Argentina should be going to Russia as one of the favourites to lift the Jules Rimet trophy.
They’ve got an embarrassment of attacking riches with strikers from a selection of Europe’s top clubs playing in the form of their lives to choose from.
Oh yeah and some bloke called Lionel Messi is supposed to be pretty good.
Argentina’s problems mainly occur around fitting all their best players into one formation which also allows Messi to play at his mesmerising best.
That and the fact the national hero and former manager Diego Maradona keeps firing off soundbites that are bound to cause disruption among the squad.
Yes, Maradona did lead La Albiceleste to World Cup glory in 1986 but the former manager’s words really can’t be helping the team.
Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi is the second top scorer in Serie A this season with 18 goals, two behind Lazio’s Ciro Immobile, but Maradona claims the striker shouldn’t be anywhere near the Argentina squad.
Instead it should be Gonzalo Higuain, who’s scored 14 league goals for Juventus this term, leading the line as Argentina play Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria in the group stages.
“Higuain deserves a chance, no doubt. The problem is that [Sampaoli] is a liar. He is hiding things. He is the first one that should be saying the truth,” Argentina’s former manager told TNT Sports LA.
“For example, he does not have a number nine that can score on his list, even though he can continue calling up that embarrassment (Icardi).
“Higuain is ten times better than Icardi, [Icardi] doesn’t know anything. what he does know is to go to his friend’s house and ‘eat out’.
“[Icardi] knows how to (have sex with his friends wife). He does that very well. He can find his friends house easily, He doesn’t need a GPS for that. That’s why Higuain has to have another chance.”
Maradona is referring to Icardi meeting his wife Wanda Nara while she was in a relationship with his former team mate Maxi Lopez.
On current form it is difficult to imagine an Argentina side without Icardi up front seeing as he has been one of the standout players in Serie A this season.
Yes, Higuain may offer a different type of threat to the Inter front man but the 24-year old could be the key to the side going one step further than reaching the final at the World Cup 2018.
Imagine if England could call on players like Sergio Aguero, Higuain, Icardi, Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi and Paulo Dybala in attack.
We would be working out where exactly we should exhibit the World Cup trophy when we bring it back from Russia.
You can’t imagine Gary Lineker making comments like this, can you?
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