Argentina tops group stage, turns focus to knockout

Argentina focus – Argentina ended the 2022 World Cup group stage with three straight wins, including Lionel Messi scoring in all three matches and a 3-1 victory over Jordan on June 27. Even with regulars resting for much of the game, the team is already shifting from celebratio

ARLINGTON, Texas — For Argentina, the group stage wasn’t just successful. It was the kind of clean, controllable run the team hoped for when the knockout phase was still waiting in the distance.

Three matches, three victories. The 2022 World Cup champions finished the first portion of the tournament with nine points. led again by Lionel Messi. who scored in all three group games. On Saturday. June 27. Argentina added a convincing 3-1 win over Jordan. even with Messi and other regulars resting for most of the match before coming on as substitutes.

Center back Nicolas Otamendi made it clear the mood after the win wasn’t about basking in a perfect start. “We prepared for this. I think the team was hoping for this in a healthy way,” he said. Otamendi also emphasized how well the lineup that entered during the match had connected with the team’s system. “The players who came in understood each other well. They know the responsibility it is to put on this jersey in a competition like this. I’m really happy, as is the group, because everyone is taking advantage of their chances, making the manager think. The World Cup is long, but we started well.”.

Behind the confidence, there was also an edge of frustration. Several players pointed to defending issues during the Jordan game. specifically the fact that Argentina conceded goals rather than keeping three clean sheets. The message from within the squad was simple: enjoy the results. but tighten the details before the do-or-die portion of the tournament begins.

Midfielder Leandro Paredes described the group phase as more than just competent. “Our first goal was to get through, and we did that really well,” he said. “But the group phase was ‘spectacular.’” Still. the tone shifts the moment the calendar turns: with the group stage completed. there is no more room for comfort.

Now another World Cup begins. The knockout stage arrives with its own kind of pressure—one match at a time, where the margin for error shrinks fast.

Argentina’s do-or-die path. as mapped out by the tournament structure mentioned in the matchup projection. is relatively straightforward through the early rounds—starting with a round of 32 match against shock qualifier Cape Verde—followed by a round of 16 contest with the winner of the Australia-Egypt match.

Lionel Scaloni, the team’s manager, resisted any temptation to look ahead or get carried away by the early dominance. “There’s nothing to get confused about. We have to go forward, keep playing, keep giving our best,” he said.

When asked to grade the squad’s performance on a 1-to-10 scale, Scaloni didn’t try to pin down a number. “A rating from 1-10? I have no idea what to say. I’ve never given a rating. But we can say that we’re good. Now, another stage of the World Cup starts.”

The schedule also reinforced that shift from celebration to preparation. The team returned to its base camp in Kansas City in the early hours of Sunday morning, leaving Dallas Stadium after midnight. They enjoyed a day off Sunday.

Training resumes Monday, June 29. The plan then moves the team toward Miami for the next critical step: the July 3 round of 32 match.

Argentina Lionel Messi Nicolas Otamendi Leandro Paredes World Cup 2022 Jordan Cape Verde Australia-Egypt Lionel Scaloni round of 32