Football
Sam Kelly, ESPN FC 6y

Nicolas Otamendi earns 4/10, Willy Caballero 3/10 in Argentina meltdown

Argentina improved dramatically from their opening draw with Iceland, but a second-half collapse leaves their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread after Croatia were gifted an opening goal and had the intelligence and application to add to it later in a 3-0 win on Thursday.

Positives

It's hard to pick out any, frankly. The first half was good, with the team showing far more collective play, but the manner in which heads dropped after the opening goal was startling, if unsurprising, to anyone who'd watched Argentina in qualifying.

Negatives

The impending thread of elimination, of course, along with a continued lack of stability in defence and in goal. It's going to be hard to get the big win that probably will be necessary against Nigeria if Argentina can't trust their back line.

Manager rating out of 10

4 -- The initial setup was a huge improvement on the Iceland game, with Enzo Perez -- the pick most questioned before the game -- turning out to be a good choice. But when the first goal went in the team lost their head, and Sampaoli's changes did nothing to help set it back on those collective shoulders as shape was lost in attack.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Willy Caballero, 3 --There was a save from Ivan Perisic that was overshadowed by a suicide pass to Nicolas Tagliafico in the early exchanges. His rating plummeted after the break, though, when he was horrendous for the opening goal -- a gift Croatia took and were able to capitalise on.

DF Gabriel Mercado, 5 -- Got caught upfield right on the stroke of half-time, and took a yellow for the team to stop a breakaway early in the second half. Like Caballero, his rating is conditioned by that opening goal -- he couldn't have expected the goalkeeper to mess up like that, but squaring the ball with a forward closing down wasn't a smart move.

DF Nicolas Otamendi, 4 -- Deserved yellow for kicking the ball at Ivan Rakitic, and bought Luka Modric's dummy hook, line and sinker for the second goal. Poor all around.

DF Nicolas Tagliafico, 6 -- Good in the first half, when he bailed out teammates once or twice and passed well, but as the game turned against Argentina, he, like Mercado, was caught high up the pitch more than once.

MF Eduardo Salvio, 7 -- Good going forward, joining in the high press. Probably deserved to stay on when Cristian Pavon replaced him shortly after the first Croatian goal.

MF Javier Mascherano, 6 -- Largely fine until he let Mario Mandzukic get away at the far post 31 minutes in. Looked all lost at times in midfield when Croatia counter-attacked as the game wore on.

MF Enzo Perez, 6 -- Not a popular pick when the lineups were announced, but passed well and got forward from midfield. Hashed his chance but was otherwise tidy, positive and hard-working. Had been taken off before the real onslaught began.

MF Marcos Acuna, 6 -- Started positively, but was one of several Argentina players to lose one or two points from these ratings after the Croatia opener. Didn't always show the coolest of heads, and probably would have been a better candidate than Salvio for replacement by Pavon -- the two of them together often seemed to tread on each others' toes on the left wing.

FW Lionel Messi, 6 -- Might be harsh, but Messi gets judged by a different standard to his teammates, rightly or wrongly. During the first half, he was more patient when not on the ball, which meant although he saw less of it he picked it up in higher positions when it came to him. After the team lost their heads following Ante Rebic's opener, though, he dropped deeper -- meaning that while he saw more of the ball and did more with it, his presence was missed farther up.

FW Sergio Aguero, 7 -- Led the high press well and kept Croatia's backline occupied, even if he didn't have many chances to show what he can do in attack. When replaced, his value became clear: Gonzalo Higuain dropped off to join in the buildup far more, which led to the whole team playing deeper, allowing Croatia to step up.

FW Maxi Meza, 7 -- Much better than his disappointing display against Iceland. Passed the ball well in the final third, linked better with Messi than he managed on Saturday, and was one of few players not to let their heads drop after the first goal.

Substitutes

FW Gonzalo Higuain, 5 -- Good in the buildup to a huge chance that saw a Messi shot blocked from close range, but his habit of dropping deep meant that when they needed a goal, Argentina lacked a reference point in the area. Also allowed Croatia's defenders to step up under less pressure than Aguero had placed on them.

FW Cristian Pavon, 6 -- Couldn't recreate the impressive substitute appearances of his previous Argentine caps, perhaps because he often seemed to be occupying the same spaces as Acuna.

FW Paulo Dybala, 6 -- The player many have called for failed to step up. Seemingly determined to play outside Messi regardless of how wide Messi himself drifted, rather than linking with Juventus teammate Higuain through the middle.

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