Argentina thrilled with perfect group stage but knows 'World Cup is long'

ARLINGTON, TX — Three matches, three victories. The Argentina national team enjoyed exactly the kind of World Cup group stage it hoped to have. But the 2022 World Cup champions aren’t interested in earning plaudits for getting nine points in the first portion of the tournament with the knockout stage yet to come.

With goals from superstar Lionel Messi in all three games and a convincing 3-1 victory over Jordan on Saturday, June 27 – even with Messi and other regulars resting for most of the match before entering off the bench – it was a complete success for the Albiceleste.

“We prepared for this. I think the team was hoping for this in a healthy way,” center back Nicolas Otamendi said after the win. “The players who came in understood each other well. They know the responsibility it is to put on this jersey in a competition like this. I’m really happy, as is the group, because everyone is taking advantage of their chances, making the manager think. The World Cup is long, but we started well.”

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The nature of sports, especially a championship team, is that there are always things to improve. Multiple players mentioned conceding to Jordan, rather than keeping three clean sheets, was a frustration and something to clean up as they return to the training ground.

Still, even by Argentina‘s high standards, the group phase was “spectacular,” as midfielder Leandro Paredes put it. “Our first goal was to get through, and we did that really well.

“But now another World Cup begins. The do-or-die starts.”

Argentina’s path in the do-or-die knockout phase looks relatively straight-forward until the latter stages, with a round of 32 match with shock qualifier Cape Verde followed by a round of 16 contest with the winner of the Australia-Egypt match.

But Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni insisted that his team won’t be thinking about any potential matchups or become overly excited by the perfect start.

“There’s nothing to get confused about. We have to go forward, keep playing, keep giving our best,” Scaloni said.

Later, when asked to grade his squad on a scale, he said, “A rating from 1-10? I have no idea what to say. I’ve never given a rating. But we can say that we’re good. Now, another stage of the World Cup starts.”

The team returned to its base camp in Kansas City in the early hours of Sunday morning, leaving Dallas Stadium after midnight, and enjoyed a day off Sunday. Training sessions resume Monday, June 29, with the team set to head for Miami July 2 for the July 3 round of 32 match.