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Argentina’s Copa struggles continue in draw vs. Colombia

Argentina Colombia 1 (Reuters) 

Argentina has an envious cast of players that most national teams could only dream of having, but that collection of world-class talent once again failed to perform for the albiceleste.

Argentina tied Colombia, 0-0, on Wednesday night, leaving the albiceleste with two points from two games. Colombia could have pulled out a win, but its recent penchant of struggling to finish was well on display.

Goalkeeper Sergio Romero was one of the best players for an Argentina team that could not get much going offensively. Romero made several game-saving blocks while Leo Messi, Carlos Tevez and the rest of the Argentines struggled to break down a defensively-solid Colombia, which now sits in first place of Group A with four points.

It appeared Argentina could feel the pressure mounting with each passing minute. On two separate occasions Argentina defenders hit passes along the back line that Colombia intercepted, only for Romero to save the day. Messi even had an opportunity late on a free kick from close range, but he shanked it 20 yards high and wide, leaving him embarassed as he looked down at the ground.

Here are the match highlights:

 

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What do you think of Argentina and Colombia tying 0-0? What does Argentina need to do to turn things around?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. That is BS.

    Messi’s situation is like those tribute concerts where they have 15 lead guitar players on stage at the same time trying to make sure that whatever song they are playing doesn’t sound like a congealed mess.

    It’s like the old saying, “When everyone is in charge, no one is in charge.”

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  2. no cohesion for Argentina.

    to my eyes, it’s not about one player unlocking anything for them, it’s about the team doing it together as a group, and this Argentina team doesn’t play like that. guys look to take others one on one, other players start standing and watching, and runs off the ball start to disappear, or passes arrive unexpectedly to the standing and watching players, spurring late reaction first touches that suck…today’s Argentina to me.

    love Zanetti and Cambiasso, but they’re longer in the tooth and do you see their heirs anywhere? Argentina backline looks wanting for pace as a group too; they are glad Romero is good and played well last night to cover the many holes Columbia repeatedly exposed.

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  3. No it was Chuck Blazer, whileBob choose to take a B/C team to the Copa America. So far Costa Rica and Mexico’s u22 are doing better than the US C team

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  4. Colombia has talent but they are way too inconsistent to qualify for WC 2014. Every Colombian I know even says they are not that good, but I think they are not that bad. I do hope they qualify for the WC but it will be difficult. Qualifying is a different beast all together.

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  5. Not impressed with Argentina. Colombia had more chances and looked better last night. It should have been 2-0 Colombia. They were hustling.

    I would love to know who the refs are going to be for the Costa Rica vs Argentina game. Probably from friendly Chile or Uruguay.

    Also very interesting that the Argentina vs Costa Rica game is scheduled the following day… after the Bolivia vs Colombia game.

    This is unusual because all the other brackets (B,C) play on the same day but it looks like the Argentinians have scheduled their games to favor themselves by giving their team some extra rest.
    They would also have the results of the Bolivia vs Colombia game… that way they will know the goal differential. Reminds me of World Cup 1978. I’m sure the Argies will do whatever it takes to win.

    Here’s the schedule…
    http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/futbol/fixtures?league=conmebol.america

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  6. They are stacked defensively. That backline of Zuniga Perea Yepes Armero are very good. Martinez is a solid GK too. If they had a good playmaking attacking midfielder to link up the defense with their solid attackers, they would easily be a top 15 side in the world right now.

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  7. Milito had the bad back pass, and Burdisso was one the one with the tackle on Ramos. Either way, Argentina for all their talent and development are really hurting for quality CBs right now.

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  8. And now Mexico and Costa Rica have taken U-23 sides to this tournement. I wonder if there is outrage about that??

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  9. Well…kind of….if you recall it was he who brought a C-Team the last time we were invited Copa America, which was an embarrassment in respect to the quality they were up against. Hence, CONMEBOL took it as a form of not taking the tournament serious.

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  10. “Argentina has an envious cast of players that most national teams could only dream of having”

    Enviable maybe, but envious (displaying envy)? Who are the Argentinean players jealous of? The Brazilians I guess.

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  11. Panama beats Venezuela and Bolivia who both just drew with Brazil and Argentina… Just beat Bolivia 2-0 in March 2011 and beat Venezuela 3-1 in August of 2010..

    Get your facts straight…

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  12. Colombia is usually fairly solid. The big shocker was Argentina tying Bolivia. That is pathetic. For those paralleling Panama to Colombia…Panama to Bolivia would be better comparison.

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  13. Haha, a shot so sick that the defender looked up as he trapped it, and it trickled between his legs. Banega f-up is what it was.

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  14. No comparison at all. There is not a single Panamanian player who would crack that 11. Probably not a single Panamanian who would make that roster. Truth be told, there are only a handful of US guys that could crack the Colombian starting 11. Colombia has got some talent.

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  15. Bolivia scored a sick goal on them..if you’re going to use sarcasm at least get your facts straights bro..just saying!

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  16. You mean they will tear up another stadium? If Argentina is not in the finals, I think it will be ok for the rest of South America. Other teams are starting to play better and I hope to see other countries emerge. South America is not only Brazil or Argentina, they just get the most coverage.

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  17. Props to Colombia for playing lights out. They are an up and coming team and everytime these two meet Colombia always seems to step up their level of play. Messi is always out of position and he’s playing scared. Teams in South America play a more physical (dirty0 style of defense and the refs allow more contact than over seas (spain especially). The Argentine defense is very weak Milito is not a world class defender for a team with championship aspirations and our backs are being shuffled around too much. The coach doesnt even know which defenders to put where each game. The offense will fix itself out and Pastore will get his chance sooner or later to shine.

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  18. I still think Messi is unbelievable and the best player in the world, but until he can take over the national team like Maradona did, he definitely is not the best player ever. Argentina has tons of talent, but it’s pretty obvious Messi benefits from the amazing talent surrounding him at Barca. It would be very interesting to see if Messi would dominate at the same capacity at Barca if he didn’t have Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets. Again, I’m still saying Messi is the best, but if he’s really the best player ever, he should be able to make things happen at the national team level too. Obviously he’s got time too…

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  19. Colombia is a great side, though. I don’t see why people are up in arms. They brought it. Completely dominated the pace and flow of the game, and executed a great tactical game plan. Kudos. Argentina are lucky they pulled out with a draw.

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  20. Strange play all around. Thought the advantage was strange (but probably right). Moreno missing an open net was definitely strange. Not seeing red was strange. Not seeing yellow, well, that was not strange – that was insane! The lack of any card made me wonder if the ref was playing advantage at all (In hindsight, I guess he was). (FWIW, I think it was Burdisso who hacked down Ramos.)

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  21. Entertaining match despite the lack of goals. Colombia probably deserved three points. While most of the talk will be on what Argentina did not do, Colombia deserves some credit for a well played match. The five man midfield caused problems for an Argentina side that seemed to lack a midfield player that could unlock the defense. Armero and Zuniga played well and I continue to be impressed with their defense and ability to get forward. Sanchez did a real good job in slowing down attacks. Although you can’t stop Messi, Sanchez was very effective in limiting his dangerous runs. Moreno and Ramos have to be kicking themselves after they both missed easy goals. There is a lot of talent on that Colombian side. I think they have the looks of a team that can break through in qualification. It will be interesting to see how far they go in this tournament. Lack of finishing may continue to plague them as it has been a problem for awhile. For Argentina, well – who knows? They really need a distributor in that midfield. If they continue with the 4-3-3 they probably need to make some wholesale changes. Getting someone in the midfield that can distribute is pretty obvious; however, Tevez and Livezzi do not complement Messi at all. Those guys seem to turn into a black hole when they get the ball. Batista will need to do something – and the answer is definitely not that crazy 4-2-1-3 that they played at the end with Messi, Tevez, Higuain, and Aguero all on the pitch at the same time. What a waste to have Messi continually back tracking to the center circle just to start an attack.

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  22. For the sake of the South American inhabitants, lets hope Argentina turns it on. Their fans will be furious if they don’t at least make the final. They have such offensive firepower that Di Maria, Milito or Aguero have to make a longer cameo in the final group match.

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  23. I know such horrendous D!!! Haven’t allowed a goal in 2 games… Disgraceful! Argentina just have to keep working, keep chopping that wood. The goals will come.

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  24. Argentine defense was all over the ground and looked awful. Needed to stay on their feet and not take some many chances lunging in and slide tackling. Falcao held the ball up really well against them.

    I understand playing advantage in the box especially with an open net, but shouldn’t the defender have been sent off? Can’t remember which player for Argentina committe the infraction.

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  25. Gabi Milito sucks! hence why he’s buried in Barcelona’s CB depth chart, as a matter of fact, I don’t think they want him back. Same for Gago in RM, not good enough an too injury prone. Cambiasso and Zanetti are great but they’re getting old, it clearly shows as the game goes on they dissapear. Maradona was somewhat right to leave them out last world cup. The problem with the Argies is they have too many forwards but not good midfielders and much less defense.

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