WC 2018: What went wrong for Argentina at the 2018 World Cup?

#3 - Messi's position

Messi is undoubtedly Argentina's most important player and therefore, his role is crucial in their success. But, as I have mentioned before, Messi has not been playing in his preferred right-wing position. In fact, in the 4 matches he has played in the World Cup, he has only once been given the right-wing position. In the rest of the matches he twice played behind the main striker and in their Round of 16 match against France, he played as a False 9.

Messi once again couldn't inspire Argentina to glory

Due to the lack of quality on the field for Argentina, even more pressure was on Messi to not just create chances, but to score them too. Playing in an unfamiliar position in the World Cup and expected to do well is a bit too much, even for Messi.

Sampaoli is the main person to blame for Argentina's exit for he kept creating tactics that rely on only one player. This not only made it stressful for Messi but also very predictable. The main problem for Argentina was that they kept relying on Messi to have a good game instead of the whole team having a good game. Argentina deserved to go out but Messi certainly deserved better.