World Cup 2018: 5 reasons why Lionel Messi has been average for Argentina 

#1 Sampaoli

Sampaoli failed

When Jorge Sampaoli took over the reins of the Argentina national team, many hoped that he would be able to replicate what he did with Chile. The Chileans won back-to-back Copa Americas – beating Argentina in the finals both the times – and it was with the Argentine at the helm.

Sampaoli is an innovative manager who is known to create well-drilled teams that are super fast on the counter while being able to absorb the pressure provided by the opponents.

At Argentina, however, instead of making a team, he tried to make a unit that solely worked on getting the best out of Lionel Messi. Admirable as it may sound, Argentina simply don’t have the players that could make this possible.

As a result, all he managed to do was make a lopsided team bereft of any tactical balance and cohesion. This is the worst Argentina have played in this decade, so much that Messi had to seize control from the coach.

The result? They won against Nigeria to qualify for the next round with Lionel Messi playing his best game at the World Cup.