Can Argentina’s Imbalance Prevent Lionel Messi Lifting the World Cup in Brazil?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 16, 2014

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The FIFA World Cup is drawing ever nearer and the usual suspects are emerging as to who could lift the trophy on July 13th. Can Spain continue their record-breaking spell of dominance to lift a fourth successive trophy?

Is it the right time for Germany’s exciting brood of talent, first blooded at the 2010 World Cup, to grab the bull by its horns? Will Brazil, with home advantage and 170 million fans roaring them on, lift a sixth title?

And then there’s Argentina. The team who, it is generally agreed, have the most frightening attacking force on the planet.

Lionel Messi may have finally surrendered the Ballon d’Or after holding the trophy hostage for four years, but remains without a shadow of a doubt at the top of football’s talent tree. Then there are the likes of Sergio Aguero, who scored 50 seconds after coming on last night for Manchester City.

Gonzalo Higuain, Rodrigo Palacio, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel di Maria, Carlos Tevez: Argentine forwards haunt the top European clubs. With the wealth of options they boast, it is entirely feasible the two-time World Cup winners could be adding a third string to their bow at the Maracana Stadium later this year.



They were the first South American nation to qualify for the World Cup, guaranteeing their place with two games to spare. Argentina notched up 35 goals in 16 games at a rate of 2.18 goals per game.

And yet there remains a nagging doubt about the gaping imbalance of the team. For all their abundance of talent, they remain a top-heavy side, and that brings with it two problems in a tournament as fiercely competitive and punishing as the World Cup.

Firstly, finding the right balance in the attacking third of the field can become an acute juggling act. Coach Alejandro Sabella appears to favour an attacking trio of Messi, Higuain and Aguero.

But the injury picked up by the Barcelona forward f...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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