Argentina drop goalkeeper Caballero for Nigeria game after he receives threats for his gaffe against Croatia

ARGENTINA has decided to go for broke against Nigeria when the two meet for the do-or-die Group D clash in the ongoing World Cup with head coach Jorge Sampaoli deciding to drop error-prone goalkeeper Willy Caballero for the match.

Caballero, 36, is currently on the books of English Premiership side Chelsea and featured 13 times for the west London club last season. He had an atrocious game against Croatia last week, gifting the Balkan nations their opener with a howler of a pass, which then enabled them to go on and win the match 3-0.

Following the gaffe, Caballero has been subjected to some very sickening abuse online aimed at himself and his young family. Some irate Argentine fans wished serious illness on the goalkeeper and his family, while others crossed the line even further, posting rape threats against Caballero's wife and daughters.

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has also mocked Caballero, comparing the Argentine shot stoppers' goalkeeping to his own style. Mourinho, who was a goalkeeper himself like his father, recently played in goal in the Game4Grenfell charity match at Loftus Road back in September, coming on for David James.

Mourinho said: "One chance, one goal. Caballero in goal or myself would be the same because I would save the same as Caballero, there was not one single dangerous situation."

Eager to remedy the situation ahead of Tuesday's game against Nigeria, Coach Sampaoli has wielded the axe, dropping Caballero and several other non-performing players. Franco Armani, 31, who plays for River Plate in Argentina, is now expected to start in goal against Nigeria on Tuesday.

A fortunate choice to be in goal, Caballero only won his first cap for Argentina on March 23 this year, staring in a 2–0 loss to Italy at a match played in Manchester. However, he became Argentina's first choice goalkeeper for the World Cup due to the injury to Manchester United's Sergio Romero and made his debut in the competition in their 1–1 draw with Iceland in the opening match.

His replacement Armani will be expected to keep a rampant Nigerian side at bay after the Super Eagles breathed life into their campaign with a 2-0 thumping of Iceland on Friday to move to second spot in the group. With the current disarray in the Argentine camp, Nigeria is expected to romp home to victory and qualify alongside Croatia from the group.

It is rumoured that Argentina's players have asked Coach Sampaoli not to manage the side in their final game and make way for assistant manager Jorge Burruchaga. In a sure sign that all is not well in the camp, star striker Sergio Aguero has publicly criticised the coach for blaming his players for the Croatia loss after Sampaoli said they did not follow his instructions.