If Veron had played, a 4-2-1-3 formation would have been used this more balanced formation would have been more suited to their preferred style of using short passes.

Mascherano may have been better off playing the long-ball game, but dropping di Maria or Rodriguez for the experienced Juan Sebastian Veron would have worked better. Lionel Messi frustratingly got into deeper positions to help support attacks from these positions, while Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain found themselves isolated for substantial periods.Īs Mascherano was outnumbered in central midfield by Germany’s 4-2-1-3 formation, he was unable to break play to one of Argentina’s key attackers and was largely reduced to casually passing the ball with the Argentine defence.

Tactician Joachim Loew masterminded an outstanding performance from the Germans, that left the opposition with little idea on how to best utilise their attacking talents.Īrgentina were one-dimensional, with no ideasĪ big problem with Argentina’s unusually below-par performance was their 4-1-2-3 formation, which ended up creating a massive gap in the central areas in midfield and attack.īecause Angel di Maria and Maxi Rodriguez largely stuck to attacking on the flanks, there was not enough Argentine players surrounding captain Javier Mascherano in the middle of the park. A brace from Miroslav Klose ensured that a highly impressive Germany steam-rolled past Diego Maradona’s faltering Argentina, with an excellent 4-0 victory in Saturday’s 2010 World Cup quarter-final tie at the Green Point Stadium.

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