Juventus star Angel Di Maria was singled out for criticism after Argentina’s shock World Cup defeat to Saudi Arabia, but he insists they “could’ve scored five or six” goals.
The first huge surprise of the tournament so far in Qatar was undoubtedly favourites Argentina falling to a 2-1 loss after taking the lead through Lionel Messi’s penalty.
It was turned around with two goals at the dawn of the second half from Saleh Alshehiri and Salem Aldawasari.
Di Maria’s failure to close down players on the edge of the box was blasted by ITV pundit Roy Keane, who singled him out for criticism.
“There’s no aggression, there are bodies there, you’ve got to go attack there, they’ve lost all composure. They’ve lost their heads, look at Di Maria… Di Maria, my god!”
However, Di Maria spoke to reporters after the match and insisted the result was a fluke.
“We could easily have won 5-0, but we lost. That’s all there is to it. We knew Saudi Arabia were going to play like that, we had prepared, but we couldn’t do it. Perhaps we started the moves too early and that’s why we ended up offside so many times.”