Argentina (National Football)

Diego Maradona has rejected the idea that Lionel Messi's lack of a FIFA World Cup win makes him a lesser player. 

The Barcelona superstar has had huge success at club level and won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions, but at international level, he has endured consistent disappointment, losing three finals with Argentina—one at the World Cup and twice in the Copa America—in each of the last three summers.

However, compatriot Maradona, a World Cup winner in 1986 who coached Messi in the national team from 2008 to 2010, said the 29-year-old's lack of silverware with Argentina in no way diminishes his numerous other achievements, per TyC Sports (via ESPN FC):

I am not going to tolerate that people say Messi is not the phenomenon that he is because he did not win a World Cup.

Messi is a great player, regardless of whether he won the World Cup or not. At the age of 56, I can say that I have never seen anyone like Messi. I thank God that Messi is an Argentine. We have Messi, the Pope and me.

Why would we burden him with claims that he is not a phenomenon if he does not win the World Cup? I won it because I got to play with guys like [Ricardo] Giusti, [Jorge] Burruchaga, [Nery] Pumpido, [Oscar] Ruggeri and many more.

Argentina is truly blessed, says Diego Maradona 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/B91G5Uyf5Q

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 27, 2017

Messi briefly turned his back on Argentina after their second consecutive Copa America final defeat to Chile last June.

He retired from international football after the defeat, seeming to resign himself to the fact he would never win a major international trophy having also lost the 2007 Copa America final to Brazil, per BBC Sport: "It's been four finals; I tried. It was the thing I wanted the most, but I couldn't get it, so I think it's over."

However, per the Press Association (h/t The Independent), Messi returned to the international fold soon after and has played a key role in Argentina's recent qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Given that he is now back playing again with his country, Messi should have more opportunities to claim the major international trophy that has, so far, eluded him—the 2019 Copa America in Brazil follows Russia's 2018 World Cup. 

There will be many who will agree with Maradona that Messi needs to do no more in his career to prove he is one of the best to play the game.

He is still in the peak of his career and will surely add to his current club haul of eight La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues before he hangs up his boots.

Along with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi has been the defining player of the last decade, a legacy that cannot be taken away from him despite his lack of international medals.

Turns out Leo Messi is not just a class act on the pitch.

According to journalist Juan Palo Varsky, Messi acted generously, and fast, when he heard that Argentina's security staff had not been paid for "several months."

Messi quickly got on phone to his father and arranged for payment for the workers who had fallen victim to the Argentinian FA's current financial problems. 

Varsky told the story on "No Somos Nadie" on Metro 95.1, as picked up on by Sport: 

Lionel Messi was in his room waiting for the game against Brazil in Belo Horizonte, when a knock at the door came. Two or three people appeared, all from the security team who look after the Argentine team and they said 'Leo, we have to talk with you. For five or six months they have not paid us. The situation is complicated, you are the captain of the team, you know us, we are asking for your help,'

Varsky added that Messi will likely be "furious" with him for telling the story, because the Barcelona star likes to keep such charitable actions a secret.

"There are a lot of actions he doesn't want people to know about, but I thought it pertinent to tell this because there is no reason not to, save for his anger," said the journalist. 

[Sport] 

Lionel Messi and the entire Argentina team boycotted media members by walking out of a press conference following the team's 3-0 victory over Colombia on Tuesday night, according to BBC Sport.

The boycott was in response to a report that alleged Ezequiel Lavezzi had smoked marijuana, a claim the forward denied.

"We've received many accusations, a lot of lack of respect and we never said anything," Messi said. "We know there are lots of you who are not in the game of not showing us respect, but getting into one's personal life is very grave."

Reporter Gabriel Anello suggested on Twitter that Lavezzi had been left off the substitutes bench because he had smoked a joint following a training session, per ESPN FC.

Lavezzi has denied the claim and has vowed to take legal action against Anello. And Messi and his teammates quickly rushed to defend him.

"This accusation against Lavezzi was it," Messi said of the team's breaking point with media criticism into the players' lives off the pitch. "If we don't stop it today, we'll never stop it. We know that you will continue to criticize us, that's fine. However, some got into our personal lives."

Coming into Tuesday night, the criticism into the team on the pitch was understandable. The Argentines suffered a 3-0 loss to Brazil in a World Cup qualifier on Friday evening and, even following Tuesday's win, were still in fifth place in South America qualifying. 

The top four teams from South America will automatically earn a bid to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with fifth place qualifying for an intercontinental playoff.

             

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.  

The overriding reaction in Argentina on Tuesday was one of relief. After four World Cup 2018 qualifiers without a win, the national team's 3-0 victory over Colombia didn’t just lift them back into fifth in the CONMEBOL group—the play-off spot for progression to the tournament in Russia—it also restored a measure of belief.

With most struggling nations, there is an underlying thought that it might simply be the players. Maybe this particular generation just isn’t good enough. Argentina doesn’t have that. This generation lost in the final of the World Cup in 2014. It lost in the final of the Copa America in 2015. It lost in the final of the Copa America Centenario in 2016. These players are clearly good enough—and that creates its own issues.

There is a tremendous sense of pressure. Argentina haven’t won a senior international trophy since 1993, but between 1995 and 2007, they won five of the seven Under-20 World Cups, as well as claiming Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008.

That drought isn’t just frustrating. There’s an increasing realisation that the conveyor belt of talent, which had seemed so reliable, has slowed. The generation that won that second Olympics—Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria—will all be 30 or older by the time of the next World Cup.

Freakish things can happen in football. As Cote d’Ivoire showed by winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, success can sometimes come just as a golden generation shuffles off and expectation begins to diminish, but that doesn’t alter the fact that the 2018 World Cup probably represents Argentina’s best chance of winning a trophy for some time. That they’re struggling even to get there is a desperate humiliation.

Beating Colombia, though, offers some reassurance. In the circumstances, an early goal was exactly what Argentina needed, and they got it from a 10th-minute Messi free-kick. Messi then laid on further goals for Lucas Pratto and Di Maria.

Ending a run of four qualifiers without a win, particularly in such emphatic style, should bring a renewed sense of purpose, and there is now also a siege mentality, which can stimulate a feeling of togetherness.

Every player in the squad lined up behind Messi at the press conference following Tuesday’s win. The team captain announced the players would no longer be speaking to the media after Radio Mitre journalist Gabriel Anello suggested in a tweet that forward Ezequiel Lavezzi had been left off the bench after being caught smoking a joint in the team camp. Lavezzi denied the allegation and threatened to sue. 

pic.twitter.com/pSOLWFXPOA

— Ezequiel Lavezzi (@PochoLavezzi) November 15, 2016

Perhaps for now the win alone is enough, but one obvious doubt lingers after the win, which is that, yet again, Argentina were reliant on Messi’s inspiration. They have taken 12 points from the five qualifiers in which he’s played in this campaign and seven from the seven in which he has not.

Argentina games at the last World Cup were characterised by everybody waiting for Messi to do something. Against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria and Switzerland, he did conjure something eventually, despite being generally out of sorts, but not even he can do it all the time. In the two Copa America finals, Chile showed how if you shut down Messi, you have effectively shut down Argentina.

For some countries that’s understandable. If you have only one great player—Liberia in George Weah’s prime to take an extreme example—then of course it makes sense to play through him most of the time. But this is Argentina, a national team blessed with an extraordinary generation of attacking talent.

Of course, for a long time that’s been the problem, as manager after manager has tried to find a way of squeezing in as many as possible of Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, Lavezzi, Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Pastore, Carlos Tevez, Ever Banega, Paulo Dybala.

The chaos of Diego Maradona’s final game as manager when Argentina went out of the 2010 World Cup to Germany with Messi, Higuain, Maxi Rodriguez, Tevez, Aguero and Pastore all on the pitch, all getting in each other's way, showed the folly of that way of thinking.

But every manager since, even the dour Alejandro Sabella, has had to fight the same urge. Even when a balanced lineup was selected, the temptation was there to switch one forward for another just because he hadn’t been an instant success.

Edgardo Bauza, the Argentina coach, is, like Sabella, a pragmatist. He inherited a demoralised group of players angered by the inefficiencies of the football federation and a floundering campaign, and his early impact was limited. But there are signs he is beginning to impose his personality. Persuading Messi to reverse his decision to retire was a big step. Dropping both Higuain and Aguero for the game against Colombia was even bigger.

On Tuesday, Bauza selected striker Lucas Pratto of Atletico Mineiro for just his third cap. The 28-year-old is tough, good with his back to goal and deceptively quick. He is largely unsung in this gilded generation of Argentinian attacking talent—and in some absolute sense is probably not as talented as Higuain or Aguero—but he can be relied upon to engage defenders physically and so relieve some of the pressure on Messi. That he also scored his second international goal with a fine header from a Messi cross was a welcome bonus.

Whether Pratto retains his place ahead of Higuain in the longer term is debatable, but it clearly helps to have another physical option. And perhaps this is now Bauza’s plan: just as the Brazil of 1982 had Serginho or the France of 1998 had Stephane Guivarc’h, he uses a target-man to occupy opposing defenders and create space for more obviously skilful players behind him—in his case, Messi, Di Maria and Banega. Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia then hold at the back of midfield.

It may not be complicated, but international football often isn’t. If the selection of Pratto demonstrates Bauza’s willingness to look beyond reputation to what works tactically, then the win over Colombia could be a significant step in an Argentinian resurgence. The next step is to reduce the reliance on Messi.  

A struggling Argentina team needs to rebound in style against Peru in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Nacional in Lima on Friday, with the away side coming off a 2-2 draw in Venezuela last time out.

In particular, the onus will be on a defence pushed around too easily during the four-goal stalemate. A hard-working Peru squad loaded with tenacity and quality lie in wait, and the visitors' midfield may need a more direct approach.

Yet the biggest problem facing Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza is how to cope without injured attacking talisman Lionel Messi. It's a challenge, despite the presence of several other quality strikers in his squad.

Here is the schedule and streaming information for this key match:

Date: Friday, October 7

Time: 3:15 a.m. (BST) / 10:15 p.m. (ET)

Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect

Preview

Argentina's task would be a lot easier with Messi available, but a groin strain will keep him out, per ESPN FC. It's a blow considering the Barcelona forward is still the world's best player and the man his international team-mates look to for inspiration.

At least, Bauza can still call on Juventus centre-forward Gonzalo Higuain and Manchester City's goal-getter Sergio Aguero. The former in particular has been in red-hot form to start the new season, per OptaPaolo:

6 - Gonzalo Higuaín has scored 6 goals in the first 7 Serie A appearances with Juventus, he scored 3 in the first 7 with Napoli. Inspired.

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 2, 2016

But can two players who operate best as the lone man in the middle at club level form a working partnership on the international stage? Higuain may be helped more by the presence of fellow Juve forward Paulo Dybala, with whom a partnership is already clicking this season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnLIJF7JfWQ

Yet no matter who plays up front, Argentina need more solidity at the back. Although Nicolas Otamendi got on the scoresheet against Venezuela, he was part of a defence outmuscled by West Bromwich Albion target man Salomon Rondon.

Fortunately for La Albiceleste, Peru's game is less about power up top and more dependent on intricacy in the final third. Christian Cueva and Renato Tapia, goalscorers in the 2-1 win over Ecuador last time out, are central to the approach.

Feyenoord playmaker Tapia is a tireless worker with the skill and timing to pose a consistent threat up front. Meanwhile, Sao Paulo winger Cuevas is the trickster who can tun any match in his nation's favour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63R9tLHBYno

Tough sledding awaits Argentina in Peru, with the potential struggle amplified by Messi's absence. However, the hosts may be the ideal opponents for a visiting defence that has been struggling physically.

Prediction: Peru 0-2 Argentina

Lionel Messi will miss Argentina's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Venezuela on Tuesday after picking up a groin injury.

"He won't be able to play," Argentina manager Edgardo Bauza said, per BBC Sport. "We can't take any risks. We must take care of him."

As reported by Reuters on Friday, Messi said it's not yet certain whether he'll sit out the contest: "My groin is hurting a lot, from before this match. We’ll see, I always want to be (in the team)...but there are also a lot of important matches coming up."

With Paulo Dybala of Juventus picking up a red card in Thursday's 1-0 win over Uruguay, Argentina will have to look elsewhere to find some goals. Neither Gonzalo Higuain of Juventus nor Manchester City's Sergio Aguero has been called up.

As for Barcelona, the reigning LaLiga champions are fortunate enough to have Brazilian sensation Neymar and the mercurial Luis Suarez in their ranks, and the two should be able to fill the void should Messi miss any time.

There aren't many who can even come close to matching his flair for both scoring and creating goals. Yet if there's one concern about the multiple Ballon d'Or winner, it's that his injury problems are becoming slightly more frequent as his decorated career progresses.

Ligament damage kept Messi out for close to two months during the 2015/16 season:

Messi has a tear in the internal collateral ligament of his left knee. He will be out for around 7-8 weeks pic.twitter.com/TLor97gmou

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 26, 2015

He was also forced to withdraw from the FIFA Club World Cup last December due to renal colic. A back injury then slowed Messi before the Copa America Centenario.

That's a fairly hefty catalogue of ailments for one season, even if Messi still produces when he's fit. Despite the stop-and-go nature of his last season, the 29-year-old still helped himself to the LaLiga title, scoring 26 goals in the process, per WhoScored.com.

Messi is always tough to replace, but Barca and Argentina at least got a little used to that reality last season. For the Blaugrana, it will mean funnelling their play more through Suarez, a process that helped the Uruguayan win the Golden Shoe as Europe's top goalscorer last season.

The onus will once again be on Suarez to carry the club if Messi misses game time for Barcelona.  

Lionel Messi has said he "did not deceive anybody" by returning from his international retirement with Argentina on Thursday to face Uruguay in their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier. 

After scoring the decisive goal to give the 10-man Albiceleste a 1-0 win in the match—and to take top spot in the qualification standings—he told TV Publica (h/t Goal's David Manuca):

I am very grateful [to return to the national team]. But I did not deceive anybody when I retired. We were very disappointed with what had happened, but after that I thought better. I had a conversation with the Paton [manager Edgardo Bauza] and the people as well accompanied me through it.

The 29-year-old announced he had hung up his boots with the national team in June following Argentina's defeat to Chile—in which he missed a spot-kick in the shootout—in the Copa America Centenario final.

The heartbreak was Argentina's third final defeat in as many years, having lost to Chile in the same manner in the Copa America in 2015 and to Germany in extra time at the 2014 World Cup.

As Messi alluded to, he changed his mind following talks with new Argentina boss Bauza over the summer, meaning he did not miss any matches during his self-imposed exile.

He could be absent for Tuesday's match with Venezuela, however, as he added: "I don't know if I will play against Venezuela. I have a lot of pain in my groin, but I wanted to be here after the disturbance I caused."

Per Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez, Messi was determined to link up with the team despite picking up a slight knock with Barcelona prior to the international break:

ARG coach Bauza says FCB told Messi it'd be best if he took the international duty off due to discomfort but Leo insisted on joining the NT.

— . (@xJude22) August 30, 2016

The Camp Nou forward is a talismanic figure for his country, and his appearance evidently paid off—he maintained his outstanding record with them by netting against Uruguay, per Messi Stats:

Messi's Argentina stats after the 1-0 win against Uruguay on Thursday #ARGvsURU pic.twitter.com/49VcAOU38m

— MESSISTATS (@MessiStats) September 2, 2016

With the Copa America not set to return until 2019, Messi's next international tournament will be the World Cup in two years' time.

He will be 31 when it comes around, so it will be his last appearance in the competition while still in his prime.

Given the wealth of talent Argentina boast even without Messi, they can always be considered contenders, but after such disappointment, they'll have a huge mental hurdle to overcome if they're to win it.

If they do, Messi will almost certainly have played a key role.

Lionel Messi will return to international football after previously announcing his retirement, according to the Argentina FA.

The governing body issued a statement regarding the icon's availability (h/t Eurosport). 

Messi released a statement on the decision, per ESPN FC: 

I see that there are a lot of problems in Argentina football and I don't want to create more. I don't want to cause harm, on the contrary, my goal was to help in any way I could. ...

There are many things that need to be fixed in Argentine football. But I prefer to help from inside rather than stand on the outside and criticise. A lot of things ran through my head on the day of the [Copa America] final. And I seriously considered leaving the team. But I love my shirt and my country too much.

I want to thank all the fans who wanted me to keep playing for Argentina. I hope we can give them joy very soon.

The 29-year-old Barcelona forward initially confirmed his international retirement after his country lost the recent edition of the Copa America to Chile in the final this summer, per Mike Hytner of the Guardian.

Messi blasted his spot-kick over the bar as Argentina were defeated on penalties, leaving the skipper distraught.

After the game, Messi said, per Hytner:

It’s tough, it’s not the time for analysis. In the dressing room I thought that this is the end for me with the national team, it’s not for me. That’s the way I feel right now, it’s a huge sadness once again and I missed the penalty that was so important.

I tried so hard to be [a] champion with Argentina. But it didn’t happen. I couldn’t do it. I think it’s best for everyone, for me and for many people who want it. The choice for me is over, it is a decision. I tried many times [to be a champion] but did not.

Here is a video of the player's greatest moments for his country:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdUbPvpQDhE

After taking time to reflect on his initial decision, he is opting to carry on for La Albiceleste.

Messi's fresh decision could have been influenced by Cristiano Ronaldo's surprise success with Portugal at Euro 2016 in France, as the Real Madrid attacker's team won the tournament. 

The Argentina international will not want to be remembered as a failure by his country despite his outstanding success in Spain and Europe, and he might have found fresh inspiration in recent weeks.

Diego Maradona does not believe that Lionel Messi will come out of international retirement and make himself available again for the Argentina national team.

The Barcelona superstar announced his retirement from the international game after Argentina's loss in the Copa America Centenario final to Chile in June—the Albiceleste's third major final defeat in as many years.

New Argentina manager Edgardo Bauza has travelled to Catalonia to hold talks with Messi and attempt to reverse his decision, per the Associated Press (h/t NBC Sports' Kyle Bonn).

However, 1986 FIFA World Cup winner and former Argentina manager Maradona does not believe Bauza will succeed in his mission, per Radio La Red (via Football Espana): 

I think Messi will say "no" to Bauza. That’s what I think, although I may be wrong. 

What’s happened with Messi exposes [what’s been going on behind the scenes for] a lifetime. 

How is it that the families of the [Argentine Football Association] leaders are more comfortable than those of the players?

Per ESPN Deportes (via ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan), concerns about the AFA also led to reports that Barca's Javier Mascherano and Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero are considering their international futures.

For such a talented generation of players—also including the likes of Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain—Argentina have endured huge disappointments.

They also lost to Chile in the 2015 Copa final and to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, with Gerardo Martino the latest manager to step down after their penalty-shootout defeat in June.

Messi explained his reasons for retiring after missing his spot-kick against Chile, per BBC Sport: "For me, the national team is over. I've done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion."

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has collected every trophy on offer with Barcelona, including eight La Liga titles, four Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues.

A 2008 Olympic gold medal is all he has to show for his Argentina career, and Bauza will likely try to persuade Messi that he can lead the national team to 2018 World Cup glory in Russia.

For Maradona, though, Messi's Argentina days are over, and the 29-year-old did seem to have reached the end of his tether after the defeat to Chile.

The Argentinian Olympic football dream is no more. A 1-1 draw against Honduras sealed the nation's fate, leaving them marooned in third place in Group D and heading for an early trip home.

And after years of underachievement in the youth game, this latest failure is hardly surprising. 

There was a time not long ago when the Albiceleste name was synonymous with success at the junior level. Teams coached by Marcelo Bielsa and Sergio Batista took Argentina to back-to-back Olympic successes in 2004 and 2008, respectively, cementing their reputation. 

There was also glory in the under-20 category, with the teams that clinched two FIFA World Cup victories in 2005 and 2007 forming the backbone of the current senior squad. Diego Maradona famously led Argentina to victory in the second FIFA World Youth Championship in 1979, and no other country can match the six titles they have won in the competition. 

Those days appear to be over, though. The two most recent triumphs were built on the back of the youth system that Jose Pekerman put in place. The far-seeing coach saw that it was not merely enough to deliver success at the top level, but that it is also necessary to plan for the future with coherent tactics throughout the pyramid. 

Pekerman and his assistant, Hugo Tocalli, revamped the way Argentina's junior sides approached the game. But since he left, the decline has been inexorable. The under-20 division became a dumping ground for nepotistic appointments and a way to appease former members of the 1986 World Cup-winning side, few of whom had any coaching experience to speak of. 

Batista made a decent fist of the job, despite failing to qualify for the 2009 World Cup. The likes of Walter Perazzo and Marcelo Trobbiani did nothing to impose a coherent style on their team, while the team reached rock bottom with the appointment of Humberto Grondona, the son of the late Argentine Football Association (AFA) president, Julio Grondona. 

Humberto was removed from the post in 2015 following an abject World Cup performance, going out at the group stage in the first round without a single win. The under-17 team suffered a similar fate that year after losing all three games, and with this Olympic Games exit, the nation completes an unenviable triple crown. 

The institutional chaos that has enveloped the AFA has only heightened the serious problems found at the grassroots.

Olympics coach Julio Olarticoechea only found out less than a month before the Games he would be in charge, following Gerardo Martino's sudden resignation. Beforehand, the under-20 boss had complained his young charges were being starved in training: "In the AFA facilities there is no money to buy spaghetti, the situation is really sad," he had told Radio Continental (via Goal, in Spanish).

In that same interview, he had claimed the biggest domestic clubs, such as Boca Juniors and River Plate, refused to send him players for "political reasons," while youngsters from the interior of the country could not come due to the third-world conditions at base camp.

Those selection dilemmas held for the Olympics: The likes of Paulo Dybala, Luciano Vietto, Matias Kranevitter, Mateo Musacchio, Leandro Paredes, Joaquin Correa and Ramiro Funes Mori were all held back. 

Those who answered the Argentina call were thrown into action with little practice, while the AFA hierarchy seemed more intent on pursuing unrealistic candidates for Martino's replacement—such as Jorge Sampaoli and Diego Simeone—than supporting them.

Prior to the Honduras game, Olarticoechea described a tactical exercise, per Ambito (in Spanish): "We put the starting XI out against the six reserves, plus the kitman and his helpers who sometimes fill in. It lasts about 15, 20 minutes." Those tactical limitations were painfully evident against both Portugal and Honduras. 

Argentina relied on the individual talents of Angel Correa and Giovani Lo Celso to break through the opposition defences and make something happen in every game.

At the back, meanwhile, goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli was called into action countless times to keep out rapid counters that left the defence in tatters, a clear sign of lack of practice and coordination. If it were not for the Real Sociedad No. 1, the Albiceleste could well have been looking at far less than the meager four-point haul they picked up in Brazil. 

Not everything, of course, can be put down to the nation's structural problems. When it most counted, the team's stars failed to deliver. After an excellent performance against Algeria, Correa hit the post from the penalty spot with the game poised at 0-0; if that effort had gone in, Argentina's fortunes may have turned out different.

Jonathan Calleri was once again left ruing a clear miss when he could have put Argentina ahead, while he was also badly off-target against Algeria with a strike that would have been crucial in terms of goal difference. Just as in the finals lost by Argentina in recent years at senior level, those fine margins contributed to their failure as well. 

But to find the real culprit, one must look further up the chain of command. In 2008, the Albiceleste—admittedly without the double commitment of a Copa America—were able to convince Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Juan Roman Riquelme, Angel Di Maria and Javier Mascherano and their clubs to join the nation on the other side of the world in Beijing. 

Eight years later, the Seleccion was reduced to desperately finding players to fill the gaps, and it is hard to blame either those clubs that refused the call or the men who declined to push for inclusion.

If the AFA can barely take care of the senior team, why would the likes of Dybala sacrifice a month of training to play for a side unable to put out two full XIs for a tactical exercise, or even properly feed its charges?

The talent is still there. Correa, Lo Celso and Rulli are all considered among the brightest young talents in the world, while Estudiantes anchorman Santiago Ascacibar and Boca forward Cristian Pavon also stood out at intervals. But without adequate training and selection structures, a generation of players risks going to waste.

Olympic failure made it three out of three for the Albiceleste after flopping at under-20 and under-17 level; the tournament must now act as a wake-up call to make the changes that the nation's young talents so desperately need.