PAULO DYBALA is one of the most exciting young talents in world football.
The Juventus star has come into the World Cup on the back of his finest ever season in club football, netting 26 times in 46 games.
AP:Associated Press Juventus duo Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala
Why is Paulo Dybala not playing for Argentina at the World Cup?
THE JUVENTUS star is in the 23-man squad for Russia - but has only featured once so far.
As a result he's clocked up just 22 minutes of action in the World Cup, despite his side struggling for form and consistency.
That cameo came in the embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Croatia, where Dybala replaced Enzo Perez in midfield.
Getty Images Juventus and Argentina striker Paulo Dybala is on Real's wishlist
Often seen as the future replacement for Lionel Messi, the Argentine star is more versatile than the Barcelona star and can play in a number of attacking roles along the front-line or behind the forwards.
Boss Jorge Sampaoli has stated that they can play together, despite many believing it to be a similar situation to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard's incompatibility in the England side just over a decade ago.
10 things you didn't know about Juventus striker Paulo Dybala
Instagram Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Gabriel Mercado prepare to board The Rolling Stones' private jet
Dybala operates best through the middle, whilst Messi likes to drift in from wide - but currently the powers that be in the Argentinian team don't seem keen to play them together.
Argentina faced France for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals, but were defeated in a dramatic 4-3 thriller.
Getty - Contributor The Argentine was left on the bench again in the last-16 defeat to France
Dybala once again found himself on the bench and didn't feature.
And it looks unlikely that he will get a regular spot whilst Messi reigns supreme for the national side - or until a new boss enters the fray.
Argentina fans go wild as they celebrate goals against France in World Cup clash
WC Player Profile: Paulo Dybala
By Football Italia staff
After a mixed season, La Joya must accept the role of super-sub and apprentice at this World Cup, writes Emmet Gates.
The Juventus youngster is reaching the level of full maturation and started the campaign with a bang, but has realistically struggled to take a big game by the scruff of the neck since sweeping Barcelona aside 3-0.
This tournament in Russia may have come a little early for Dybala, as with Lionel Messi there and Jorge Sampaoli on the bench, he simply doesn't have enough room to shine in this side.
He can still make the most of the super-sub role, starting today in the Round of 16 against France.
Click here for the full Paulo Dybala profile.
Or have a look round our 2018 World Cup Guide, including national analysis, more individual profiles, match reports and features.
See the latest Serie A predictions and betting tips with Eurotips.co.uk
Bizarre Paulo Dybala stat perfectly sums up Argentina’s World Cup campaign
A statistic surrounding the number of minutes on the pitch afforded to Paulo Dybala by Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli at this summer’s World Cup has been going viral online this evening.
Matchup
The Albiceleste went head to head with France in the first of the World Cup’s Last-16 ties a short time ago, with the latter having headed into proceedings as clear favourites to advance to the competition’s final 8.
4-3
And an absolutely sensational 90 minutes was subsequently played out in Kazan, with a blistering start from France having been capped by a converted Antoine Griezmann penalty in the 13th-minute.
However, Argentina worked their way back into proceedings as the opening 45 minutes wore on, with the Albiceleste having been rewarded for their increased pressure courtesy of a sensational strike from Angel Di Maria:
GOAL Argentina#FRA 1-1 ARG What a hit from Angel di Maria! One of the goals of the tournament. Game on! #RTEsoccer Live Updates: https://t.co/OnJgUORzbr pic.twitter.com/4Km3QiMGYT — RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 30, 2018
And, incredibly, despite France having looked capable of simply steamrolling Argentina during the game’s opening 20 minutes, the latter then went on to take the lead, when Lionel Messi’s effort on the turn was deflected home by Gabriel Mercado following the interval.
However, this was as good as things got for the South Americans, as a blistering 10-minute spell a little over 10 minutes into the second-half from France saw Les Bleus find the net 3 times in quick succession.
Benjamin Pavard started things off with an absolutely stunning piece of technique, before Man of the Match Kylian Mbappe bagged a brace to effectively put an end to Argentina’s hopes of progression.
GOAL #FRA 2-2 #ARG Pavard (just wait for the replay from behind!). Ladies and gentleman, we’ve got a classic on our hands.#RTEsoccer Live updates: https://t.co/OnJgUOzYjT pic.twitter.com/HLfEQZJdI7 — RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 30, 2018
Substitute Sergio Aguero did manage to pull one back in injury-time, but it was too little, too late, as a hugely-underwhelming Argentine World Cup campaign came to a predictable end.
Stat
The inquest into the shortcomings of the 2-time World Cup winners has already begun, with the main culprit targeted by the media having understandably been manager Jorge Sampaoli.
Despite a number of the Albiceleste’s stars having flattered to deceive during their 4-game stint in this summer’s competition, no one individual has been more accountable for Argentina’s eventual elimination than Sampaoli, with the former Chile boss’ team selections and decision-making having proven frankly-baffling at times.
Of the choices made by the 58-year-old over the last couple of weeks, none has been more questionable than the call to constantly leave out Juventus star Paulo Dybala, despite the forward’s sensational talents.
The decision to bench Dybala from the start of games can at least be somewhat justified, due to the fact that he and Lionel Messi have struggled to co-exist during their previous time on the pitch together.
However, Sampaoli’s insistence on leaving the 24-year-old, known for his eye for goal and ability to create something from nothing, out even when his side are desperately searching for late goals is utterly inexcusable.
Today marked the latest instance of Dybala being left to watch on from the sidelines whilst his country struggled to create chances, with the fact that the gifted attacker was afforded no time on the pitch once again having since given rise to a remarkable statistic:
Paolo Dybala had more goals for Juventus in 2017-18 (26) than minutes in this World Cup (22). — Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) June 30, 2018
Oscar Tabarez on stopping Cristiano Ronaldo
England boost: Colombia star could miss the rest of the World Cup
Click here for more World Cup betting tips
There’s been a lot of talk about and Lionel Messi over the last season. As the 2018 World Cup approached — potentially the last one of Messi’s career — people started to wonder who would take his place in the Argentina setup. Dybala, whose game has many of the same characteristics as the world’s greatest footballer, was put forward as a natural successor, especially after he scored 12 times in his first eight competitive matches in the 2017-18 season.
Dybala wasn’t nearly as consistent throughout the entire year, but still scored 26 goals and tallied five assists in all competitions. That led to his inclusion in the Argentina squad for the World Cup, but he was only on the field for 22 minutes in the group stage, coming on as a sub in the team’s humiliating 3-0 loss to Croatia.
Yes, Messi is Messi, but Dybala’s ability to change a game could be a major boon to the legend’s quest for a World Cup title. So why hasn’t he been on the field more? The answer lies in one of Dybala’s biggest flaws — and easily the biggest of his coach’s.
It’s often posited that Dybala and Messi can’t coexist on the field together — that they’re “too similar.” Barcelona are rumored to have passed on him as a replacement to Neymar last summer because the two were incompatible. Messi himself conceded the similarity in their games in March. On the rare occasion they are on the field together they’ve put together a couple of great combinations.
That, however, is an oversimplification of the situation. Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli has gone on record as saying he thought the two can play together, and they’ve played a couple of interesting sequences in the times they have been on the field together for Argentina.
What is a problem for Dybala is the fact that he’s a somewhat limited player from a tactical perspective.
To operate at peak effectiveness, he’s got to be playing in the middle, either as a seconda punta, a trequartista, or an inside forward. He can certainly be given license to roam to the wings on occasion, but a true winger he is not.
This caused some issues for Dybala and coach Massimiliano Allegri this season. Allegri clearly intended to use a 4-2-3-1 formation at the beginning of this past season, but as the campaign progressed it became clear that a two-man midfield was leaving Juve severely undermanned in that area of the field. By November, Allegri had transitioned into a three-man midfield — which posed a problem for Dybala. Allegri seemed to prefer a 4-3-3 for much of the year, which made sense considering how many wingers the team had bought over the summer. But Dybala doesn’t fit as a full-time winger. He had more success playing as a sort of inside forward in a 4-3-2-1 “Christmas tree,” but Allegri tended more toward the former formation for most of the year.
That lack of versatility was an issue for Juve all year, but it’s not an insurmountable obstacle. With time, training, and a good tactical mind, Dybala can be molded to fit a system.
Unfortunately, Sampaoli is not the kind of coach that can do that.
For a player who can need time to find the right set of tactics, Sampaoli is perhaps the worst coach to have. Why? Because Sampaoli has no plan.
Sampaoli has used three different formations in the tournament, and played musical tactics during qualifying as well. The result has been predictable: Argentina hasn’t looked like they know how to do anything other than pass the ball to Messi and get out of his way. Sampaoli has rightly been criticized for his lineup choices and tactics in this World Cup, and has ended up turning in a team that is far less than the sum of its parts. In Dybala’s lone outing in the tournament, the instructions he got looked to be “just go out there and do something.” He nearly did in that game, cutting in from the right and unleashing that curler we’ve seen a bunch of times. But that’s all he was really able to do as Sampaoli simply threw players on willy-nilly hoping they would change the game.
This isn’t a situation to envy. Sampaoli has proven himself incapable of giving his team any kind of direction, and that kind of direction is exactly what Dybala needs to succeed right now. But with someone who is so tactically inept as Sampaoli, we won’t see the best Dybala on the field — and it’s unlikely that Sampaoli will try to shoehorn him into the lineup unless he simply has to throw everything against the wall to see if it sticks.
