Jorge Sampaoli has inadvertently revealed Argentina’s tactical work ahead of Nigeria clash
Jorge Sampaoli has inadvertently revealed Argentina’s tactical work
on the training ground ahead of their critical World Cup showdown with
Nigeria next week.
Just days after England assistant Steve Holland seemingly leaked
their lineup for Sunday’s clash with Panama, the South American side
almost followed suit.
Sampaoli’s scribbles show two seven-a-side teams lining up against each other in training
But instead of revealing the XI for the must-win clash in Saint
Petersburg on Tuesday, Sampaoli’s notebook shows detailed plans from
their training camp.
The scribbles on the notebook show two seven-a-side teams lining up
against each other in a knockabout in training, with two players,
including Lionel Messi, seemingly on substitute rotation.
Leak comes just days after the England team for Panama was seemingly inadvertently revealed
Argentine daily sports magazine Ole also published the pictures,
which give a possible indication as to Sampaoli’s plans for the
do-or-die clash with Nigeria.
Having taken just one point from their opening two games, the South
American side were on the brink of elimination after a 3-0 loss to
Croatia.
Nigeria’s win over Iceland on Friday has given them a lifeline,
however. If they can beat the African outfit and Croatia avoid defeat by
Iceland, Sampaoli’s side will make it through to the last-16.
Sampaoli’s side must beat Nigeria in their final group game if they are to make the last-16
This incident comes in the wake of the fallout following England’s
leaked ‘lineup’ for their second Group G match with Panama on Sunday.
Gareth Southgate’s assistant Holland was pictured at an open training session carrying what appeared to be the starting XI.
Holland apologised to the players for his mistake before training on Friday.
Lionel Messi and Co looked unaffected by their poor form so far at the tournament in training
During a training session in Repino on Thursday, which
photographers and reporters were permitted to attend, the assistant
coach — who is normally the driving force behind trying to keep
England’s team a secret — was photographed with a notepad that appeared
to detail the line-up.
But despite his assistant’s blunder, Southgate has rebuked sections of the media for publishing the photographs.
‘Obviously any time, if we were to give the opposition the
opportunity of having our team it’s a disadvantage to us. So of course
our media has to decide if they want to help the team or not,’ he said.
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Source: Daily Mail UK