Argentina are, in the eyes of many, one of the favorites to lift the World Cup trophy in July. Arguably they’re one of the TOP 4 main candidates along defending champions Spain, hosts Brazil and Germany, but do they have what it takes to go all the way?
The talent is definitely there; few teams if any can form a squad with the quality and depth Argentina has. The likes of Messi, Aguero, Di María, Higuaín, Zabaleta, Mascherano, Palacio, Lavezzi, etc certainly inspire respect and fear in their rivals.
The problem is though that most of those players are offensive-minded and occupy the same positions in the pitch, and as great as they’ve been during the qualifying campaign and the latest friendlies, the defense hasn’t been anywhere near showing that same level. Only the aforementioned Zabaleta seems to be a world class defender among the ones that have been starting lately for Argentina. The center back partnership formed by Federico Fernandez and Ezequiel Garay has never shown a really convincing level and the weakest points in the team are the left back and the goalkeeper.
Marcos Rojo has been Argentina’s worst player during most of the qualifiers and his level raised a lot of questions, but Sabella keeps insisting with him and will most likely start in Brazil. Sergio Romero’s case is even more worrying. He hasn’t been playing regular football since last May. He left Sampdoria and joined Monaco hoping that’d change, but it hasn’t been the case so far and will request a loan during the winter transfer to see if he can finally get some playing time elsewhere. Lack of football has certainly affected his performances and most of the supporters question Sabella’s decision to keep him as the starting goalkeeper and not giving other goalkeepers a chance, especially Agustin Orion and Wilfredo Caballero, whose recent performances were hugely praised.
It’s understandable that the coach of a team shows confidence to certain players even when they’re not at a great level, but is it justified to leave out better players (or at least players that are showing a much higher level right now) for it? Caballero and Orion have been doing enough merits to at least earn a place in the squad, but most likely they won’t make it to the final list or only one of them will do and as the 3rd goalkeeper (the second one will be Mariano Andujar).
Add to that, while the Fernandez-Garay partnership hasn’t shown the level a team to win the World Cup would expect, some players that may fill those positions have been showing a great level in their respective teams lately, particularly Gonzalo Rodriguez (Fiorentina) and to a lesser extent Federico Fazio (Sevilla). Both have been playing consistently and at a high level during this season and have done enough merits to be in Sabella’s consideration.
While there aren’t many alternatives in the left back position, at this point it’s clear enough that Rojo doesn’t have the level or experience required to play for the national team. Clemente Rodriguez and Ansaldi have both being called up by Sabella in the last twelve months and deserve to start ahead the Sporting Lisboa player.
In the midfield and upfront, things are much clear for sure. The tandem Mascherano-Gago works wonders, very solid and consistent and the alternatives like Biglia and Banega have also responded when they were needed and are quality back-ups. Ahead, Di María will be the link between them and the forwards. The Real Madrid winger is in great form and has been decisive the whole qualifying campaign being the player that assisted more goals in the squad (5).
The line of attack is undoubtedly the team’s greatest strength: Messi, Aguero and Higuaín. Between them they scored 24 goals in the qualifiers and are one of the most (if not the most) prolific attacks in the world at the moment. Not only that, the alternatives are almost as good as them. Rodrigo Palacio and Ezequiel Lavezzi had an impressive qualifying campaign as well and would easily start in almost every other national team in the world. The controversial absence is undoubtedly Carlos Tevez, he was never in Sabella’s consideration and hasn’t played in the national side since 2011. He has returned to top form in Serie A this season, but as they say “If it ain't broke don't fix it” and the current trio has proved to understand each other perfectly inside the pitch, so it’s highly unlikely the Juventus striker will make the list.
All in all, Argentina has definitely the tools to go far in the World Cup and win it; With the best player in the world pulling the strings and an overall solid squad it will be up to Sabella to fix the weak spots if the team in the remaining six months and improve it as much as possible. Playing close to home will be a huge boost in Argentina’s World Cup chances as well. Every time the World Cup was played in America, the trophy stayed there and only once a European country managed to become world champions outside the old continent (Spain in 2010). Things certainly look bright.