World Cup 2010: Argentina Game One Post-Match Tactical Analysis

Despite an enormous wealth of available talent, Argentina's "unique" World Cup preparations had left a great many unanswered questions regarding how "la selección" would play, what the starting line-up and formation would be, and how Diego would resolve certain difficulties the team struggled with all throughout qualifiers.

The lack of competitive friendly matches, and the fact that Argentina's preparations were shrouded in mystery throughout, elevated the importance and significance of this match against Nigeria.

By defeating Nigeria 1-0 in a match that could just as well have ended 5-4, Argentina achieved a couple of key objectives while continuing to leave many question marks.

So here is my analysis and my conclusions regarding Argentina's performance against Nigeria (feel free to disagree).

Thumbs up

1) The result. This team hadn't been truly tested since the friendly match against Germany in March. The coach and his staff decided not to play friendlies, in order to give the players rest and avoid injuries. Although, granted, such a plan wouldn't have been ideal against a more competitive draw, Diego and his staff felt this group was easy enough to sail through, without much prior practice.

When seen from that perspective, one can conclude that Argentina did get what it set out for: no injury's and a victory on the opening match.

2) Offensive output. I don't think anyone ever doubted that Argentina's offense would be one of it's key strengths. Today's match was merely a confirmation that there is enormous offensive potential, despite the 1-0 result.

3) Lionel Messi. He wasn't able to score, but just the same, Messi did today what he's never done for his national team before: He grabbed the reins, stepped back a few meters, took control of play, dished out passes, burst through defenders and took shots on goal. Today he finally looked comfortable, and that may be the best sign of all.

Thumbs down

1) Tactical experiments gone wrong. Diego has done a wonderful job as motivator. Everyone who's been close to the squad has spoken of the "excellent atmosphere", and said that the players seem quite "psyched."

Tactically, however, this match was poorly planned and executed.

a) Jonás Gutiérrez. I don't think anyone really understood what position he was playing in. He usually plays on the right side of mid-field, but Diego has recently called on him to play at right-back.

The formation today was supposed to be a 4-3-3, with Verón on the right side of midfield. But Verón played most the match in the center, and as a result Gutiérrez was literally made to cover two positions on his own (the right side of both midfield and defense). Theoretically, he was playing at right-back, but the fact that Verón and Mascherano were both in center-midfield meant the right flank of midfield was constantly empty. Thus, Gutiérrez was seen to gravitate forward, constantly leaving huge holes in right-back.

I believe Lars Lagerback (Nigeria's football manager) knew that would happen, which is why the Nigerians sought to exploit that flank relentlessly, almost scoring on several occasions.

Bear in mind that Jonás Gutiérrez is not a natural right-back. He can do it on a good day, but don't expect the poor man to cover two spots by himself.

b) Carlos Tévez. Don't get me wrong, Tévez had a pretty decent match. But Argentina paid the price of playing with three forwards; they left enormous holes in midfield. As a result, Verón and Mascherano were forced to "burn the candle on both ends" in order to cover an ailing midfield. Diego has stubbornly insisted on the idea of having Tévez start at any cost, and as a result he's had to do a bit of tinkering. The result: chaos in mid-field and defense.

c) Strange substitutions. Verón, the oldest player on the team, was forced to run more than anyone else in order to cover a midfield that was stretched beyond its limits. As a result, he didn't last more than 60 minutes, and had to be replaced by the early second half.

By then, Diego had realized that Jonás Gutiérrez was unable to cover the entire right flank. So he did what he should've done from the start; he put in Maxi Rodriguez. But by replacing Verón with Maxi, he also effectively opened up a hole in center-midfield.

The logical replacement for Verón would've been Bolatti or Pastore, and in any case, Maxi Rodriguez could have come on for Tévez, to help shore up the right flank.

And finally, he put in Burdisso at right-back and moved Jonás to the left side of midfield (where he wasn't needed).

2) Angel Di María. Far from being the explosive player we're used to seeing, Angel hardly participated in play on this occasion.

This may have been the result of apprehension at playing his first ever World Cup match, but it may also have been due to an over-crowded attack, where so many skilled players merely cancelled each-other out.

Conclusion: A victory indeed, and an important one at that. But this match has left little to feel confident about, especially if Argentina hopes to survive the knock-out rounds.