Argentina National Team: The more underestimated, the higher the chance of winning the championship
(Baonghean.vn) - Nearly 25 years have passed since the 1993 Copa America Championship, but the Tango team has yet to win another title. Therefore, the pressure on Messi and his teammates is enormous at the 2018 World Cup.
A few months ago, coach Sampaoli revealed in his book “Viva” that: “Messi has a pistol called the World Cup pointed at his head. If he doesn’t win, he will be shot dead. As a result, he can’t show his talent. I understand that negative thoughts about Messi’s international performance are harming him.”
Understanding the burden that his junior (Messi) is carrying, the Golden Boy - Diego Maradona made statements to reduce the pressure on his former student: "I hope Messi will remain Messi, continue to play football for his endless joy and truly enjoy football. He needs to ignore the pressure and criticism, regardless of whether he wins the World Cup or not. Now he doesn't have to prove anything to us anymore."
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| Messi is in very good form. Photo: Internet |
Both coach Sampaoli, Diego Maradona and the whole country of Argentina have not forgotten the failures of Messi and his teammates in the finals of the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 and 2016 Copa America. The reason why the Tango dancers became the losers was because they could not overcome the pressure from fans, the media and themselves.
Higuain's unfortunate misses in front of the Chilean and German national teams' goals, or Messi's penalty kick that went over the crossbar against goalkeeper Bravo (Chile national team) in 2016... are typical examples.
Just like its neighbor Brazil, Argentina receives high expectations from experts and fans in every tournament it participates in. This is a dangerous pressure that often causes the team from Tango to "collapse at the gates of heaven".
Therefore, if coach Sampaoli and his team want to win the prestigious gold cup in Russia this year, they must first get rid of the psychological burden that is haunting them. Only then will the Argentina team have a chance to win the World Cup for the third time.
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| A training session of the Argentina national team players. Photo: Internet |
Therefore, the statement of the legendary Diego Maradona and the low rating of the bookies (Argentina is only ranked 5th in the list of candidates to win the 2018 World Cup), will help Messi and his teammates feel comfortable mentally for the journey to conquer the throne in Russia in June - July.
Messi himself has also set a modest goal for his team, which is to reach the quarter-finals. Once superstars like Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Dybala, Di Maria... release the pressure, the Argentina team will be extremely scary.
That's why the more underestimated and under less pressure, the easier it is for Argentina to win the championship. Don't underestimate the strength of coach Sampaoli and his team, through the qualifying campaign and a few insignificant friendly matches./.
