‘La Albiceleste’ have just one point on the board from their opening two games. After drawing against minnows Iceland, Jorge Sampaoli’s charges lost 3-0 to the hands of Croatia who performed brilliantly, securing their spot in the knockout round. Argentina’s miserable campaign has been subject to intense criticism with Messi bearing the brunt of the unfair abuse.
Fans, experts and ex-players have weighed in on his performances including former Argentina international Simeone who has gone in on Messi. In an apparent leaked audio message to his assistant Mono Burgos, Simeone, via @ecanalla and the Ole newspaper, said: “What is happening right now is what’s been happening to the national team in the last 4 years unfortunately: Anarchy, no leadership from the FA or the people in charge.
“I see a lost team. They should have started the game like they started against Iceland, a weaker team. The team are in a bad moment, but it’s Argentina and I hope I’m not wrong, but I think they’re advancing, because Nigeria will beat Iceland and then you will have the the possibility of beating Nigeria, as long as Iceland does not win against Croatia, it now depends on Iceland, not to win either of the two games, its possible. “It’s clear that today in the dressing room they’re beating each other up. Someone has to fight [in there]. Stop breaking my balls.
“The goalkeeper… He had done it already, Germán! He did it against Spain, against Italy that the ball went just wide near the post, and I told you it was a pity he didn’t concede so they’d realise that if you screw it in the World Cup, it’s a goal. “We all always say that footballers are the most important in this game, and we know it’s like that. They’re 60%, not 90%. Because when we coaches screw it up it’s worse than when footballers do, which means coaches play a big role in this. “This is also useful] to see that Messi is very good, but he’s very good because he has extraordinary teammates. And the question I ask you: If you had to choose between Messi and Ronaldo for a regular team, who would you choose?”