 Senior members of the team including Messi and Javier Mascherano confronted Sampaoli and his assistants in the dressing room, while also approaching members of the Argentine FA to discuss their concerns, and there were also rumors that Messi was involved in team selection which undermined Sampaoli's authority.The match against Croatia was his 13th game in charge, where he had used 13 lineups and a total of 59 players, and despite a myriad of attacking choices the defence was poor.Sampaoli remained in his position, as Argentina defeated Nigeria 2–1 in the third group match to advance to the knockout stage.