5 things Argentina need to do to win a World Cup

Argentina have not qualified for the World Cup yet

With Lionel Messi's recent four-match suspension for swearing at a match official, Argentina's prospects of qualifying for World Cup 2018 have suffered a huge blow. The defeat at the hands of Bolivia in the aftermath showed how much Argentina missed their talisman.

For the first 13 matches including the match against Chile, Argentina's record with/without Messi read as follows:

With Messi:

Played – 6

Won – 5

Drawn – 0

Lost – 1

Without Messi:

Played – 7

Won – 1

Drawn – 2

Lost – 4

With four qualification matches left, 5th-placed Argentina trail 4th-placed Chile by a point, and enjoy only a two-point lead over Ecuador in 6th. The top four directly qualify for the World Cup, while the 5th team has to qualify via a play-off; therefore Argentina needs to chase Chile while also looking over their shoulders at Ecuador.

Just three years ago, however, it was all different. While Argentina's run to the 2014 WC final did not comprise of a series of impeccable performances, no one could have predicted in the aftermath that this team would struggle to even qualify for the next edition of the tournament. Having finished as runner-up in Copa America as well, Argentina's struggles seemed to revolve around finishing the job off than being eligible for it in the first place.

Therefore, assuming Argentina overcome their current struggles, we examine the 5 things Argentina need to do to win a World Cup. With their last World Cup triumph having been under Maradona in 1986, fans of La Albiceleste have waited long enough for success – and here's how it can return to them:

---

#1 Give importance to performances not names

Paulo Dybala is one for the future and must be afforded more game time

In World Cup 2014, Brazil suffered a disastrous exit at the hands of Germany that will go down in footballing history. Two years later, Brazil failed to get past the group stages of the Centenary Copa America, and manager Dunga was sacked as a result. Now, however, Brazil has taken the CONMEBOL by storm, and lead the table by nine points, having scored 35 goals in 14 games.

So what has changed? For the 2014 WC, the incumbent coach Luiz Felipe Scolari left out Philippe Coutinho from the squad, even on the back of his virtuoso displays that nearly gifted Liverpool the Premier League title.

Video: Icardi deserves Argentina call-up - Crespo

For Scolari, familiarity and reliability seemed to matter more – players like Jo, Fred and Bernard were selected over the diminutive Liverpool midfielder. Now, Tite has shifted the emphasis purely on performances on the pitch – meaning Paulinho, plying his trade in the relatively lacklustre Chinese League, still gets his fair opportunity.

Argentina can take a leaf out of Brazil's book – and try giving chances to players like Mauro Icardi and Paulo Dybala. Their youthful thrust is perhaps exactly the spark this team is lacking – 15 goals in 14 group stage matches is simply an unacceptable return.