Now that Malaysia has a new prime minister in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, will we see the real Argentina at the FIFA World Cup?
For those not in the know, that was the joke following the South American nation’s shocking 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Football fans shared a meme “quoting” Lionel Messi that Argentina was affected by Malaysia’s political imbroglio and would bounce back after a prime minister was named.
It brought a chuckle to Argentina’s fans, who still have high hopes for the team.
The 1978 and 1986 champion next faces Mexico (Sunday, 3am), before wrapping up the group matches against Poland (Dec 1, 1am).
“I am confident Argentina will make it to the next round,” said die-hard Argentina fan, Mustapha Kamaruddin.
“The team has the quality to beat Mexico and Poland. It might still top Group C, as Poland and Mexico each have a point after a goalless draw on Wednesday morning.
“Messi will have to play a big part. Once again, Argentina will depend on him – ‘Messidependencia’.”
Mustapha, formerly a sports editor of The Malay Mail, said Argentina was unlucky to lose to Saudi Arabia as it had three goals disallowed for marginal offside calls.
“I couldn’t believe the decisions. All three looked to be onside. Well, that’s VAR (video assistant referee) for you,” he said.
Mustapha also said manager Lionel Scaloni needs to shake up the defence.
“The defence was a little slow, and with an ageing Nicolas Otamendi. Tottenham’s Christian Romero didn’t look match-fit as he has just recovered from an injury.
“Argentina should have fielded Manchester United centreback Lisandro Martinez instead of Otamendi.”
He added that the Poland-Mexico draw was the best result possible for Argentina, as it is not too far off the pace.
Argentina was one of the favourites to win the tournament as it was on a 36-game unbeaten run, while Saudi Arabia is the second lowest-ranked team at the World Cup.
However, goals from Saleh Alsheri and Salem Aldawsari cancelled out Messi’s opener and sparked wild celebrations.
The Saudi Arabia government declared Wednesday a public holiday.
Besides Argentina, Germany, too, lost its opener – 2-1 to Japan – Wednesday.
But there were huge victories for Spain and France, while Brazil defeated Serbia 2-0.
Meanwhile, England, which thrashed Iran 6-2, was held 0-0 by the United States in its second match.
Qatar became the second host to fail to qualify for the second round after losing its opening two games. South Africa, in 2010, is the only other host to fail to make it out of the group stage.