On Argentina: What their 5-0 route of Canada tells us about their chances

For some reason, I have become very interested in the South American side. It's probably because I've watched their five strikers (count 'em, five) playing on major European clubs. But it could also be because they are extremely fun to watch, as they proved in their 5-0 route of Canada. This approach seems to run counter to Portugal's approach when they drew Cape Verde Islands (the 117th ranked team in the world) 0-0. Portugal treated their game as a scrimmage, Argentina treated theirs as a showcase. I wonder which team is more confident now? You also have to admire the differences between Argentina manager Maradona's approach and Portuguese manager Quieroz. While Quieroz is laying the burden daily on his team of winning it all and claiming that they are the best team in the world, Maradona is praising his athletes and, at one point during the Canada match, tearing up in joy at the sight of his player's skill.

There are other things that we learned watching the match though, and I thought I'd weigh in on what I think they are.

1. Everyone is in form. This is a problem that many other sides, mostly European ones, are facing, but it doesn't seem to be a problem at all for the Argentines. When you can score 5 goals on a team that certainly isn't a push-over, something is going very well. Maxi Rodriguez is sure to have Liverpool fans salivating, as he looks to be in absolutely top condition (he scored that first goal in the video, from that crazy angle on the right line of the box). I don't care how much Quieroz wants to say that he's happy with how Portugal played against Cape Verde, they should have been able to score. And don't even get me started on an English side that has won their friendlies because of opposing own goals and penalty kicks.

I was also very pleased that 21 year old Sergio "Kun" Aguero was able to get a goal.

2. Midfielders are going to be a part of the action. This was a concern that I had about the side going into the World Cup, that their star studded forwards would be the only ball production going on, but it seems that midfielders, like Rodriguez, are ready and willing to commit themselves to the team and add a few goals to show it.

3. They are a selfless bunch of guys. I think another concern about Argentina was that their players, who are mostly superstars, might play selfishly and because of that would miss plenty of opportunities on goal. But watching that video, you can see Tevez, Higuian, and Rodriguez making sefless passes to their teammates so that they can get the goals. It seems like Maradona has done a great job of establishing almost a feeling of familial connection on the team. As you can see in the video, after every goal they are all congratulating one another, and, later on in the game, laughing at the ridiculousness of how easy this is for them.

This victory served not only as a showcase of the talent of Argentina, but also helped the team gain extremely important confidence in themselves and one another. They will surely be a force to be reckoned with, and will be able to advance handly into later rounds of the tournament.