As the final whistle sounded, the Argentinian fans in the stands clapped and cheered.
Everyone was very happy to watch this game in the first half, after all, we easily led 2-0.
But in the second half, everyone was frightened to watch, especially after Paraguay pulled a goal back. Everyone thought that another black swan incident was going to happen.
Fortunately, Gerardo Martino replaced Velarde in time, stabilized the defense, and dragged the 2-1 score to the end of the game, getting off to a good start.
Alan Willard's performance in his first America's Cup game, although satisfactory, did not disappoint. This is only his first game, and it is already very good to be able to perform at a normal defensive level.
Although Velarde did not win the official award of the best of the game, in the system, Velarde still achieved an all-out A-level performance. After all, Velarde was not lazy. Although he did not participate too much in the offense, he really tried his best on defense.
It's just a pity that the America's Cup competition experience is not higher than the two international A-level events he has participated in, but the same.
In the end, Willard received the experience of 5 million as a substitute + 10 million as a winning bonus + 50 million for A-level performance = 65 million, which is not bad. Play one more game and you'll be able to level up again.
After the game, Argentina's performance in the first game was questioned by domestic media and media from various countries. Although they won, Argentina with Messi only narrowly defeated Paraguay 2-1, which obviously did not satisfy the Argentines and the world's media.
Only a few people, including Willard, have received favorable comments from the media.
Fortunately, for the Argentine team, as long as they win, it is the best result. Therefore, everyone ignored the doubts and even criticism from the outside world and concentrated on preparing for the next game.
In training, Velarde has been placed on the main team by Gerardo Martino, replacing Mascherano.
This is already a pretty clear signal.
Perhaps, in the second game, Velarde can start. I just don’t know whether he will start alone as a defensive midfielder or together with Mascherano.
It depends on what tactics Martino uses in the second game.
In the next Group C game, Colombia lost to Venezuela 0-1, and Brazil came back to beat Peru 2-1 after conceding a goal first.
On Monday, June 15th, Willard spent another 11 skill points, increasing shooting/passing from 84 to 85, and increasing reverse footing from 57 to 58, leaving 24 skill points remaining.
Subsequently, the second round of the group stage officially began.
In Group A, Bolivia beat Ecuador 3-2, while Chile and Mexico tied 3-3 in a head-to-head battle.
After two rounds of the group stage, the host Chile has one win and one draw with 4 points and ranks first with a goal difference advantage; Bolivia also has one win and one draw with 4 points, but has a smaller goal difference than Chile and ranks second; Mexico has two consecutive draws with 4 points. Ranked third with 2 points, Ecuador has lost two games in a row and is at the bottom.
Next it’s Group B’s turn.
In the first game of the second round of Group B, Paraguay, which lost to Argentina in the previous round, narrowly defeated Jamaica 1-0 and scored 3 points, giving them a chance to qualify for the final round.
The 12 teams in this America's Cup are divided into three groups to play a round-robin tournament. In addition to the top two in each group, the two best third-placed teams can also qualify and enter the quarterfinals to play the knockout rounds.
Therefore, after Paraguay gets three points, the probability of qualifying is already high.
In particular, Uruguay will face Argentina in the second round. If Uruguay loses to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will share 3 points. As long as the two sides play a tacit tie in the last round, they can qualify together with 4 points.
Among the three groups, if the third place in two groups can advance to the knockout rounds, 4 points are basically guaranteed.
At 19:30 on the evening of June 16, the second match of the second round of Group B of the 2015 Copa America between Argentina and Uruguay continued at the Laportada Stadium.
Since Argentina and Uruguay both won in the first round, whoever wins this round will qualify early with 6 points.
But the biggest problem for Uruguay is that their top star Suarez was suspended by FIFA due to a biting incident against Italy at the World Cup in Brazil last year and cannot participate in this Copa America.
Without a top striker like Su Ya, it is really difficult to win against a favorite like Argentina.
More importantly, Gerardo Martino gave up the 433 formation that he started in the first game, and instead switched to the 4231 formation that was more stable after Velard came on the field.
In this formation, Alan Willard and Mascherano partner as a double midfielder, Di Maria plays the left midfielder, Messi plays the right midfielder, and Aguero plays the forward center. The offense and defense appear more balanced.
The defense of Willard and Mascherano is enough to stifle most of the opponent's attacks in the cradle.
This was indeed the case after the start of the game. Without Suarez, Uruguay's offense was weak, and the lone forward Cavani was unable to get a shot under the defense of Velarde, Mascherano, Otamendi and others. Decent opportunity.
For half an hour in the first half, Uruguay only had one shot that hit the door frame, but it was not a big threat.
As for Argentina, Messi, Aguero and Di Maria have completed a total of 5 shots. It's just that Argentina had poor luck in scoring today. Only 2 of the 5 shots hit the door frame, and the angles were not tricky enough and were confiscated by goalkeeper Muslera.
But if you take too many shots, you will always score.
After Messi, Aguero, and Di Maria took turns shooting, Uruguay has raised its marking of the three to an unparalleled level. At least one person is guarding the three of them at any time, and once they get the ball, they There were at least two people surrounding him.
In this case, it was Willard who was inserted in the back row and no one noticed.
In the 36th minute, Di Maria once again took the ball from the left and passed the ball inside. Aguero, Messi, and midfielder Javier Pastore who rushed into the penalty area were closely guarded to prevent They caught the ball again and shot.
As a result, Di Maria's ball was not passed to these people at all, but an inverted triangle pass directly back to the top of the penalty area.
Alan Willard, who was inserted in the back row, rushed up to meet the ball and fired furiously without anyone noticing. The strength boosted by his 85 shooting skills and 90 physique made his shot a powerful one. The powerful and heavy heavy artillery wave rushed towards the upper right corner of the goal like a cannonball.
Messi dodged in the path of the ball and the ball flew past his waist.
Defender Alvaro Pereira, who was closely marking Messi, blocked the hole with his back, but the ball flew past him.
Goalkeeper Muslera was not slow to react. However, Velarde's ball not only hit the goal frame, but also hit it at a tricky angle. He was also powerful and fast. In the end, Muslera was beyond his reach and could only watch. The ball passed diagonally above his palm and flew into the upper right corner of the goal.
