Argentina's World Cup woes: Sergio Aguero angry outburst hints at rift between players and Jorge Sampaolo

Feeling the heat: Aguero during the 3-0 drubbing by Croatia
AFP/Getty Images

Sergio Aguero has been forced to clarify a remark that appeared to expose a rift between Argentina players and coach Jorge Sampaoli.

The two-times World Cup winners are on the brink of exiting the tournament after their disastrous 3-0 defeat by Croatia last night, with Sampaoli saying “the players did not understand the project”.

Asked about Sampaoli’s comments in a post-match interview, Aguero said: “He can say what he likes.” Later, the Manchester City striker rowed back on his comments, saying he had spoken “without knowing exactly the context of the question”, but Aguero’s initial words suggest all is not well in the Argentina camp.

Argentina’s fate in this tournament is now no longer in their hands, with Croatia already qualified for the knock-out stage and Nigeria and Iceland meeting today. Argentina were hoping for a draw in that game, which would allow them to qualify by beating Nigeria in their final match — as long as Croatia win or draw against Iceland.

Midfielder Javier Mascherano said: “There is still a game left, and this is not the time to be talking about other things. After our final game — which we hope will not be the next one — we can discuss other thing but now is not the moment.”

Croatia took the lead shortly after half-time, when Ante Rebic seized on a botched clearance by goalkeeper Willy Caballero to volley his team ahead. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic added goals late in the second half, as Argentina fell apart.

Mascherano added: “It was difficult for us to recover from the goal and then everything went wrong. We stopped doing the things we had been going before the first goal.”

Sampaoli enjoyed impressive spells in charge of Chile and Sevilla but has had little joy with his own country. It is hard to imagine him keeping his job if Argentina fail to reach the last 16.

Down and nearly out: Argentina face an early exit after defeat to Croatia
REUTERS

“The loss is my responsibility,” he said. “I am the only one responsible for making the decisions.

“I went in with a lot of hope and I am feeling a lot of pain with the defeat. For sure I didn’t read the match as I should have.

“There is shame, pain, at not delivering for the Argentine people. It’s been a long time since I felt like this and now it’s happening with the shirt of my own country. It hurts badly and I am sorry for the fans. I shared their dream.”

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