Coach Graham Arnold Reflects on Australia’s Fight Against Argentina in World Cup Clash

Against Australia, Messi opened the scoring at the end of the first half (Reuters)

The World Cup in Qatar left Argentina at the top of the football world after winning the final against France, but to get there the Albiceleste team had to overcome complicated obstacles and one of them was Australia, in the round of 16. What a priori seemed to be a simple duel for the American champion, ended up being a struggle because the ocean team gave her a fight until the last minute and this week her coach Graham Arnold remembered it.

The 59-year-old coach spoke about that match that ended 2-1 and highlighted above all Lionel Messi, scorer of the first goal of the match. “He scored the first goal and that was his first shot, in the 43rd minute,” he commented in dialogue with The Athletic site to emphasize that until that moment the Ten had not generated danger. But, he surprised by ensuring that it is all about “mental games” played by the now Inter Miami striker.

“Immediately after the goal, he looks towards the stands and the game continues. He wants our defenders to ask, ‘What the hell are you looking at up there?’ Mind games,” he said. Expanding on that idea, he added: “He’s amazing. I have faced Messi four or five times and it has been very interesting to see how he has changed his game as a number 10. He stays offside and goes back. He is more dangerous when we have the ball. He just lets the game get away from him. There was data that showed that he ran only between 4 and 5 kilometers in the World Cup.”

Arnold explained that while the match is being played, La Pulga usually walks and moves away from the actions to confuse his rivals, who seem to forget that if he receives it with spaces, it becomes an infallible offensive weapon.

“I kept telling the guys that he would be out of the game and that we just had to leave it. We put pressure and they are missing a player. With Ángel Di María on the other side, sometimes they are missing two players, so it is 10 against eight. ‘Let’s go!’” He commented on the instructions he gave to his followers. But it was all in vain. “Then when they have possession, they carry the ball forward and he’s still standing there. The next thing that happens is that the midfield finds him, Messi receives the ball and leaves. Like I say, mind games.”

The coach was proud of the role of his team, which fell 2 to 1 against Argentina and almost achieved a draw at the end. Furthermore, he assured that in Australia, football runs behind cricket, rugby league and rugby union, so it is not easy to turn that team into a power.

2023-10-10 19:28:24
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