Copa America 2019: Qatar 0-2 Argentina

Having failed to pick up maximum points in their opening two matches at the ongoing Copa America, Argentina found themselves heading into their final group game against Qatar staring elimination in the face.

Anything other than a victory would have seen Lionel Scaloni and his players pack up their bags and leave (which would have marked the first time Argentina suffered a first-round elimination from the Copa America) and had that happened, there are not many who would have missed them.

However, Argentina did just enough to sneak through, defeating the surprise Asian champions 2-0 to move into second place and book a clash with Venezuela in the next round (thus avoiding hosts and favorites Brazil). In this piece, we shall be highlighting three talking points from the Group B clash.

Also see : Womens World Cup Bracket, Gold Cup Standings, Copa America Standings.

#3 Despite the victory, Argentina were still underwhelming

Despite their victory, Argentina underwhelmed

A repeated criticism of the Argentine national team in the last few years is how lethargic and disjointed their play has been and so far, their performances in the Copa America have been the perfect example of this.

In the games against Colombia and Paraguay, the 14-time Copa America winners failed to pull their weight and despite getting the victory against Qatar, there were still signs of the problems which have plagued them over the years.

There was a lack of fluidity and rhythm in their play, with Lautaro Martinez being the only vibrant attacker on the night, while their defensive line showed plenty signs of nervousness and uncertainty which would have seen a more technical team with better quality players take advantage.

The victory over Qatar guarantees that Argentina's Copa America journey would continue for at least four more days, but beyond that, there are no promises from this team of disjointed performers and if their quest for a first major trophy in 28 years is to be successful, the players must step up their game massively.

#2 Lionel Messi still to hit top gear

Messi is yet to hit top gear at Copa America Brazil 2019

While Argentine fans are no strangers to seeing the bulk of their players underwhelm on the big stages, one player who perhaps has not been too guilty of this is Lionel Messi.

With his status as an all-time great guaranteed, it serves as a no-brainer that the 31-year-old is the talisman upon which Argentina's hopes lie, as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is more than capable of deciding the outcome of matches in an instant and his extraterrestrial abilities have come to the aid of his nation on countless occasions.

However, the last few years have not really been the best of times for Messi in an Argentine shirt, as the Barcelona number 10 suffered the ignominy of losing three consecutive finals and had to be called out of retirement post the 2016 Copa America defeat.

Elimination at the round-of-16 stage at the last World Cup saw Messi take an extended leave from national duties and having come back to the fold just in time for the Copa America, it was expected that he would be the one to lead his country's charge.

However, three games into the tournament and Messi is yet to truly spark into life. He has not created a single chance after his first two matches, while his only goal in three group stage matches came from the penalty spot to salvage a 1-1 draw with Paraguay on matchday 2.

In the match against Qatar, the most glaring miss from Lionel Messi came in the 74th minute when he received the ball in a good position off a wonderful pass from Marcos Acuna and everyone around the world would have been forgiven for thinking Argentina had gone 2-0 up, for the Rosario native had buried chances much more difficult than that on multiple occasions in his career.

However, in shocking scenes, Messi drew the ball far, high and wide and that is perhaps indicative of the state of mind he is in, as a prime Messi would have scored that goal with his eyes closed.

Lionel Messi remains Argentina's driving force and even though they managed to get out of the group stage without him hitting top gear, if they are to progress even further, they would need Messi to get into his mojo quick.

#1 Lautaro Martinez making a strong case to be Argentina's starting center-forward

Lautaro Martinez could be the next big thing in attack for Argentina

Over the last decade, there has perhaps been no country which has been as blessed in the striking department as Argentina.

The South American giants could call upon the services of multiple world-class center-forwards who plied their trade in the biggest leagues in Europe including Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, and Diego Milito.

However, more often than not, these players failed to pull their weight on the big stages, leaving the bulk of the goalscoring work to fall on the boots of Lionel Messi.

Of the aforementioned players, all have departed the international scene except Sergio Aguero and the 31-year-old was given the nod to start Argentina's first group match against Colombia.

The Manchester City man however flattered to deceive and was consequently dropped to the bench in favor of Inter Milan youngster Lautaro Martinez.

Despite only coming into the Argentina fold last year, the 21-year-old has settled in nicely and has scored five goals from his first nine matches for Los Albiceleste.

It was his industrialism that helped win the penalty in the match against Paraguay, while he went one further by opening the scoring in the 4th minute against Qatar to help ease early jitters from Argentina.

There has been a lot of furor over the continued exclusion of Mauro Icardi from the Argentine setup, but it is pertinent to note that even on the occasions where the 25-year-old has been given chances, he has failed to take them.

However, having taken his starting shirt at club level, Lautaro Martinez could well displace Icardi in the national team and displays with Argentina shows that he and not his Inter teammate potentially has what it takes to lead the attack for Argentina for the next decade.