Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli has declined to quit following his country’s exit from the 2018 World Cup.
Argentina was eliminated from the tournament yesterday after going down 4-3 in the round of 16 to France in Kazan. The South Americans had a poor World Cup, unable to beat Iceland and then thrashed by Croatia. They only barely got out of the group stage after just edging Nigeria in their final group game.
But they came unstuck against Les Bleus in the sun at the Kazan Arena. And the defeat is likely to cost the under-fire Sampaoli, who was only appointed in May last year, his job.
“The need, perhaps, was stronger than what the team had put together,” the 58-year-old said.
“It is very painful to have been eliminated, especially because of the effort these players put forth. The frustration I feel doesn't allow me to evaluate my resignation [as manager]. On a personal level it is a great frustration.
“We had the best player in the world and we tried to put him in a position to score. We tried to surround him with the right players to take advantage of that talent, it is a talent that no other team has. That is why I don't want to talk about any other kind of analysis.”
Sampaoli and his star man Lionel Messi have come under heavy criticism during the tournament. Argentina almost failed to qualify for Russia and in the draw with Iceland Messi missed a penalty. Against France the Barcelona forward was employed as a false 9, but had little impact against the French defence. Sampaoli has been bagged for his selection decisions that saw Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain on the bench yesterday.
“It was a day of a lot of effort and I want to thank this entire team, because they did everything possible to put Argentina on the top," Sampaoli said.
“Argentina fought and had a chance right up until the end. This is a frustration, but failure is something completely different. I came into this with the grand illusion that Argentina could win. That strengthened me as coach right from the starting point.
“We were involved in all the details. We talked about each thing that could have happened during the match. But this is football and it has to be done on the field."
Veteran Javier Mascherano has decided to retire in the wake of Argentina’s exit. Former Sevilla and Chile coach Sampaoli was looking for positives following the match.
“I don't think there were many differences in the development of the game between the teams,” he said.
“They went for counters and we went for possession. I think Argentina really fought, France scored three in the second half, but we fought and had opportunities and almost equalised.
"It's not ideal and I'd have maybe preferred them to work differently, but that’s the way it is. Maybe the reason [for a lack of cohesion] is because we didn't have so much time, but I'm convinced Argentinian football has very good players and very good young players and we must work with them to be one of the best again."
