Argentina 0-2 Colombia - 3 reasons why Argentina lost the match | Copa America 2019
Having seen pre-tournament favorites and hosts Brazil lay down their marker at the 2019 Copa America with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Bolivia on the opening day, the mantle was handed over to Lionel Messi and co to show what they can do.
Argentina kicked off Group B with a clash against Colombia and they would have been looking to get at least a point against their toughest opponents in the group on paper, but that failed to happen as Los Cafeteros ran out 2-0 victors at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador Brazil.
Heading into the tournament, there were many who wrote off Argentina's chances of triumphing in the competition and having made the worst possible start to the tournament, La Albiceleste now have their work cut out for them. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at three reasons why Argentina lost to Colombia.
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#3 They were disjointed and lacked a clear gameplan
In the aftermath of Argentina's dismal performance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, it was expected that wholesome changes would be made and the first of those was the resignation of head coach Jorge Sampaoli, while a number of players also departed the international scene.
In Sampaoli's stead, a certain unheralded Lionel Scaloni was appointed, with the 41-year-old's only prior experience at the top-level coming as an assistant to the man he was replacing.
Since taking charge, Lionel Scaloni has adopted a scatterbrained approach to managing the national side, inviting multiple players to prosecute the three friendlies he took charge of prior to the commencement of the Copa America.
His final 23-man final list for the tournament was sorely lacking in experience, with almost half of the squad having won less than five caps, while for most of them this represented their first time playing at either a major international tournament or with one another.
This lack of chemistry and bonding was evident from the blast of the whistle, as the Argentine players were all over the place, lacking any clear-cut direction and generally played like a team full of strangers.
There seemed to be only one gameplan - get the ball to Messi and get out of his way and the Colombian players figured as much, surrounding the Barcelona man heavily with his every touch of the ball thereby limiting his productivity.
By contrast, Colombia showed their continental neighbors what it meant to be a team, defending solidly, while also maintaining fluidity and coordination in their attacking forays.
Teamwork is extremely important to success in professional sports and on the night, Argentina were sorely lacking in this and as such, it came as no surprise that they lost their opening Copa America match for the first time since 1979.