World Cup 2014 Team Spotlight – Argentina
They have won it twice which is two more times than a lot of nations that think they are futbol powers. There is usually an advantage for those nations that are on the continent of the host nation, which could especially be the case if Brazil stumbles.
ARGENTINA
Group F: Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria
Odds to Win Group F: -500
Odds to Win World Cup: +450
Group Stage Schedule:
June 15 vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina
June 21 vs. Iran
June 25 vs. Nigeria
World Cup History
This is Argentina’s 15th appearance in the World Cup.
If anyone else from South America is going to win the Argentineans are the best bet hoist the trophy. They are an elite team capable of beating anyone.
Strengths
This is an offensive team that really likes to attack. They love to jump on opponents in the first half and if they get the lead they can be really difficult to gamble against because they have a lot of scoring talent to counterattack with.
They are probably the best team in the world in terms of setting up scoring opportunities from the central area which makes them very difficult to defend.
Even if they employ a more defensive 5-3-2 formation they still have the ability to score.
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Does anybody else have a group like Los Cuatro Fantasticos? Not really
Weaknesses
All of the criticism of Argentina is on when they don’t have the ball. They say they are not disciplined enough defensively and for an elite team they do not have an elite goalie – goalkeeper Sergio Romero could not even see regular action while with Monaco.
They also get slagged because they have not been having a ton of success with set piece but I think that might be overthinking things because they have no problem generating offense within the flow of the game.
They are not perfect but some of the criticism is a little light.
Key Player – Lionel Messi
Messi is debatably the best player in the world. He had won three straight Ballon D’ors until being beaten out by Cristiano Ronaldo for the award 2013. Leading Argentina to a World Cup victory would probably vault him back to the top.
He has been strong of late and could make a case for being one of the best players of all time with a strong tournament. Leading them to a win would put him on that very short list.
Prediction: 1st in Group F
I think Argentina will make it to the Finals this year. If they see Brazil there they will definite be the underdogs but if not there is a good chance they will be the favourite and bring home another World Cup title. +450 right now is not a bad payout to take a shot on.
You have to take it because you won’t get much value on Argentina in Group Stage action.
