World Cup 2018: Argentina coach says team did not help Messi
Sampaoli absolves Messi of Argentina's 3-0 loss to Croatia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli has revealed that his team did not help Lionel Messi after they lost 3-0 to Croatia in their 2018 FIFA World Cup group D encounter.
Goals from Ante Rebic, Luka Modric, and Ivan Rakitic condemned Argentina to a defeat in their second group game of the World Cup.
The defeat means that Argentina have only one point from their two group games and need a win in their final group game to stand a chance of qualification for the round of 16.
Speaking after the heavy defeat to Croatia Sampaoli accepted that as the coach of the team he is responsible for the defeat.
He said, "I am responsible for making the decisions, it is not human to blame Caballero."
"I was very hopeful and I have a lot of pain because of the defeat, I probably did not read the game properly."
Sampaoli also talked about the performance of captain Messi, and blamed the team or not allowing him to function properly.
He said, "As drivers, we do not find the best team to accompany Messi."
"The party plan did not work, we have to wait and fight for the possibility that remains."
Messi not responsible for Cabellero error
Sampaoli’s general assessment of the game was that the mistake from goalkeeper Willy Cabellero was a turning point in the encounter.
He said, "We were very excited before the match to get the qualification, this result drives us away, we felt that it was going to be a takeoff game and it was not."
"After the first goal the team hit a lot, and in the second stage we tried to put players in to turn the game around but it did not work out."
Argentina can still qualify for the round of 16, in their last fixture against the Super Eagles of Nigeria on Tuesday, June 26.
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