‘Pretty weak’: Martinez, Scaloni react to Argentina’s Mauritania misfire

Argentina won 2–1 against Mauritania at La Bombonera, but the focus after the match was not on the result. Both Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez and Lionel Scaloni made it clear the performance was not acceptable.

Goalkeeper Martinez was direct about how the team played.

"Pretty weak, to be honest. It was one of the worst matches we've played in a friendly. We lacked intensity, we lacked cohesion, we lacked speed. It's something we need to analyse, and when we put on the national team jersey, we have to do much better.”

The Aston Villa star also pointed out how much pressure the team allowed.

"I try to be available when I'm called upon, and they attacked us too much. We won, we didn't really know the opponent that well, and they played like their lives depended on it. We need to show a bit more heart. "

Looking at the second half, he thought his team “lacked intensity” like due to “fear of injury”.   

“We have to do better. It's true that we hadn't played together in a long time and we also rotated the team a bit. 

“Yesterday we lost Panichelli to a cruciate ligament injury, it hurt us a lot. Maybe today we played with a little less intensity because of the fear of injury, but when we put on the national team jersey we have to do much better."

He also referred to the cancelled Finalissima: "Thank goodness [it was cancelled], if we played like that we would have lost. "

Coach Scaloni agreed with the assessment and admitted the level was not good.

"It's true that the match wasn't good, that's the reality. But we can draw many conclusions from this match. As we always say, there are no easy opponents. Today the team wasn't good. We have to say it and correct it.
“I'm not worried per se. There are things to correct, as always, and it's better that they happen now."

Scaloni also explained that changes and lack of time together affected the team, but believes his charges will improve.

"Sometimes when we try something different, the team's performance can suffer, especially if there isn't much time. It's clear we can play much better, we have done so.

"All the players we saw contributed, but when a game becomes complicated it's more difficult."

Overall, both Martinez and Scaloni agreed on the outcome: Argentina got the win, but the performance was not at the required level and needs to improve.