Relative to some of their counterparts, Argentina may have felt pleased with the chance to open the knockout stage of the World Cup against debutant Cape Verde.
But don’t tell Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni that.
A 3-2 extra-time escape last Friday to keep their pursuit of a repeat title alive may be just the wake-up call the four-time champions need entering their round of 16 clash with Egypt on Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta.
“I hope you now realize, there is no easy opponent,” Scaloni said after the match, via translator.
After the match, Scaloni wanted to reflect on the positives from a resilient win which saw La Albiceleste twice blow one-goal leads before finally putting the Cape Verdeans to rest.
“There is always room for improvement, but it is important that the team stepped up during difficult moments,” Scaloni said. “We can debate whether we played well or poorly, but this team doesn’t shy away from taking charge of the match.”
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, who extended his World Cup records to 20 career goals and tallies in eight straight matches, was a bit more blunt in his assessment.
“We did good things,” Messi said, via translator, “and we have to correct the bad things.”
Messi, who turned 39 during this tournament, has already matched his personal record for seven World Cup goals set four years ago in Qatar. But he remains firmly entrenched in a tight Golden Boot race with France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland, who each pulled level with Messi in their respective countries’ round of 16 victories.
While Argentina have scored multiple goals in 10 straight international matches, they next face an Egypt side that have allowed exactly one goal in each of their first four matches of this tournament.
Egyptian manager Hossam Hassan continues to take his country to new heights as a coach after previously doing so as a player. He remains the country’s all-time leader in international goals scored (69) and has led Egypt to their first overall World Cup win and first knockout win in this year’s tournament.
That knockout victory, 4-2 in penalties after a 1-1 draw versus Australia last Friday, has Egypt one win away from being the fifth different African nation to reach the quarterfinal round at a World Cup.
“I achieved a lot as a player and I am delighted to achieve more as a coach,” Hassan said Monday. “… Our goal is to make the Egyptian people proud of their national team, and we are determined to achieve that.”
His national scoring record is in danger, though, as current Egypt star Mohamed Salah is just one goal behind him at 68.
Salah, 34, has been limited by a hamstring injury, notching a goal and two assists while being subbed off in each of Egypt’s three group-stage matches.
He turned in a full 120-minute showing against Australia, though, and is a scoring threat in his own right, with 191 league goals over the last nine seasons at Liverpool.
“Argentina are a great team and the defending champions, but in football nothing is impossible,” Hassan said. “We have great ambitions and we know it will not be an easy game for either side. We respect Argentina, but we don’t fear them.”
–Field Level Media
