With Lionel Messi in the fray, Alejandro Sabella’s Argentina have a great chance of sealing a place in Brazil 2014 with just three games left to play in the qualifiers
Argentina will be looking to end Paraguay’s misery for them when they take on the troubled side at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asuncion in a World Cup qualification game. As things stand, Paraguay are in the second last position in the CONMEBOL qualification group and Los Guaranies are only playing for pride after losing eight times in the qualifiers.
Despite a convincing 4-0 win over Bolivia this Friday, Victor Genes’ side have left it too late and could possibly see their qualification campaign come to an end if they lose to Argentine at home.
After having lost just once in the qualification games, Argentina have proven themselves to be the best side in the zone and currently lead the group with 26 points from 13 games. Alejandro Sabella’s men have scored a whopping 25 goals in the process and the defence has not been shoddy either with just nine goals conceded.
However, a lot of goalscoring and brilliant attacking game play has been due to the phenomenal form of talismanic forward, Lionel Messi who is still at the peak of his powers despite his detractors hoping otherwise.
Although they have not played a competitive match in around three months, friendly wins over Guatemala and Italy go a long way in showing that the current Argentine side has started realising its true potential.
The same can also be said of Messi who in recent times, has been criticised for not being able to replicate his club form for the national side. However, that is entirely not true. The Barcelona man is the main reason why Albiceleste are at the top of the table. The little maestro is only behind Gonzalo Higuain in the list of Argentina’s top scorers in the qualifiers with eight goals and also has four assists to his name.
Too often, the Barcelona man has been criticised for finding a way to finish moves on his own rather than looking for teammates who are in a better position in front of goal. However, that was all part of the learning curve and now at the age of 26, Messi has become a mature player, one who knows how to use his abilities for the benefit of the whole team.
The current year has seen Messi play well for both Barcelona and Argentina. Moreover, the forward is now the lynchpin of an Argentina side that has finally found a way to make sure that their star player is almost as productive for the national side as he is for the Spanish giants.
Once again, the Argentine is in deadly form for the Catalan giants. In the two games he has played, he has scored five goals and has an assist to his name which just goes on to show once again that regardless of which star comes in at Camp Nou, it is Messi who is the heart and soul of the team he plays for and the same can be said of Argentina who for obvious reasons will be looking at the 26-year-old for inspiration against Paraguay.
Despite a convincing 4-0 win over Bolivia this Friday, Victor Genes’ side have left it too late and could possibly see their qualification campaign come to an end if they lose to Argentine at home.
After having lost just once in the qualification games, Argentina have proven themselves to be the best side in the zone and currently lead the group with 26 points from 13 games. Alejandro Sabella’s men have scored a whopping 25 goals in the process and the defence has not been shoddy either with just nine goals conceded.
However, a lot of goalscoring and brilliant attacking game play has been due to the phenomenal form of talismanic forward, Lionel Messi who is still at the peak of his powers despite his detractors hoping otherwise.
Although they have not played a competitive match in around three months, friendly wins over Guatemala and Italy go a long way in showing that the current Argentine side has started realising its true potential.
The same can also be said of Messi who in recent times, has been criticised for not being able to replicate his club form for the national side. However, that is entirely not true. The Barcelona man is the main reason why Albiceleste are at the top of the table. The little maestro is only behind Gonzalo Higuain in the list of Argentina’s top scorers in the qualifiers with eight goals and also has four assists to his name.
Too often, the Barcelona man has been criticised for finding a way to finish moves on his own rather than looking for teammates who are in a better position in front of goal. However, that was all part of the learning curve and now at the age of 26, Messi has become a mature player, one who knows how to use his abilities for the benefit of the whole team.
The current year has seen Messi play well for both Barcelona and Argentina. Moreover, the forward is now the lynchpin of an Argentina side that has finally found a way to make sure that their star player is almost as productive for the national side as he is for the Spanish giants.
Once again, the Argentine is in deadly form for the Catalan giants. In the two games he has played, he has scored five goals and has an assist to his name which just goes on to show once again that regardless of which star comes in at Camp Nou, it is Messi who is the heart and soul of the team he plays for and the same can be said of Argentina who for obvious reasons will be looking at the 26-year-old for inspiration against Paraguay.
