Jorge Sampaoli has admitted responsibility for Argentina's 3-0 loss to Croatia when he said that the result was down to his tactical decisions.
Argentina conceded three goals in the second half – plus a strike from outside the box by Croatia captain Luka Modric – as Sampaoli's side's hopes of progressing past the group stages were brutally weakened.
Messi and his national team colleagues in Russia had in another report demanded the sack of coach Jorge Sampaoli before playing the game against Nigeria as a result of the shocking loss to the Croats.
Sampaoli told reporters after the match that he was “very hopeful”, but also accepted that he did not read the game properly as Argentina's defense looked shaky the whole time.
“Everything that happens to the team has to do with the manager, the project did not prosper and it was very difficult for the players to stand out,” the manager said.
“I was very hopeful, I have a lot of pain because of the defeat, and I certainly did not read the game correctly. The key to the defeat was in my decisions.”
Argentina have just one point in Group D following their 1-1 draw with Iceland last weekend.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
