In a surprising matchup, Argentina lost 1-2 to Saudi Arabia, a result that revealed the severity of the team's aging problem. In the match, Argentina set a new record, becoming the first team in the history of the World Cup final week to have four players aged 34 and over in its starting lineup.
The four senior players are Messi (35), Di Maria (34), Odawendi (34) and Ejendo Gomes (34). However, the South American powerhouse failed to turn things around after falling behind. Considering the tight World Cup schedule, Argentina's World Cup campaign may not be long-lasting if manager Scarloni continues to rely on these veterans.
In fact, Argentina is not short of young and promising players, such as Manchester City striker Zulian Ivaris and Manchester United center back Lisindo Martinez. However, in this match, they were all just substitutes. Especially on the defensive end, Scaloni made a clear mistake by choosing Odavendi to start instead of Ricindo Martinez.
In the 59th minute of the game, Scalani had to make an emergency substitution of Lisindo Martinez. However, the team was already two goals down at this point, so hopefully Scalani will learn from this lesson and adjust his lineup for the next match against Mexico.
