KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Argentina do not believe in history, and coach Juan Gilardi has placed his 2021 Junior World Cup gold medal in the annals of history, as he sees the Dec 5-16 tournament in Kuala Lumpur dotted with possible champions.
Gilardi will be banking on five players from 2021 to lead his team's charge when they play Australia on Dec 5.
The other teams in Group A who will also open their JWC campaign on that date are Malaysia and Chile.
"I do not believe in history as the past is past and I always look forward to the present when playing in a tournament. Yes, we are the defending champions and also ranked No. 1 in the world (juniors rankings) but all that will not matter if we do not perform in Group A.
"Starting with Australia, followed by Malaysia the next day and finally our South American counterpart Chile on Dec 8, there will be no easy matches as all teams have prepared to give their best.
"I expect Australia to give us our biggest challenge as they showed great form by finishing second in the SoJC (Sultan of Johor Cup) recently and hosts Malaysia were also fast with the ball and have good skills as seen in SoJC.
"This is what I observed from videos of the Johor tournament and I believe there will be no easy games in Group A," said Gilardi.
Argentina beat Chile 7-0 in the Pan American JWC qualifier but Gilardi feels that is also history and no team in Group A can take Chile lightly.
"My players are in Kuala Lumpur for the first time and they love the stadium as well as the country. It's a bit too humid for our liking, but we are slowly getting used to it," said Gilardi.
Malaysia, surprisingly, had good results against Argentina in the 2015 and 2013 SoJC tournaments. In 2015, Malaysia drew 2-2 in the round robin and then won 3-2 in the bronze battle. In the 2013 SoJC, Malaysia won 4-2.
The last time both teams played in the JWC was in 2005, Rotterdam, and back then coach Sarjit Singh's boys lost 1-0, and Argentina went on to win the gold medal.
But following Gilardi's advice, Malaysia must also forget about their history against Argentina and play in the present to cement their quarter-finals spot.
Malaysia need to beat Chile and Argentina before they play tournament favourites Australia in Group A to have a chance of advancing into the knockout stage.