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It was a familiar sight once again at the Itaipava Fonte Nova Arena as calamitous defending and the failure of big guns in the Argentinian side resulted in a 2-0 loss for Albiceleste at the hands of Colombia in their first group B encounter.
A defeat was always on the cards for the Latin American giants after the Colombians exposed their defense on many occasion but failed to capitalize on their chances.
Playing in their first major competition since their exit in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Argentina have failed to find a solution and have carried the same problems to the Copa America.
Therefore, we look at the three reasons that led to their demoralizing defeat against Colombia.
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#3 Defensive frailties exposed once again
The Albiceleste were not helped by poor team selection in the central defensive department, as Lionel Scaloni opted for Nicolas Otamendi and German Pezzella at the heart of defense in their crucial match despite knowing that the duo had never started a match together.
The Colombian attack gave the sluggish back line a torrid time as goal scorer Roger Martinez ran past the Argentine defense, time and time again. Following that, Argentina illustrated their self exploding behavior when an unnecessary pass between Franco Armani and Nicolas Otamendi almost let James Rodriguez score. The Bayern Munich star, however, failed to get a shot away before Argentina scrambled the ball out in the 30th minute.
The inexperienced defense failed to cope up with the pace and strength of the Colombians but somehow managed to keep them quiet until the 70th minute. Nonetheless, everyone inside the Fonte Nova Arena knew it was just a matter of time until the Argentine defense was breached.
#2 Lack of cohesion, poor team selection cost the match for Argentina
Lionel Scaloni was brought in to find a solution that has plagued the Argentina board as well as their fans for a long time now - finding a way to unlock their magician Lionel Messi. However, after this defeat, it appeared as though there are a host of other problems that surround the team, its players and the brand of football played by the nation.
As aforementioned, the gaffer started two center backs who had never previously played alongside each other. With due respect to their quality and abilities, it's unnecessary to field a central defense such as this in a crunch, opening encounter of the Copa America - against top drawer opposition.
The major problem that encompassed the Argentine team today though was not the apparent team selection but rather, the lack of cohesion between the teammates. The Argentine XI that took the field today felt like 11 complete strangers playing together for the very first time.
A lack of communication between the players and an apparent understanding between them was missing quite evidently. They struggled to play fluent football or get a string of passes going together in midfield.
This was also not helped by the manager's decision to bring on Matias Suarez in place of Sergio Aguero in the 79th minute. Argentina were desperate for a goal, and none other than Aguero could have plugged one out of nowhere.
The 41-year old also left out Lautaro Martinez, who had himself joined the team controversially after being selected ahead of Inter Milan teammate Mauro Icardi.
Lionel Scaloni will need to find his best XI in the coming days if Argentina are to go further in the tournament.
#1 The big guns, including Lionel Messi, fail to add spark when together
Once again, the big guns in the Argentina lineup failed to find their form in national colors. Their biggest star and team captain Lionel Messi once again hit a black, meaning he has now done so in his 10 of his last 13 matches for Argentina.
Messi and Aguero, who so often score goals for fun while playing for their clubs, just couldn't get along or stitch an attacking partnership together. Consequentially, there was no shot on target from either of them in the opening half of the game. It hardly looked like they completed a pass to each other.
The night ended early for Sergio Aguero after he was bizarrely replaced by Matias Suarez in the 79th minute, even though in-form striker Lautaro Martinez was on the bench.
The biggest disappointment of the day though was not either of the forwards but Angel di Maria, who had a torrid time on the wing. The PSG winger was quickly put out of his misery as Scaloni opted to bring on Rodrigo de Paul in place 31-year old after the halftime.
Argentina attacked spurred into action only after an altercation between the Colombian and Argentine players occurred, owing to Juan Cuadrado's foul against Messi. This resulted in the first big chance, but Messi failed to hit the target.
In the 67th minute of the match, Lionel Messi found the goal at his mercy courtesy of a delightful ball from Sergio Aguero. The Barcelona man though, uncharacteristically headed the ball away from goal.
The big names will have to fire for Argentina if they are to win their first major tournament in more than two decades.
