to Ecuador against Paraguay in CONMEBOL World Cup
qualifying on Tuesday.
Carlos Tevez has issued a rallying call for Argentina to change
their attitude in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying or risk
starting with successive defeats when Gerardo Martino's
men meet Paraguay on Tuesday.
Martino's side suffered a surprise 2-0 reverse at the hands of
Ecuador in the opening round of fixtures in the qualifying
process for the 2018 showpiece, late goals from Frickson Erazo
and Felipe Caicedo sealing victory in Buenos Aires.
Argentina were without inspirational captain Lionel Messi for the
clash due to his knee ligament injury and suffered a further blow
as Sergio Aguero limped off with a hamstring problem.
Both will be missing from Tuesday's clash in Asuncion, with
Tevez saying the rest of the squad must "face up to the
situation" and get their campaign back on track.
Tevez criticised the professionalism of Martino's men against
Ecuador and expects to see an instant reaction.
"The qualifiers are different and it became clear on Thursday
that they are harder than a Copa America match or a friendly,"
said the Boca Juniors forward.
"But on Thursday there was a lack of attitude. That is what we
talked about. The team did not turn up at any time and that is
what most worries us.
"We did not make a good start to the qualifiers, but we will have
another chance on Tuesday."
Paraguay will not make it easy for their illustrious opponents,
though, as they look to claim back-to-back wins
after beating Venezuela 1-0 in their opener thanks to Derlis
Gonzalez's 85th-minute strike.
However, history is not on their side having failed to win their
last five matches against Argentina – and conceding 20 goals
in the process.
The two nations met twice in this year's Copa America, with
Argentina romping to a 6-1 success in the semi-finals having
drawn 2-2 in the group stages.
Head coach Ramon Diaz – who himself is Argentinian –
believes his squad have grown since that heavy defeat in the
last four and thinks the battling spirit against Venezuela shows
they can beat Argentina for the first time since 2009.
"We wanted to start [qualifying] well, show the football world
that Paraguay is back to fight again," he said.
"To play against Argentina is special. It's going to be different
from the other two [meetings this year]. We are at home, with
our fans.
"Of course [we can win], it happened for Ecuador so Paraguay
can also beat Argentina."
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