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00:00immediately be a massive round of 32 game
00:06well let's take it even further anything since we're going to play that game
00:10don't we like to at this time of year yes um let's say that they finish first in their group
00:16as we expect argentina to do and assuming that spain's group goes the way that we expected to go
00:23and uruguay would finish second in that group which then would mean that argentina would play
00:28against uruguay and that would be a competitive match and a tough match for argentina but let's
00:33assume that they get past uruguay there's a potential that if the united states finish
00:39second in their group the round of 16 match would be u.s good old us of a against this
00:48argentina team
00:52yeah i'll sign up for that ellie
00:56i'm sure you will i'm sure that potatino will but
01:00well what a night that would be for him by the way yes yes it would
01:20that's your handerson trying to open things up in the middle
01:25still enjoying a brief period of position here
01:34argentina just sitting back for a few moments long ball over the top
01:39nice idea execution not quite there and that really has it
01:45i was about to say that it's a possession that wasn't going really anywhere and eventually they
01:50try to go for the ball over the top and a ball a straight ball down the middle of 40
01:54yards
01:55really difficult to complete that sort of pass
01:59still one nothing argentina but the pace of the game and i'm going to blame it on the cooling break
02:03adrian the pace of the game has dropped off
02:07argentina and their ability or willingness to go press the ball higher the field has also dropped off and
02:12yeah let's get excited your name message yeah
02:17you sure it's not enzo fernandez that the cherry no nor is it christian romero either
02:31is lissandro martinez just united man at the back of an injury wrecked campaign but is fit at the right
02:41time here's an opportunity for simeon and the shot in the end right at olafson
02:50really didn't he on saturday yeah we really haven't talked enough about guviano simone in
02:55this game and it's because well he hasn't really participated all that much
02:58change the side comes from the right hand side but we have seen him with atletico madrid how dangerous
03:03he can be when he makes those runs from outside to end and in behind
03:09that's the way that he scored against honduras and a nice little layoff from lautaro martin and it's
03:13also the way that he got pao cubarsi thrown out in champions league yeah and playing against
03:19barcelona when he makes those runs from outside to in and gets him behind and times it well he's
03:25really dangerous and always active always a willing one well you and i like ali get to see plenty of
03:32atletico madrid and uh times this past season simian it was perhaps the most dangerous attacking
03:39threat at times and that's in a team with julian alvarez in it
03:47and assuming of course that lionel mess is on the field oh good lord yeah cheap giveaway can argentina
03:55exploit it nice ball over the top good goalkeeping there by olivson needed to be
04:01nice uh nico pass got on the end of this how many of these turnovers have we seen from iceland
04:09that's good ball in behind from valentine barco nico pass willing runner and olivson makes this save
04:17squarely with his nose
04:21takes it off the face makes himself it makes a save good run from nico pass he thinks he's
04:28scored by good save from olivson
04:32important part of any goalkeeper's armory
04:39barco
04:54i'm sure you're going to ask me agent i have no idea what just happened nope
05:09that's right
05:10yeah
05:12sequence but maybe but i didn't see the system with three with a flag race
05:16right
05:18right
05:26so argentina all to the good thanks to that man
05:29and team barco puts in another rambunctious challenge shall we say and now he's going to be booked
05:37it's a side note wasn't it not a bigger uniform for the referee today he's wearing this medium
05:46but i didn't think barco once again late he was laid on the two-footed challenge earlier on it comes
05:50again with the out of control flyby sort of challenge
05:58the serving of a yellow car
06:07a few minutes of the first half here at the home of the tigers
06:14so much college football history in this building
06:18for the first time ever an international friendly
06:23a few people who've journeyed here from far and wide
06:30released a statistic saying more than a third of the attendance tonight from people who've never
06:35been to an event in the stadium before
06:43and i'm sure for both sets of players they have been training the facilities of auburn university
06:50they're probably thinking to themselves
06:53all the shots all along the ground
07:01and johannesson
07:02yes good set of play from iceland nice little layup hits it well by straight ahead on him a rudy
07:09point to be made is most of his players are probably asking wait a minute these are the facilities of
07:14a
07:15university they're saying yeah this is college yeah
07:20i think that sometimes it's taken for granted in this country
07:26yeah now oscarsson seemed very little of him and that
07:31waste that opportunity with a heavy touch
07:34the college athletic setup in this country is totally different than anywhere else
07:41in the world it just doesn't exist to the level that it does here in the united states
07:51nor is the sort of money involved in college athletics anywhere else around the world like
07:57there is here
07:58in this country
08:0288 000 at the stadium still only the 11th largest on campus stadium in this country
08:37by far the biggest stadium in the most
08:39it's kind of ebbed away isn't it over the last 10 15 minutes it was as though argentina were happy
08:43just to
08:45ease their way towards a half-time break iceland have a little more of the ball
08:50as he pointed out exactly done too much with it yet and that trend continues
09:02we are watching the road to 26 with us here on espn presented by turkish airlines
09:09a lot of the games over the weekend i hope you were able to enjoy some of those
09:18the games over the weekend i hope you're going to be able to enjoy some of those games
09:20brazil in action argentina
09:25norenco-norway game
09:33magnus incomes late flaco lopez once again with a nice little touch gets around the defender by the
09:39time defender gets there ball is already gone clearly a foul
09:58Martinez to otomendi
10:01Martinez to otomendi
10:15for Argentina, finished nine points clear on the top of common ball after that marathon
10:23three-year process.
10:28And that was the first ever World Cup qualifying win in Brazil, and had never done it before.
10:43And I think what those of us that have gone through the qualifying process in common ball and now how
10:50difficult it is,
10:51what is to be admired from Argentina in this particular qualification cycle,
10:55is the fact that they were so consistent with their level of performance.
10:59And while everybody else was scrambling to get results, they seemed to get three points at a time,
11:05and it created this sort of separation that then allowed them to cruise and qualify towards the end.
11:11Everybody else was scrambling. Argentina had been qualified for months already.
11:17It was never in doubt, but they certainly took any doubt away very early on.
11:22Yeah.
11:25The first teams to pencil their names in for World Cup 2026.
11:30Here they are trying to put a couple on their first-half display.
11:35The pass has been driven a little wide, ultimately.
11:40It was just in the promise much, and delivered very little there for Argentina.
11:43That should just about do it for this first-half, and indeed the half-time whistle sounds.
11:51I don't know if it's a 45 minutes you can easily sum up, Ali, but Argentina lead by a goal
11:55to nil,
11:55thanks to Valentin Barco.
11:58Yeah.
11:59First 22, 23 minutes from Argentina, very good, very active, engaged.
12:04The last 22, 23 minutes, forgettable from both teams.
12:09So, plenty to tuck into for our boys in the ESPN FC studio at half-time.
12:14That would be Dan Thomas and Stuart Robson, Argentina, leading by a goal to nil.
12:25Alabama staging its first-ever major international friendly, and the crowd have come out in force and are making the
12:33most of it.
12:42And, uh, one-nil up against Iceland here tonight so far.
12:49Adrian Healy with Alejandro Moreno alongside, and now, uh, most of the, uh, the people here will be wondering what
12:56they're gonna see in the second half, and what particular personnel they may be seeing in the second half, Alec.
13:01I can tell you that I've done my homework, and I believe I saw Enzo Fernandez giving the, uh, the
13:09old five-yard sprints, ten-yard sprints that are an automatic sign that he's gonna be coming onto the field.
13:16As for everybody else, they're just holding jerseys with their hands.
13:19So, they're not quite ready to go just yet.
13:22And, more importantly, I'm sure that people are talking and thinking about, you know, how much time he's gonna get
13:29today.
13:32Their guess is as good as mine.
13:34Yeah.
13:35It...
13:36I would assume much like what Stewie was talking about in the studio, 15, 20 minutes.
13:42A nominal appearance just to kind of get some touches in the ball, but not much more than that.
13:47But we await.
13:50More importantly, Argentina as a country awaits to see exactly what is it that Lionel Messi's ready to give this
13:57team right about now.
13:59Yeah.
14:00But as you, uh, just pointed out, it looks like Enzo Fernandez is gonna get the, uh, the nod.
14:08Rodrigo DePaul is as well, Cristian Romero, Alexis McAllister.
14:12All right.
14:14We got a lot of changes, Adrian.
14:16Yep.
14:17Maybe saw Barco who really caught the eye in the first half, looking like he's not gonna continue.
14:27Iceland, uh, making their way back out, uh, as I mentioned.
14:31Yeah, we'll be watching from the sidelines.
14:36In this World Cup after their one appearance in 2018.
14:39It's the man that could have, uh, given them a shock lead early on.
14:43Mikhail Ellertsen.
14:55I've actually been told about one switch for Iceland.
15:03We'll try and confirm that for you in, uh, in just a moment.
15:06It looks like there's gonna be several for the Argentines.
15:12In fact, a little warmup routine going on.
15:15I'm telling you, if you're making this sort of sprint, it's a telltale sign.
15:21It's like somebody holding the back of their legs.
15:23You know, they've done their hamstring.
15:24When you're doing this sort of stuff, it's because you're going on the field.
15:38So, Lautaro's on.
15:42Or is Emmanuel Lopez.
15:44Yeah.
15:45That's the Icelandics which we're looking at there, which is Christian Madsen who's come on.
16:02And so Fernandez and Rodrigo de Pola are in.
16:06Barco and Los Celso are off.
16:13And underway at the start of the second half.
16:18And for Argentina now going from, uh, left to right.
16:28This is the road to 26, brought to you by, uh, Turkish Airlines and, uh, confirmation of the, the switches
16:34now for Argentina.
16:36Barco.
16:37Impressive first half making way for Rodrigo de Pola.
16:44Enzo Fernandez on for Giovanni Los Celso.
16:53I believe Leandro Paredes is also on the field.
17:01Alexis, uh, McAllister is on for Palacios.
17:05Switch in the center of the park.
17:08Never mind.
17:08Not Leandro Paredes.
17:09Alexis McAllister.
17:10You're correct, Adrian.
17:14And now Tauro Martinez.
17:17They'll get the second half here.
17:20In place of Jose Lopez.
17:25Giuliano Simeone still very much out there.
17:33Martinez, who, uh, scored the opener for Argentina on Saturday.
17:38And their win against Honduras, scored from the penalty spot.
17:41Giuliano Simeone got the second.
17:43And the second half of the bench.
17:45And that 2-0 win.
17:47And as I mentioned on Saturday, it could be a big World Cup for Lautaro Martinez.
17:55Now, let's not forget that going back four years to the World Cup win in Qatar, he started against Saudi
18:03Arabia.
18:04That didn't play well, was nursing an ankle injury, didn't have the best World Cup, ended up scoring a big
18:09penalty kick in the penalty kick shootout against the Netherlands.
18:13And was seconds away from actually scoring the game winner, potentially game winner against France in the World Cup in
18:22the extra time period.
18:26This is an opportunity now for Lautaro Martinez, because we don't know what the status of Julian Alvarez is.
18:31And so you feel if the attack of Argentina is going to thrive, and if Julian Alvarez is not at
18:39his best, then it has to be Lautaro Martinez who is that guy leading the line.
18:43Leading the front line for Argentina alongside with Lionel Messi.
18:47Yeah.
18:48And behind Messi, he's the second highest goalscorer for Argentina in the Lionel Scaloni era.
18:56Which now dates back to early 2019.
19:01I guess we're yelling and screaming because Lionel Messi got off his backside and is actually doing some sort of
19:07warming.
19:11I suspect your powers of deduction are spot on as always, Mr. Marino.
19:19There's Paz trying to launch another attack for Argentina.
19:24Simeone back inside to Nico Paz.
19:33And we go to Paul.
19:37And we go to Madrid man, of course, who's now with Lionel Messi in South Florida playing for Inter Miami.
19:55And there it is.
20:05There it is.
20:06As you mentioned, Rodrigo, the Paul, Adrian.
20:15I was talking about this during the match against Honduras, that they are going to need him to pick up
20:22his level of play.
20:24Hasn't been playing all that well with Inter Miami early on in the season.
20:28In fact, I would argue that he has been very underwhelming in the early part of the season, Major League
20:33Soccer.
20:34Maybe he was saving himself for the World Cup,
20:36but they need him to be at his best
20:39if indeed Argentina is going to be successful.
20:42Not only in the role of sort of protecting Lionel Messi,
20:45but in the role of actually winning possession higher up the field,
20:50distributing play, and providing this team with that energy
20:54and that intensity and that bite that you need in the midfield.
20:57If you're going to have Lionel Messi walking around the field,
21:00you're going to need guys like Rodrigo De Paul to be at their best
21:03to see more than we gain possession of the ball.
21:04Yeah.
21:06And here's another now, the wrong side of 30, 32, De Paul.
21:12Of the 86 appearances in his national team.
21:26We talked about how difficult it is historically
21:29for World Cup holders to then repeat
21:32and how infrequently it's happened.
21:34It's actually been the opposite that's been more common of late.
21:38Three of the last four World Cup winners have gone out
21:41in the group stage of the following tournament.
21:44If you think of Italy in 2010 in South Africa,
21:47Spain in 2014 in Brazil,
21:50and then Germany in 2018 in Russia because France bucked that trend last time out,
21:56then with the holders and they got all the way back to the final.
22:04And then as we project what this Argentina team is going to look like in the World Cup,
22:09let's think about the players that are no longer here,
22:12but most of them seem to be having recalled by Lionel Scaloni.
22:18The absence of a guy like Ángel Di Maria.
22:20And how much are they going to miss him
22:24and his ability to stretch back lines
22:27because he's always willing to run him behind.
22:31Who's that player that is going to give you that dimension?
22:34Maybe, perhaps, Jimeno Simeone.
22:35And maybe if Nico González is healthy,
22:38perhaps he gives you that,
22:39but not quite at the level of Ángel Di Maria.
22:41They'll miss him in this World Cup.
22:43Yeah.
22:44He's the one big name that has gone.
22:49He's only retired from national team duty.
23:03It's amazing now, Ali,
23:05to think back at some of the reaction and the derision
23:09directed at Lionel Scaloni
23:11when he was handed the reins at the Argentina national team back in 2019.
23:18What a run it's been.
23:20He started with third place at Copa America in 2019,
23:23then won it for the next two editions.
23:26Here is his team on the prowl again, looking for a second.
23:32Missed work by Simeone to tee it up.
23:34Is there an end product?
23:35Enzo Fernandes trying to provide one,
23:37but Olafsson narrowing down the angle
23:41and Iceland able to breathe again.
23:44And I don't mind the decision from Giuliano Simeone.
23:47It's good balling behind from Rodrigo de Port,
23:48but swing the ball in.
23:50And squeeze it to where you can find the center forward.
23:53In this case, Lautaro Martinez,
23:55although his movement wasn't the best inside 18-yard box,
23:58he's putting his hands down like, give it to my feet.
24:00But if you move,
24:01you can actually find a tapping at the back post.
24:04But Lautaro Martinez was just coming towards the ball,
24:06and eventually, once the ball got to Enzo Fernandes,
24:09they run out of space.
24:10Ice unable to create a clear advantage.
24:26Not being shy about what they want to see.
24:29So I was about to say that Giuliano Simeone should have just delivered that ball into the space
24:36for the run of Lautaro Martinez.
24:40But there was no run from Lautaro Martinez.
24:43Yeah.
24:44And at that point,
24:45that's why Giuliano Simeone sort of cuts the ball in behind,
24:49and he's kind of waiting for movement to come from Enzo Fernandes or Alexis McAllister.
24:54And when Lautaro was demanding the ball,
24:56if I were Giuliano Simeone,
24:57I would demand movement from Lautaro.
25:01Corner kicks in our game being brought to you by Enterprise.
25:11There's the Iceland corner whipped in.
25:15Nice delivery, and it was just touched behind.
25:17It'll be take two for the opposite corner.
25:24Some work for Geronimo Rulli to do.
25:36It's Albert Gudmundsson, the man who plays in Italy with Fiorentina, to take this.
25:42And again, just touched on.
25:47Fiorentina defense able to repel the threat.
26:02Much like I said about Rodrigo de Polo and him having to elevate his level of play,
26:07I'll say the same thing about Alexis McAllister,
26:10who had a tough season with Liverpool.
26:12There's no other way to say it.
26:14Now, he wasn't the only player that was underwhelming and underperforming for Liverpool,
26:18but certainly one of those guys that if Argentina are going to be successful,
26:23he needs to elevate his level of play, and consistently so.
26:27Just for a moment, but for 90 minutes at a time.
26:31Yep.
26:34And he's been part of his Argentina sit-up for this part of seven years now, Alexis McAllister.
26:46And Liverpool for the last three.
26:53A little pocket here for Lautaro Martinez is the shot on.
26:59Martinez...
27:02Pivoting back to Hiyai, right back in comes the cross, but it was a moment that seemed to promise much
27:12for Argentina.
27:14It was a moment that seemed to promise much for Argentina.
27:16It was a moment that seemed to promise much for Argentina.
27:36Askerson closing down, but...
27:41Kennen's behind...
27:42harmlessly.
27:48Askerson, who wears number 9 for Iceland, grabbed a couple of goals against Canada before abroad.
27:54an incredible 2-2 draw now the French is provided to my Argentina on the break
28:01oh and Nico passes ball across just eluding Lautaro that full stretch it all
28:10starts with the two center by from Iceland challenging for the same ball
28:13and now they get themselves out of position Nico pass takes a good first
28:17right forward now he's gonna find like that on Martina it's a pass that needs
28:21to be completed with the right pace and if it is completely with the right pace
28:26it's a tapping from my counter range sliding attempt for Lautaro Martinez
28:29wasted opportunity for Argentina
28:37more changes forthcoming for Leonor Scaloni it's not the one they're really
28:43waiting for it's gonna be Tiago Almada and Nicolas Gonzalez come on
28:53another who missed out 22 22 in Qatar picking up a muscle injury just before
29:00the tournament
29:04Almada who did play in Qatar albeit only six minutes he's gonna replace Nico pass
29:24he's gonna be able to play as a left-back and Facundo Medina will shift over to the center-back
29:34position to play alongside Cristiano Romero
29:44DePaul feeding it wide left
29:46DePaul feeding it wide left
30:06DePaul feeding it wide left
30:07the middle of the country tried to
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