Sampaoli could be sacked before Argentina face Super Eagles

Argentina coach, Jorge Sampaoli could be sacked before their final Group D fixture against Nigeria on June 26.

According to the UK Mirror, he is facing a fight to keep his job, after a 3-0 defeat to Croatia on Thursday night.

It was Argentina’s heaviest loss in the group stages of the World Cup, since they were spanked 6-1 by Czechoslovakia in 1958.

The result follows a disappointing 1-1 draw with Iceland in their first game and leaves the Albiceleste on the brink of an early exit in Russia.

This means the two-time winners and three-time finalists now need to beat the Super Eagles in their final game – and hope other results go their way – to have any chance of progressing.

Speaking after the whitwashing by Croatia, Sampaoli told reporters: “I am the one who needs to make the final decision.

“The key to our defeat related to my responsibility because I am the coach. Had I set things out differently, things may have turned out better. I don’t think it is right to put the burden on Caballero.

“I don’t know about shame, but I definitely feel pain. It’s been a long time as a coach since I’ve been through this experience and it’s much more painful when I’m wearing the jersey of my country.

“[In the last match] we have to fight, give it our all, and we really have no other alternative. There’s pain because we weren’t at the level that the Argentine people expect of us.”

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