A full on kick from that distance directly at his head could have ended incredibly badly, luckily there was a bit of clear air. I know it's channeling Ferguson but he could have done some real harm with that.

1 minute ago, Phillip said:

But they have the best Group of strikers by far in the WC.

Yep, but if you don't play like a team then it isn't going to get you very far.

What a player Modric is.

game over guys - this'll be a national humiliation in Argentina, Willy'd better not go back there for a while

3-0

Croatia have some decent players, could they really be winners? finalists maybe?

We were linked to Sampaoli. Glad he is not our coach as Argentina look a complete shambles

Just now, carrickblue said:

Croatia have some decent players, could they really be winners? finalists maybe?

I thought they underachieved in the Euro's, they were one of my favourite's to watch. Maybe they have got it right this time around. I don't see why they can't win, it's not like the other countries have shown much so far.

2 minutes ago, carrickblue said:

Croatia have some decent players, could they really be winners? finalists maybe?

They look like they’ve got a lot of fight and passion. Maybe we should get a few Croatians in our dressing room?

Rakatic is a good player.

1 minute ago, Zeta said:

Rakatic is a good player.

Argentina didn't have an answer to him and Modric in the middle 

3 minutes ago, Zeta said:

Rakatic is a good player.

he'd be good at Chelsea, I like his attitude 

Fully deserved win for Croatia. Yet again we saw that there is no I in team. Argies have far too many individuals with little team structure. Messi is frequently compared to Maradona, the difference is that the latter bar being a cheating git for his handball could when faced with being amongst a  team of Charlies, grab a game by the scruff of its neck instead of walking around.

35 minutes ago, Osgood is Good said:

We were linked to Sampaoli. Glad he is not our coach as Argentina look a complete shambles

he has some nice tattoos though

Disappointed with Messi tonight.

Yes he was marked, yes he had a couple of decent dribbles and closed down the defence a few times.

The problem for me is he never gave his own players support, never tried to help them out when they had the ball in a sticky situation just watched.

I'm not sure whether it is arrogance or just being spoilt at Barca yet he is not pulling his weight, IMO.

 

Messi is pure garbage outside of Barcelona, this is why he will never be as amazing as Ronaldo. 

Croatia did so well, Modric showed why he has the number 10 in Real Madrid, huge victory for them that should give them confidence.

They can go far as long as Lovren doesn't choke.

 

Now Diego is blasing on Messi

"I did bad things in my life and in my career, but I never took pictures with a goat. Especially when there is another player who many see as greater, you can't claim to be the greatest and then perform like that." - Diego Maradona on the Messi and Ronaldo debate after #ARGCRO

Edited June 21, 20188 yr by robdog

When it matters, when the team needs you desperately - don't look at Messi. He is not a champion in his mind, his mentality is so reconciled even at his best between 2009-2012 he was never there in the most crucial moments. Against us, Inter, United(except for one header in two matches), Juventus - his teammates saved his butt. And now, with the best offense we've ever seen, the pundits are blaming the squad? They don't suit him well? The comfort they are giving to this guy is a disgrace.

He's a joke, he's a choker, always been carried, even at his best performances - from 2009-2014 in semifinals and finals in CL he's got 3 or 4 goals - vs Bayern Munich, one header vs United and maybe he scored against RM when they got a red card. That's the amount of goals that Ronaldo scores in 2 matches. And we are talking about Messis' golden age. I don't even want to start with the last few years and performances like yesterdays'. That's what I wanna hear. And they are still discussing the squad. I bet Portugal squad would have suited him better. They are so freaking great, this lucky boy Cristiano.

Edited June 22, 20188 yr by Giordano_Bruno

28 minutes ago, Giordano_Bruno said:

the best offense we've ever seen?????

I think Pele,Jairzinho,Rivellino and Tostao  may disagree on this.

 

Be interesting to see the Croatia team for the Iceland game, now they have won the group they could field a weak 11 resting key players.

2 hours ago, charierre said:

I think Pele,Jairzinho,Rivellino and Tostao  may disagree on this.

 

Fair enough, I deserved it.Surprised that I didn't read "how are they the best offense with one scored goal against Iceland and Croatia". It's not what I meant, so my mistake anyway. The most talented one is the right adjective, it's obviously not the best.

But what is really shameful is that some pundits are blaming the coach and the squad and don't take into consideration the fact that Messi didn't show up again. He screwed a penalty(happens) and some free kicks against Iceland, but also had zero influence in that game. And yesterday's performance was the worst one I've ever seen from him, and it has nothing to do with the teammates and the incapability of communication and combination. How are they supposed to do something when the man in the middle, the engine, the star, is nowhere? To be there, to try and fail would be one thing, but what he did was scandalous. How many touches did the computers count? The least on the pitch, for sure. Nope, there is no guilt anywhere else.

This guy has too much comfort, he is Arsene Wenger of footballers. Even when it's 90% on him, they find a way to justify his final production and more importantly - his behavior.

Edited June 22, 20188 yr by Giordano_Bruno

9 hours ago, Gol15 said:

Messi is pure garbage outside of Barcelona, this is why he will never be as amazing as Ronaldo. 

Croatia did so well, Modric showed why he has the number 10 in Real Madrid, huge victory for them that should give them confidence.

They can go far as long as Lovren doesn't choke.

Nope. Look four years ago when Messi dragged Argentina to a World Cup final when Portugal went out in the groups. Don't let 2 games cloud judgement. 

4 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Nope. Look four years ago when Messi dragged Argentina to a World Cup final when Portugal went out in the groups. Don't let 2 games cloud judgement. 

That's not dragging. They had rock solid defense, great goalkeeping in Romero and he didn't score once in the eliminations - 1:0 vs Belgium Higuain, penalties against Netherlands and 1-0 against Switzerland a minute or two before penalties.

Please, tell me, how the heck is this dragging?

Edited June 22, 20188 yr by Giordano_Bruno

35 minutes ago, coco said:

Be interesting to see the Croatia team for the Iceland game, now they have won the group they could field a weak 11 resting key players.

Iceland wins today and it's still insecure. Anyway Argentina team has to overcome 4 or 5 g.d. in one match and I don't see it coming. So the vikings win today, it's over for them.

34 minutes ago, Giordano_Bruno said:

That's not dragging. They had rock solid defense, great goalkeeping in Romero and he didn't score once in the eliminations - 1:0 vs Belgium Higuain, penalties against Netherlands and 1-0 against Switzerland a minute or two before penalties.

Please, tell me, how the heck is this dragging?

Rock solid defense and great goal keeper pmsl! Just as bad, if not worse than it is now.

Messi was MOTM in his first four matches for Argentina at WC 2014. Made the first goal and scored the second against Bosnia. Scored the winner in a 1-0 against Iran. Scored twice against Nigeria in a 3-2 win. Assisted the goal in the 1-0 against Switzerland. Started the move in the 1-0 against Belgium. Messi also won the golden ball as the best player of the tournament.

Tell me more about how he didn't drag Argentina to that final.