After its defeat when it entered the World Cup against England, Argentina no longer has the right to make mistakes this Friday against Samoa in Pool D.
“From now on, every match is a final”: by the admission of hooker Agustin Creevy, the Argentina team is well aware of the stakes that await it this Friday afternoon (5:45 p.m.) in Saint-Etienne, for their second match in this 2023 World Cup. Facing Samoa, the Pumas will have no other choice but to win if they want to consider passing the group stage, after the frustrating defeat against England he two weeks ago in Marseille, after spending a large part of the match in numerical superiority (27-10). “We questioned ourselves,” Agustin Creevy assured the press after the defeat against the English. “We reviewed and tried to correct what went wrong.”
Samoa beat the modest Chile team for their first meeting in the tournament last week (43-10), despite a rather sluggish first period. The Pacific players know that they will not have the right to make the same start against the Argentines, under penalty of being punished this Friday on the lawn of the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium. “Chile were a good team and put us under pressure. That’s exactly what we needed,” explained Samoa coach Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua after this first improved victory in the competition. Samoa in any case has the opportunity to take a good option in the quarter-finals this Friday, especially after the English victory over Japan (34-12) last Sunday.
Despite the disappointment against England, Argentina coach Michael Cheika did not upset his team to face the Samoans this Friday in the Chaudront. He made only three changes: Matias Moroni (center), Guido Petti (second row) and Eduardo Bello (right prop) replace Lucio Cinti, Tomas Lavanini and Gomez Kodela respectively. As for the Pacific players, three changes also in the starting XV. Pillar Paul Alo-Emile, second line Brian Alainu’u’ese and winger Ben Lam will start, according to the lineup revealed on Wednesday.
The kickoff for this meeting, which will be broadcast on M6, between Argentina and Samoa will be given at 5:45 p.m. in Saint-Etienne by Australian referee Nic Berry. And if you want to follow this meeting on the Internet, all you have to do is connect for free to the 6play platform this Friday. It is the Argentinians who are the favorites for this match, according to the different sports betting sites. The Pumas’ rating is slightly above 1 (between 1.10 and 1.20) while that of Samoa is above 6.
