What Is Wrong With Argentina?

News flash: Barring some kind of footballing cataclysm, Argentina will be at the 2018 World Cup. It’s true that if qualification ended right now, then La Albiceleste would be watching the tournament on TV for the first time since 1970. But it doesn’t.

They may be sixth at present, but they are two points away from third place, and there are seven rounds to go. That said, there aren’t too many “gimmes” left in their schedule, whether at home — Colombia visit Tuesday, with Chile up after that — or on the road — among other not-so-fun trips, they still must go to Ecuador and Uruguay.

CONMEBOL qualifying may be the toughest and most gruelling of all, but the format, like a giant video game, gives you plenty of “lives”. Argentina have used up several already, the most recent of which came in their 3-0 defeat to Brazil.

Blame fell largely on the defending — Pablo Zabeleta, Emmanuel Mas and Javier Mascherano drew most of the criticism — but the issues run deeper. There is no shame in losing in Brazil but the meltdown at the back was uncharacteristic.

Meanwhile, going forward, the age-old issue arose, whereby Lionel Messi plus Gonzalo Higuain plus (in the second half) Sergio Aguero, add up to far less than the sum of their parts.

The good news is that 2018 is a long way away and as Argentina often do, they’ll likely get it together by the time the World Cup rolls around. You just wish it wasn’t so darn nerve-wracking.

As for Brazil, while some suggested the resounding 3-0 victory at the Estadio Mineirao went some way towards helping to hear the scars of the Mineirazo — their 7-1 defeat to Germany in the World Cup semifinal two years ago — you imagine it’s going to take a lot more than that.

But Tite has the Selecao on a roll. He’s not picking players on reputation, but rather on what he thinks guys can contribute. Nor is he discriminating against those who chose to chase big money in China, as evidenced by the presence of Paulinho and Renato Augusto.

Brazil have a nice blend of experience and youth at present. The back four is top-notch, the midfield solid and what really gets you excited is the front three: In Gabriel Jesus and Philippe Coutinho, Neymar finally has guys to take the pressure off him.

Again, it’s way too early to get overly excited. But there seems to be a lot of goodwill towards Tite — not that it takes much relative to the Dunga era — and plenty of talent to work with.