other crap. This Argentina team...even with Lo Celso, Banega, Dybala, Di Maria, Higuain on the bench is still more talented than the Portugal team. To the point that they left the BEST striker in Serie A over the past couple of seasons at homes....because he didn't fit Sampaoli's system lol. The USA, Iceland, Panama, Greece, etc would gladly have the "Trash" Argentina talent surrounding Messi. Coaching of course is the biggest issue with the Argentina team and I absolutely thought Sampaoli would solve it and would be the best coach Messi has ever had with Argentina. Oh how wrong I was.
the problem was that argentina faced super worldclass powerhouses, not due to coaching. even the worriers would have lost to those teams.
Plus Ronaldo has cemented his legacy forever in Portugal after winning Euro 2014. We were in Lisbon during the group stages and watched the match against Hungary in the Praça do Comércio. The way people spoke about him then, during the groups, was pure reverence. I can only imagine that winning the Euro has given that Portugal team a free pass for the rest of their era. Contrast this with Messi-era Argentina not even winning a single Copa America. Yes, they’ve had very bad luck. Yes, the AFA has done a truly terrible job in hiring managers and personnel. But, at the end of the day, the product on the field always looks lost and overly cautious of Messi’s presence. His body language, when playing for Argentina, does not inspire.
I saw this earlier and remarked on another forum that there are some serious issues with the Argentina team that we won't find out about until they get eliminated possibly next week. Then I see this Wowzer
I think Iceland has a good chance to win, they fight and claw their way into it. But a draw is possible as well.
brehs, wtf is wrong with brazil? their lackadaisical style is so uncharacteristic of their famed beautiful football. is tite the jbb of football? not that I'm complaining, i hate brazil post ronaldo.
All South Americans have problems...... mainly Argentina, Brazil, Colombia ...... Uruguay has been okay to mediocre. Peru is a newcomer, so won't judge them.
Brazil isn't the same since the Ronaldo/Carlos/Rivaldo/Ronaldinho ect years. To me that was their peak. Seems like a lot of these new players are nowhere near as skillful as the early 00 team.
That was great Neymar dived for the penalty, ref called it then went to VAR and saw Neymar did dive an overturned the original call. Great ref
You forgot Bebeto, Romario, Branca, Cafu, Leonardo, Aldair, Rai That team had flair though, not the best but one of the best.
that was a very good ref. wished he could do rockets playoff games. costa rica played admirably until the last 10 minutes when they started becoming b****es. unfortunately karma came thundering down in the form of coutinho
