BELO HORIZONTE: Argentina must avoid the errors committed against Germany in the last World Cup if they are to conquer their European rivals in the final this time round, striker Sergio Aguero said on Thursday.
The two nations have a long history of battle. Argentina last won the World Cup by beating Germany 3-2 in 1986, while Germany last won the tournament by defeating Argentina 1-0 in 1990.
Furthermore, Germany knocked out Argentina at the quarterfinal stage in the last two World Cups, humiliatingly so by a 4-0 scoreline in South Africa in 2010.
“In this final, we are going to try and avoid the mistakes of the last World Cup,” said Aguero in reference to Germany’s thrashing of Argentina which exposed then coach Diego Maradona’s tactical naivety despite his undoubted passion and pedigree.
“With the first dead-ball, they scored and that ruined our plans,” Aguero recalled.
The Manchester City forward, who appears to have fully recovered from injury for Sunday’s final in Rio de Janeiro, praised Germany’s strengths but said Argentina would not change their attack-minded style of play.
“The games from the last-16 to the semifinal are different, now we face a great rival in Germany. We’re going to stick to our game, fixing some mistakes we made in other games,” he said.
“We know Germany have players who have been together for some years and play really well.”
Aguero came on as a late substitute for the penalty shootout win against the Netherlands but will be hoping for a start on Sunday at the Maracana stadium. “We have to win and it doesn’t matter if we play well or not,” he said after training at Argentina’s camp just outside Belo Horizonte.
“If, though, you play well and control the ball, then better because we will play calmer. This is the game we have all wanted to play since we left Buenos Aires, and against an aggressive and tough opponent.” (Agencies)