Tied 1-1 against Nigeria in the 80th minute and desperately needing a goal to get through to the knockout rounds, Jorge Sampaoli sought Messi’s approval in subbing on Sergio Aguero. The decision to put on a striker with 38 goals in 88 international matches for Argentina seemed obvious, but Sampaoli’s indecision over a simple idea symbolized the lack of confidence running throughout the locker room since their 3-0 loss against Croatia last Thursday. While Joachim Low was criticized for his disjointed lineup as Germany chased the equalizer against Mexico earlier, Argentina ended the match with two center backs, a right back, a right winger, three center midfielders and three strikers once Aguero came on. Despite their attacking talent, it was two defenders - Gabriel Mercado and Marcos Rojo - connecting for Argentina’s decisive goal.  

Sampaoli quickly left the field as the players celebrated. The joyful release was a contrast to Messi’s agonized face before Argentina’s match against Croatia that foretold the next 90 minutes to come. Sampaoli replaced veterans Angel Di Maria, Ever Banega and Rojo for Eduardo Salvio, Maxi Meza and Marcos Acuna. The humiliating result led to a rumored mutiny over team control. Against Nigeria, Sampaoli went back to the tried and true basics in reinstalling his stalwarts with a lineup averaging over 30 years old. Sampaoli was a race car driver forced to obey the 25-mile-per hour speed limit.

Those vast changes of generation and style are what Sampaoli was supposedly brought into the Argentine fold to accomplish. He made his name integrating new, exciting midfielders into Chile and Sevilla’s lineup to achieve physically demanding play. Instead, there were only tears at the end of the Croatia match. Sampaoli admitted his side were “emotionally broken”. Diego Simeone described the side as “an anarchy” that had lost her way. In response to the rumors, Javier Mascherano stated that the veterans simply asked their manager to change from his preferred three man backline to a traditional four defender backline to improve their passing angles to Messi - the normal dialogue between player and coach. Sampaoli agreed and changed his formation, saying that Messi will “receive the ball a lot more” against Nigeria and further into the tournament. Crisis averted, until their matchup against France.

While Sampaoli was signed to manage Argentina through 2022 where he could spend years molding his vision, it looked for a moment that he wouldn’t last the weekend. And regardless whether he makes it for another four years, the attention and controversy surrounding the group stages foreshadowed the volatility that comes with the national team position where perceptions are shaped by the thread of last minute goals that either are scored or missed. We examined how pressing has remained the dominant style since Germany and Argentina met in the 2014 World Cup final. The previous two finalists desperately scrambled to find their goal to advance past the group stages, and Rojo connected on his opportunity while Mats Hummels’ header bounced off his shoulder. Each side kept their core from four years earlier, yet were grasping late in their final matches to reach the knockout round. Perhaps there is a stylistic movement beyond pressing that underlines the international game. 

Even with Argentina moving on to a round of 16 matchup against France, there is still the larger issue of an aging player pool for Sampaoli or any future manager to choose from. After the fallout from the Croatia loss, Jorge Valdano called for no less than a Germany or Belgium-esque generational revolution from the grassroots levels for Argentine soccer. Valdano writes that in their overconfidence and arrogance, his country lost the imagination in “developing and celebrating players who were different.” But that was all before Rojo’s goal. Afterwards, the triumph focused on the compromise between Sampaolismo and Messismo. And Argentina march forward with Messi the focal point - for better or worse.