Copa América 2019 Tactical Analysis: Qatar vs Argentina

After another slow start in the major tournament, Argentina came into the final group game of the 2019 Copa America under an enormous amount of pressure. A loss against Colombia and a fortunate draw against Paraguay has left Lionel Scaloni’s team on the brink of elimination.

In contrast, La Abiceleste’s opponent Qatar arrived at Porto Alegre after two impressive displays against Paraguay and Colombia. The 2022 World Cup hosts were still in contention to qualify for the next round and pull one of the biggest upsets in world football by eliminating Lionel Messi’s side.

This was only the second meeting between the two sides. In 2005, Argentina proved to be the stronger of the two by beating Qatar 3-0 in a friendly.

With Manchester Citys Sergio Agüero back in the starting eleven and firing, the 14 times Copa America champions displayed the best performance of the tournament so far and secured their place in the last eight. This tactical analysis will give you an insight into Argentina’s 2-0 victory.

Line-ups

As it has been the case so far in the tournament, Argentina’s boss Lionel Scaloni made a bunch of changes with regards to the starting line-up for this crucial game. He chose a 4-3-3 formation instead of 4-4-2 that was used in the first two games. Franco Armani remained in goal for the third game running, whereas German Pezzella was dropped for Tottenham’s Juan Foyth who partnered Nicolas Otamendi at the heart of the defence.

Renzo Saravia started at right-back in place of Milton Casco while Nicolas Tagliafico kept his place at left-back. A midfield trio consisted of Rodrigo de Paul, Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso and Leandro Paredes who acted as a single pivot. The front three of Lautaro Martinez, Lionel Messi and a returning Sergio Agüero possessed Argentina’s biggest goal threat.

On the contrary, Qatar’s head coach Felix Sanchez stayed to his principles after a loss against Colombia and fielded a 3-5-2 formation. Saad Al Sheeb started between the sticks and was protected by Bassam Alrawi, Boualem Khoukhi and Salem Al Hajri who formed a back three. Wing-backs Pedro Miguel and Tarek Salman were the only wide players in Qatar’s side. Abdelaziz Hatem, Karim Boudiaf and team’s captain Hasan Al Haydos comprised a midfield unit. Akram Afif and Almoez Ali were the two strikers up front.

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