Argentina with the challenge of bothering the runner-up

Argentina will trust their system when they face Croatia in the World Cup semifinals and believe they have figured out how to hurt the Russia 2018 runners-up. penalty shootouts in a repeat of their 2018 exploits.

“They have disturbed many teams. I won’t mention the key players or their strengths and weaknesses, but we have looked at where we can hurt them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We try to give everything on the pitch. Sometimes luck can be on your side. If we perform well, we will have an easier path to reach our goal. But this is football, so sometimes the best team may not win,” said Lionel Scaloni, the Albiceleste’s coach.

Scaloni said that both Ángel Di María and Rodrigo De Paul would be fit and that the absence of the suspended Marcos Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel would not be a problem.

“We have our own system, our style. Of course, in certain situations we must take into account how the opponents play. We will not change our style beyond the system. During the game, of course, we will make decisions (based on situations) and we will rise to the challenge.

The coach also commented on the criticism leveled at Argentina after the ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour’ of their players, following their penalty shootout win over the Netherlands.

deportes@eleconomista.mx