In the final match, Argentina will have to visit Ecuador. What Sampaoli and his students easily see first is that they will have to play at Altahualpa - a stadium with an altitude of up to 2,782m above sea level.
This is the biggest obstacle for all Albiceleste members. Not to mention, in the match between Bolivia and Brazil in the previous round, Neymar and his teammates had to rely on the post-match oxygen breathing gas to " survive" after being exhausted on a football field of similar height.
Messi must not forget the time he vomited on Bolivia's field when playing in very thin air. His teammate in the National Championship at that time, Di Maria, could not bear it and needed an oxygen tank right in the match, thereby being able to continue playing.
Returning to Altahualpa Stadium, although there is no chance to the World Cup this year, in the previous 3 tournaments, Ecuador, with its physical and mental support as Altahualpa Stadium, overcame all obstacles, including Brazil and Argentina to fully participate in the world's biggest football festivals.
With such objective factors, Argentina is also facing countless subjective factors that could make it difficult for them in the upcoming match, typically the shaky attack despite having many stars.
Dybala confided that because he has a similar playing style, he does not want to accompany Messi. Juve's striker has a feeling of "falling on foot" every time they play together. Understanding this, Coach Sampaoli only allowed 1 of the 2 players to appear on the field in each match. However, it seems that this is not a good solution.
It is not good that after 3 matches under Sampaoli, Argentina still... have no goals, a poor result beyond imagination. They drew 0-0 with Uruguay and Peru, and 1-1 with Venezuela, both goals were scored by Venezuela (1 goal in an own goal). The Argentine constantly blames the post and crossbar, but that is the constant reason to justify the failure.
Argentina still has countless stars, but to combine effectively, Sampaoli does not have much time to find answers. If he has a bad result against Ecuador, he will have to say goodbye to the head coach position. As for Messi, perhaps the World Cup dream is still just a dream.
