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BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — Angel Di Maria blames Argentina's opponents for the team's unconvincing performances at the World Cup.
The Real Madrid player on Sunday insisted Argentina was playing well against Iran, even though it didn't manage to score until Lionel Messi's injury-time goal.
Telling reporters that "I don't know why you keep saying we weren't playing well," Di Maria suggested it was Iran's rigid defense that made Argentina look bad because "when a team has 11 players in penalty area it's impossible to get in there."
Di Maria and his teammate Gonzalo Higuain were frustrated by Iran's defense before Messi scored the late winner for Argentina, which also struggled for much its match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Di Maria didn't think any tactical changes were needed but said all players need to improve.
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