Former Argentina and new Leeds coach Marcelo Bielsa has predicted Lionel Messi and his team will find “a different style of performance” at the World Cup after their thrilling 2-1 victory over Nigeria on Tuesday night carried them into the round of 16.
A humiliating 3-0 defeat to Croatia on Thursday had left the team in crisis, with reports that the players tried and failed to have coach Jorge Sampaoli sacked in the wake of the result.
But after the sudden death win over the Super Eagles, Bielsa insists in our video below that he still has faith in Argentina, Messi and Sampaoli, who succeeded him in charge of Chile in 2012.
Bielsa knows what it’s like to feel the pressure of being part of La Albiceleste after being manager of the national team from 1998 to 2004, including the 2002 World Cup when Argentina bowed out in the group stages.
