>>157728577
He didn't have the balls to sub off Messi at half time when it was obvious he couldn't contribute anything in that game

>>157728577
The injuries to Romero and Lisandro and then Enzo's red card really fucked up Scaloni's options. Kind of a miracle Argentina held on as long as they did since they chose to cede possession and play a defensive game and then they lost two of their main defenders lol. Brazil losing Thiago Silva in 2014 is what led to 7-1.

I do think if Spain had scored a goal much earlier, Argentina would've had a better chance because it would've forced them to shift gears and attack.

Three biggest pieces of dead wood:
Rodrigo De Paul - Only on the squad this year because he's Messi's friend. Used to be decent in 2022 but has become slow and awful since moving to MLS. Messi is still good enough at playmaking to excuse his loss of speed, but both De Paul AND Messi on the pitch just slowed the entire team down.
Nahuel Molina - Almost every goal Argentina conceded throughout this year's WC, he is there and responsible for it.
Giuliano Simeone - Not as bad as the other two, but he stopped to pull up his sock or tie his shoe and left Ferran Torres unmarked, leading to the goal.
A few others like Otamendi, Montiel, and Almada didn't do much this year but I can't even remember how much time they get on the pitch. I think Almada was barely there.

But yeah, Messi, Alvarez, MacAllister, Enzo, Lautaro, Romero, Lisandro, Dibu, and to some extent even Paredes were all still good enough to justify their spot and could've defeated pretty much any team besides Spain this year without exhaustion or injuries setting them back. And with the exception of Messi and Paredes (who used to play at PSG), all of them still play and contribute at major European clubs.

>>157728577
Oh, and while I agree that Nico Paz should've gotten a lot more minutes throughout the WC, putting him in the final when Scaloni had barely used him before then was risking Paz making a huge career-defining mistake.