Football is bad for your heart!

Well, not playing it maybe. But watching it as a fan sure is!

This world cup has been an emotional rollercoaster for most teams to say the least. The tension at the group stage was probably never higher as far as memory serves from the time I started watching football. This world cup somehow seems like the wild west, where everything and anything is a possibility until the final whistle is up. Every "small" team is giving the "big" teams a run for their money. The "it's not over till it's over" mentality has been going pretty strong this tournament.

And even though the upsets have been limited in the final result, it has resulted in some very enjoyable and tense matches. The Portugal-Ghana game for example, Ghana fought on till the last minute and almost forced an equalizing error from Portugal's keeper. Denmark fought back immediately against France with an equalizer after going on to concede early in the second half.

Poland beating Saudi Arabia yesterday meant by the time Argentina were playing Mexico, their knockout stage had already started. Equation was as simple as "you lose, you go home." With that cloud cover over the heads, the abysmal first half performance had sent chills down the spine of most Argentina Fans. All I could do was just curse at the screen, and pull my beard apart...one by one. If I had the habit of biting nails, I'm sure I'd have no nails left by the end of the first half! But that's an unhygienic habit, so I still have all my nails intact. That's how disappointing Argentina's performance was in the first half.

Giovanni lo Celso's absence was clearly evident once again as Argentina midfield struggled to find the creativity needed to break the 5 men Mexican backline. 5 is probably an understatement as Mexico was looking mostly to just not concede, with no intention of going deliberately forward. And you can't blame them. When you opponent has one Lionel Messi, you are allowed to protect your own goal first. And Argentina should have been prepared for this sort of tactic.

The only time in the first half Argentina seemed to get any hold of the game was with their last attack. And in the second half, Lionel Scaloni made some much needed changes. Then, and only then...after the introduction of Alvarez and Fernandez in the attack Argentina's lines seemed to all click. They looked much more a composed side knowing what they actually needed to do.

And yet, it still required, (as it so often does) one little magician to do his abracadabra to break the deadlock. And from there on the nerves settled. I was much more relaxed and could finally start respond with viciousness to wife's taunts! Watching games with a Brazil fan beside you does test your patience LOL!

Final Thoughts

  1. Argentina had their backs against the wall and they needed to show up, Messi needed to show up on the big stage. And they did. But this was far from a convincing performance.

  2. With a lead Argentina is a completely different team. They look dangerous, they can frighten any opponent. But when they are not in the lead, they look timid. They look dejected. If this goes on, Argentina might be looking at an early exit even if they do make it out of the group.

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Image created using Midjourney AI



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(Edited)

Football is bad for your heart!

Indeed! specially when you support a team like Argentina & Barcelona 😃

I'm just kidding vai 🤗

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specially when you support a team like Argentina & Barcelona

This is so true, I'm not even mad 😂 🤣

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I agree with you, watching Argentina vs Mexico made me so tense which I have not experienced and tomorrow they will play their last group stage match against Poland which they have to win to qualify for the next round, I thought of skipping the match because I might just collapse if Argentina fails to qualify 😂😂😂

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Haha yeah, I'm already feeling the pressure from brazil fans around me 😂😂

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