The Argentine camp is at breaking point with there being reports of the players wanting Sampaoli sacked after grabbing one point from the possible six from their two games so far and needing a comprehensive win against Nigeria to qualify from the group.
Argentina played out a disappointing 1-1 draw with Iceland, missing a penalty in the process, before receiving the shocker of their lives when they were walloped 3-0 by Croatia.
It is believed that Sampaoli will be in the dugout for the final group game against Nigeria, but his future after that looks murky as early meetings on Friday put Sampaoli’s position in danger.
The reports coming out from Argentina claim that the players had gathered in a room at their base camp and asked that Sampaoli not coach the final game of the group stage. According to a report from TyC Sports, the national team’s current general manager, Jorge Burruchaga, could take control of the team.
But Buruchaga, aware of the reports, according to Argentine journalist Martin Arevalo, considered them unfounded:
Recall that when told by a journalist that Sampaoli blamed the players for the Croatia defeat claiming that they did not play to his instructions, Sergio Aguero said “He can say what he wants” before storming out of the interview.
Nerves are frayed and it could get worse if Argentina fail to qualify from their group which will be the first time since 2002 that they failed to do so.
Leave a Reply