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Argentina have so much talent in real life but haven't always been able to get the best out of their squad.
It can be a similar situation on FIFA 18—but not if you follow these tips.
Argentina midfielder Manuel Lanzini has been ruled out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
La Albiceleste released a statement confirming Lanzini's enforced withdrawal from the tournament with less than a week before it gets under way on June 14 (h/t Goal's Ben Hayward):
The West Ham United star was a surprise name in manager Jorge Sampaoli's squad and was in contention for a start following good form for his club, but he now potentially faces months on the sidelines.
Lanzini had started in two of Argentina's last three warm-up fixtures prior to Friday's injury, and Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe gave him good odds of figuring prominently in Sampaoli's plans:
An 85th-minute goal in a friendly meeting with Italy back in March appeared to have helped cement his place in Argentina's World Cup squad.
West Ham writer Sam Inkersole illustrated the player's anguish, with Lanzini set to travel to Russia despite having only earned four previous caps for his country:
Argentina could well have done with a supplemental talent like the Hammers man, too, with forwards Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala crying out for a steady supply of ammunition.
It won't be Lanzini who supplies it at the World Cup, however, and Sampaoli will now need to examine his back-ups to select a replacement for his injured star.
La Albiceleste have other creative midfield weapons in Ever Banega, Maximiliano Meza, Eduardo Salvio and Giovani Lo Celso, but Lanzini was enjoying a good run of form in 2018 and will be missed.
The 25-year-old will have to show faith in his own ability to make his way back into Argentina's plans for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, although his focus now will merely be recovering from a severe injury.
West Ham will be pained to hear of the knee issue, which almost certainly means he'll miss the beginning of the Premier League season, which is scheduled to get under way on August 11.
Argentina's controversial 2018 FIFA World Cup warm-up fixture against Israel in Jerusalem has been cancelled, striker Gonzalo Higuain has confirmed.
Although neither national federation has officially announced the cancellation, Juventus' Higuain effectively confirmed the Saturday fixture is off.
He told ESPN: "They've finally done the right thing."
Meanwhile, Argentinian football association vice president Hugo Moyano said it was the right decision, per Radio 10 (via ESPN): "I think it's a good thing that the match between Argentina and Israel was suspended. The right thing was done, it's not worth it. The stuff that happens in those places, where they kill so many people, as a human being you can't accept that in any way. The players' families were suffering due to the threats."
The buildup to the fixture had been fraught with tension.
Per Dejan Kalinic of Goal, Palestinian football association chief Jibril Rajoub had called on fans to burn Lionel Messi shirts and pictures of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner if he attended the scheduled friendly: "He's a big symbol so we are going to target him personally and we call on all to burn his picture and his shirt and to abandon him. We still hope that Messi will not come."
As noted by ESPN's report, the Teddy Stadium fixture caused particular controversy because of its location in Malha, a part of Jerusalem "situated on the site of a former Palestinian village destroyed during the war that established Israel 70 years ago."
The match against Israel was set to be Argentina's final warm-up game before the start of the World Cup on June 14.
The Albiceleste's first Group D fixture in Russia is against Iceland on June 16, before meetings with Croatia (June 21) and Nigeria (June 26).
Palestinian football association chief Jibril Rajoub has called on fans to "target" Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi should he take part in Argentina's controversial friendly against Israel in Jerusalem on Saturday.
He specifically picked out the five-time Ballon d'Or winner due to his huge profile and said fans should burn their Messi shirts and pictures, per Dejan Kalinic of Goal: "He's a big symbol so we are going to target him personally and we call on all to burn his picture and his shirt and to abandon him. We still hope that Messi will not come."
Per Kalinic, Rajoub has accused Israel of having political motivations for the friendly.
The match at Teddy Stadium is an opportunity for Israel to test themselves against one of the best sides in the world, and it will act as Argentina's last warm-up match before the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia on June 14.
However, it is a fixture that has caused dispute, with Arab Israeli MK Yousef Jabarin recently calling for Argentina to cancel the friendly, per the Times of Israel.
In a letter to the Argentinian ambassador to Israel, he wrote: "[It] sends a dangerous message to the Israeli government that the world is ignoring its gross violations of human rights."
The Associated Press (h/t The Independent) noted the Malha neighbourhood in which the match will be played is on the site of a former Palestinian village that was destroyed in the conflict surrounding Israel's establishment in 1948.
Argentina, the No. 5 ranked side in the world, could well be in contention to win the World Cup come the middle of next month.
They kick off their campaign in Group D with a match against Iceland on June 16 before facing Croatia and Nigeria.
Lionel Messi has played down Argentina's chances of winning the FIFA World Cup this summer, insisting his country are "not candidates" for glory in Russia.
Messi was speaking after he netted a hat-trick in his team's 4-0 win over Haiti on Tuesday in a warm-up game for the tournament. He praised the backing from the fans in Buenos Aires on the night but admitted he doesn't expect Albiceleste celebrations come the end of the tournament.
"I am very grateful to all the people, we always felt the affection of all, not like other times that we received insults," said the Barcelona star, per Sacha Pisani of Goal. "We all go to Russia for the same reason, the World Cup is the dream of us, of the country. We are not candidates but we are very good, training and improving day by day."
Messi went on to say the prospect of winning Argentina's third World Cup is a "beautiful possibility" but added the focus of the team for the time being is on winning their first game. They start their campaign with a Group D showdown with Iceland.
At one stage Argentina didn't look capable of qualifying for the tournament, but a stunning hat-trick from Messi in a must-win game against Ecuador last year was enough to see them secure a finals spot.
The 30-year-old offered a reminder of what he can do in the game on Tuesday, albeit against modest opposition, per Squawka Football:
Here's the pick of Messi's goals on the night and his excellent assist for Sergio Aguero, per the Argentina Twitter account:
Argentina have endured major tournament heartbreak since the 2014 World Cup, where they were beaten in the final of the competition by Germany.
Since then they've lost two Copa America finals to Chile on penalty shootouts, with Messi missing in the 2016 edition of the competition. Following that defeat, the forward said he was to retire from the international game before eventually reversing his decision.
Given the struggles of the rest of the team and Messi's rescue act in the game against Ecuador, those backing the Albiceleste will be delighted he changed his mind. As relayed by football writer Roy Nemer, the Barcelona star continues to add to his legacy on the international stage:
While Messi has won games for Argentina almost singlehandedly down the years and is still capable of doing so, the issues within the rest of the side make the South American team something of an outsider going into Russia.
Without Messi, Jorge Sampaoli's team slumped to a 6-1 friendly loss to Spain recently, with the team lacking any cohesion. Once again, despite the attacking riches in the Argentina setup, you sense much will depend on Messi if the Albiceleste are going to make a deep run into a tournament.
Mauro Icardi scores goals. The Argentinian striker, who turned 25 in February, is a goalscoring machine. He's twice been top scorer in Serie A, including this season in which his 29 goals in 34 games—and his record for having the best conversion rate in Europe's top five leagues, according to WhoScored.com—helped fire his club Inter Milan into next season's UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2012.
At his current rate of scoring—and if Inter Milan can fend off advances from Chelsea for his signature, as reported by Cadena Ser and Il Messaggero (h/t TalkSport)—Icardi is going to surpass compatriots Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo as the leading Argentinian scorer in the history of Serie A. So why isn't he part of Argentina's 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia?
"It's a big sadness that the great goalscorer of Italian football will not be in the World Cup," Matias Bustos Milla, a journalist with Argentinian newspaper Clarin, told B/R. "The case of Icardi is curious. For several years, Argentinian football fans have been asking about the big jewel: Why was he not been selected in the national team? There have been various trainers who didn't invite him onto their squads—Alejandro Sabella, Tata Martino, Edgardo Bauza."
This time it has been the turn of Jorge Sampaoli, who initially included Icardi in his preliminary 35-man squad for the tournament, to discard him. Sampaoli's squad is top heavy with centre-forwards; Manchester City's Kun Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus have been chosen ahead of Icardi. The Inter Icardi has also missed chances to shine.
Sampaoli called up Icardi for crucial FIFA World Cup qualifying games last year. In three matches, including two starts against Venezuela and Uruguay, Icardi failed to score. "Higuain is criticised in Argentina for his scoring record so when Icardi arrived—playing in his position—he got his opportunity," says Pablo Lisotto, a journalist with Argentinian newspaper La Nacion, "but Icardi, in the few chances he got, he couldn't score goals either."
The reasons why Icardi has been left out in the cold are not all football-related, though.
"Icardi was 22 years old when he was made captain of Inter," says Milan-based David Schiavone, editor of Forza Italian Football. "It shows you the standing Inter have him at—to hand him the captaincy at such a young age. He enjoys being the target of fans' ire. He's the guy opposition fans will go after, and he's had two or three run-ins with Inter's 'ultras' before. He's a prickly guy. If he doesn't get on with people he's not one to shy away from confrontation."
It's unusual for a longstanding club captain to be so unpopular with his own hardcore group of fans. In a league game against Cagliari in October 2016, Inter's fans cheered when he missed a penalty. After a 3-1 defeat to Sassuolo in February 2015, an Inter ultra threw Icardi's jersey back at him after he tried to give it to a young fan, sparking a row between the player and fans, per Icardi's autobiography, Always Ahead: My Secret Story (h/t the Guardian).
Icardi wrote with schoolyard bravado about how he was oblivious to alleged fears from the club's directors for his personal safety in case some ultras surfaced at his house looking for retribution, maintaining he grew up in one of South America's toughest neighbourhoods. "How many of them are there?" he wrote. "Fifty? One hundred? Two hundred? OK. Record my message and let them hear it. I will bring 100 criminals from Argentina who will kill them on the spot." Inter's most passionate fans responded to the claims made in the book by issuing a statement, dismissing Icardi as a "clown," per BBC.
Icardi's love life also has all the ingredients of a telenovela, the name given to mawkish South American TV soap operas. He is married to Wanda Nara, an Argentinian TV celebrity and the ex-wife of Icardi's former team-mate at Sampdoria, Maxi Lopez.
In November 2013, Lopez and Nara ended a five-year marriage, according to a statement she released on Twitter (h/t La Gazetta dello Sport); a few days later, Icardi and Nara exchanged messages on Twitter—one of several social media forums in which they publicise their lives—with the hashtag #Quindicina, apparently a reference to the 15 times they had sex during a marathon 28-hour tryst in Argentina, per speculation on Ciudad Magazine, an Argentinian television station.
In May 2014, Icardi married Nara. According to Icardi's autobiography, she began flirting with him while she was still married to Lopez, inviting Icardi, for example, to cruise on a yacht with herself, Lopez and another Argentinian player, Gonzalo Bergessio, and his wife to the Aeolian Islands in September 2013.
Nara maintains her love affair with Icardi didn't begin, however, until after her divorce. In her divorce case—in which magistrates ruled in her favour—she accused Lopez of having several extra-marital affairs, including having sex with their au pair, Marianna, while Nara slept in another room with their children, per Chi, a weekly Italian gossip magazine (h/t La Gazetta dello Sport).
In April 2014, a month before Icardi's marriage to Nara, Icardi faced off against Lopez in a Sampdoria vs. Inter Milan Serie A game, which was dubbed "the Wanda derby." In the run-up to the match, Lopez complained in a television interview with Sky Sport (h/t Goal) about Icardi's habit of using Lopez's three sons as part of his social media offerings: "I can understand that, being a public figure, he publishes photos, but I'm not comfortable with my kids being in those photos."
Icardi responded by criticising Lopez on Twitter for being an absent father who neglects to visit his kids, and a few hours later posted a photo of himself dozing while cuddling one of Lopez's sleeping sons. In "the Wanda derby" four days later, Lopez refused to shake Icardi's hand before the game.
Inter Milan won 4-0. Icardi scored twice; Lopez missed a penalty. Two months later Icardi got a tattoo of the three sons' names on his arm, which he unveiled in a tweeted photograph, MailOnline.
Icardi—who now has two daughters with Nara—has become notorious for his role in the love triangle. His name has become a byword for marital treachery in Argentina. "When [the marriage broke up] most people were angry with Icardi. They sided with Maxi Lopez," says Bustos Milla. "But Icardi and Nara have stayed together so people have come to understand that human relationships work that way. But in the world of football, Icardi is still marked with that scandal. Actually, in Argentina, what Icardi did became a verb. When there is a betrayal between friends and a lover, it's called 'icardiar'—it means 'to steal the girlfriend of a friend.' It was a complicated situation at the beginning."
Diego Maradona has branded Icardi "a traitor," and when former Argentina national coach Tata Martino was asked to explain why he had omitted Icardi from his Copa America squad in May 2016, he put it in moral terms: "Regarding the subject of Icardi, we all know what is right and what is wrong," per Telam news agency (h/t ESPN FC).
Lopez denied that Messi—who he played alongside at Barcelona early in the latter's career—and Javier Mascherano, who won a league title with Lopez at River Plate in 2004, vetoed Icardi's inclusion in national team squads, per Radio La Red (h/t Goal).
Football coaches have emotional intelligence, however. Icardi's bullish personality—which is played out on social media channels with a wife who acts as his agent and has had a chequered, much-publicised sex life—is different to the low-key social lives of Messi and Mascherano.
"Some people say that Messi and Icardi don't have a good relationship, and that Icardi's high profile in social media and Instagram is [annoying], but this is only conjecture. There is no evidence that Icardi isn't going to the World Cup because of Messi," says Lisotto. It could be unsettling, though, to have Icardi in camp for the long, idle weeks of a World Cup tournament. The world may well have to wait until Qatar in 2022 to see him shine in the competition.
"A lot of people in Argentina think Icardi should be in the team instead of Higuain," says Bustos Milla. "These people don't love Icardi or think he is the best but they definitely prefer him over Higuain. There is debate. But without a doubt Icardi should be the next No. 9 of the national team after this World Cup. He is the future.
"We have this idea about Icardi—that he is a rebel. Like Maradona or Che Guevara, he's a guy who doesn't obey any rules, but this is exactly what makes them strong. Probably if Icardi respected rules he wouldn't be the player he is. Like a Mario Balotelli or a Zlatan Ibrahimovic, guys who are rebels with big egos and strong personalities. For Argentinians, we don't like rebels at the beginning, but by the end they conquer us. We end up seduced by them. We like rebels like Icardi in the end."
Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz
Argentina continue their FIFA 2018 World Cup preparations with a friendly against Haiti at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires.
Manager Jorge Sampaoli's side had been scheduled to face Nicaragua but the game was called off because of safety concerns and the team will face Haiti instead.
Here is how you can watch the game.
Date: Tuesday, May 29
Time: 7 p.m. ET (Tuesday, May 29)/midnight BST (Wednesday, May 30)
TV Info: beIN Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Sampaoli must decide on a new goalkeeper
Injury to goalkeeper Sergio Romero has disrupted Argentina's World Cup preparations, as he has been ruled out of the tournament with a knee problem:
Romero may only be Manchester United's backup goalkeeper, but he's first-choice for Argentina, and his absence will be a big blow.
Sampaoli has options and must decide between River Plate's Franco Armani and Chelsea's Willy Caballero for the role.
Football writer Tim Vickery expects Armani to get the nod:
Whoever comes in could be set for a busy tournament. Argentina have been drawn in one of the toughest groups and will play Nigeria, Iceland and Croatia in Russia.
All eyes on Messi ahead of World Cup
Lionel Messi has enjoyed another superb season, as he won La Liga and the Copa del Rey with Barcelona. He also finished the campaign with more goals than any other player in Europe's top five leagues:
The Argentinian is widely considered to be the greatest player in the world, and he will face huge pressure to help inspire Argentina to World Cup victory in Russia.
There's no doubting Messi's quality or the strength of Argentina's squad, but the team struggled through qualifying and Sampaoli must find a way to get the balance of the team right.
Messi is likely to be used sparingly in the friendlies, but if he is unleashed against Haiti, it would be a massive surprise if he did not find the back of the net.
Lionel Messi leads Argentina's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and manager Jorge Sampaoli's line-up also includes Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Sergio Aguero.
However, there's no place in the team for Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi despite his scoring 29 goals in all competitions this season, though West Ham United playmaker Manuel Lanzini made the cut:
River Plate goalkeeper Franco Armani and Boca Juniors midfielder Cristian Pavon are the only players named in the squad who play football in their native Argentina.
Football blogger Roberto Rojas filed Icardi in an elite bracket of Argentinian World Cup absentees after his form this term still wasn't enough to convince Sampaoli to take him to Brazil:
Icardi had featured in Sampaoli's provisional squad prior to Monday's announcement, but with only 23 spots up for grabs, it's been decided there are other areas of the squad that need greater attention.
The Inter marvel has scored 26 goals or more in three of his last four seasons—he still scored 16 times in only 34 appearances in 2015-16—but Argentina's wealth of options has seen him draw the short straw.
England's Premier League is the most well-represented division in the squad with six players. Aguero and Nicolas Otamendi are based at Manchester City; Lanzini is at West Ham; Willy Caballero plays for Chelsea; while Manchester United fringe players Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo made it despite not featuring much for their club this term.
But Sampaoli said in his announcement press conference that not playing prominently at club level doesn't mean a player can't still have a greater impact for the national team, per broadcaster Juan Arango:
The manager suggested in March that it was "complicated for Dybala to get used to our system," per AS, while he added the issue with Icardi was that he struggled to transfer his club form to the international stage.
As if Messi wasn't sufficient for the forward department, many managers would go to great lengths to also be able to call upon Higuain, Dybala and Aguero, who make up what's likely the World Cup's best attack.
Or the most star-studded, at least. Dybala was the only one of that quartet missing from the team that finished runners-up to Germany at the 2014 World Cup, and La Albiceleste were still beaten at the final hurdle.
After some debate as to whether he'd make the squad at all, Dybala will now look to be the difference in his maiden World Cup.
Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is the headline act in Argentina's 35-man provisional squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup this summer that was announced on Monday.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has been included in a phenomenal attacking unit alongside Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, the Juventus duo of Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain as well as Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi, per Squawka:
Icardi, 25, has been largely overlooked for the Albiceleste despite consistently impressing for his club.
He has made only four career appearances for the national side but made it into Jorge Sampaoli's provisional squad after netting 28 goals in Serie A in 2017-18.
The Inter captain could be in danger of missing out, though, when the final 23-man squad is announced next week.
Paris Saint-Germain's Angel Di Maria also made the 35-man squad to bolster Argentina's already-impressive attacking ranks, per bet365:
If Sampaoli can get his squad playing at their very best, Argentina have a genuine chance of going all the way in Russia. They were runners-up in Brazil 2014.
However, many of their stars have historically failed to produce their best form on the international stage, and they needed a Messi hat-trick against Ecuador to secure qualification late on in October.
The 30-year-old will unquestionably be the fulcrum of Argentina's side in Russia 2018, but he will need assistance from the rest of the squad if they are to win their third World Cup.
Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi has reportedly already been told he will not play for Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia as he is not part of Lionel Messi's "clan."
Icardi has enjoyed a superb season for Inter, but he was not called up for the recent international friendlies against Spain and Italy and will also not be included in the World Cup squad, per La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Calciomercato.com).
The 25-year-old has 24 goals in 26 Serie A appearances for Inter this season but was left out of the latest Argentina squad by manager Jorge Sampaoli. Icardi said he had spoken to Sampaoli and understood why he had been omitted, per Sky Sport Italia (h/t Goal's Ryan Benson).
Sampaoli said the striker remains important for the national team and no final decisions have been made yet, per FourFourTwo. He said: "Icardi and Dybala are both important players and everything is undecided for the World Cup squad going to Russia."
Argentina football writer Roy Nemer does not expect Icardi to make the squad:
Sampaoli has a wealth of attacking options in established stars such as Messi, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Correa, while youngster Lautaro Martinez is also being tipped to get a call-up.
Journalist Dan Edwards explained Sampaoli's selection dilemmas:
Despite having a star-studded attack, Argentina found qualification tough. They only secured an automatic spot in their final qualifier, thanks to a Messi hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Ecuador.
Argentina also struggled without their talisman in their recent friendlies. Although they beat Italy, they were hammered 6-1 by Spain. Guillem Balague summed up how vital Messi is to Argentina's hopes of glory:
Sampaoli has also acknowledged Messi's importance to his team, per The Independent. He said: "This is going to be his team, He is the best of all and is in a stage of maturity that can he can carry the team on his shoulders. This is going to be his team."
There's no doubting Icardi's quality, but Argentina simply have so much attacking talent, they can afford to leave him out. It's difficult to say if Messi has any influence on Sampaoli's selection, but what is not in doubt is that their only chance of success this summer is with the Barcelona maestro in the team.
