'He can say what he wants' - Aguero takes aim at Sampaoli after Argentina fiasco

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'He can say what he wants' - Aguero takes aim at Sampaoli after Argentina fiasco image

Argentina forward Sergio Aguero took aim at his manager Jorge Sampaoli following Thursday's disastrous 3-0 defeat to Croatia at the World Cup.

The Albiceleste stand on the brink of early elimination from the tournament after gaining just one point from their first two matches. 

While a 1-1 opening-game draw with Iceland wasn't ideal, the crushing defeat to Croatia in Nizhny Novgorod was far more damaging and left Sampaoli to question his own game plan.

"Everything that happens to the team and the players' drop in form is down to the management. The plan against Croatia did not work out," the Argentina boss said after the game. 

"I was very hopeful, the defeat pains me a lot, but clearly I did not read the game properly."

Though Sampaoli blamed himself, a TyC Sports presenter told Aguero that his manager had said his players failed to adapt to his tactics, thereby shifting the blame onto them. 

When told about Sampaoli's assertion, Aguero told TyC Sports: "He can say what he wants," before storming out of the interview.

While the coach's words were slightly twisted, Aguero's dismissiveness does not bode well for team unity ahead of a must-win match against Nigeria on Tuesday. 

Aguero played 54 minutes of Thursday's match before being substituted for Gonzalo Higuain. 

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