Man-to-man marking :Argentina

June 8, 2002

ARGENTINA (3-4-1-2)

PABLO CAVALLERO: Resolutely static for penalty, but otherwise his positioning was good and he remained relatively untested. 5

JUAN PABLO SORIN: Could run for ever. Linked well with Kily González and was a threatening presence on the left flank. 6

DIEGO PLACENTE: Too often played the short ball in and out of defence, slowing down the Argentina attack, and looked nervy under pressure.4

WALTER SAMUEL: Stood like a lamppost as Owen’s shot went between his legs and was slow in relation to rest of defence.4

MAURICIO POCHETTINO: Showed some clever blocking skills, but his tackle on Owen gave away the penalty, although he almost levelled the scores at the finish.6

KILY GONZALEZ: Nursed a bloody nose after a collision with the England captain, but it did not hamper his raiding runs down the left.6

DIEGO SIMEONE: A steady presence in the midfield, but found Butt a tougher opponent than he might have expected.6

JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON: Got off to an impressive start — was at the heart of every attack from midfield — but had to be substituted at half-time.5

JAVIER ZANETTI: Worked well in first half with Verón, but was made to look foolish a couple of times by Sinclair, which is some achievement.4

ARIEL ORTEGA: Always a tricky presence anywhere within shooting distance of goal, but drifted in and out of the game.6

GABRIEL BATISTUTA: Showed his still impressive turn of pace early on, but also showed his temper and after being booked was taken off, presumably, before being sent off.5

PABLO AIMAR (for Verón, 46): Came straight into the fray with a shot directly at Seaman and turned out to be Argentina’s most likely player to score.6

CLAUDIO LOPEZ (for González, 65): His introduction gave Argentina fluency as England became a bit ragged, but he was unable to capitalise.5

HERNAN CRESPO (for Batistuta, 59): His fresh legs threatened an increasingly tired England defence, but he was too often marginalised.5