Gabby Agbonlahor says Darwin Nunez has been the worst player at this year’s FIFA World Cup
Former Aston Villa midfielder and pundit Gabby Agbonlahor’s words on Liverpool and our players seem to just keep coming week after week. The latest ones have been directed towards Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez and his form in the World Cup for Uruguay.
Nunez has been in poor form for his country in the tournament. In three appearances in the group stage, the 23-year-old had no goal contributions. Uruguay won one and drew and lost as many games, but Korea’s win against Portugal meant that La Celeste could not progress to the next round.
Darwin had just one attempt on goal before he was subbed off in the 80th minute, and with that, his unsatisfactory run in the World Cup came to an end. Agbonlahor was quick to latch on to him and criticise him talking on talkSPORT via Twitter.
In a Q&A session, he was asked to name the worst player in the tournament so far. Here is what he replied via talkSPORT EDGE’s Twitter:
“Nunez has been poor. He’s looked like Milan Baros.”
The reference to Baros is a bit off. The Czech Republic international did two things Agbonlahor never managed to in his career – win the UEFA Champions League and represent his team at the World Cup.
To be fair, Nunez has not been up to standard this tournament. Darwin has had no goal contributions in this World Cup, so it is tough to argue against Agbonlahor here. A goal or even an assist would have helped those in favour of the former Penarol striker but he can only look into the future, and put this bad tournament past him.
If he had won that penalty in the 57th minute, which the referee surprisingly didn’t give, perhaps Agbonlahor would have been silent now. But it just wasn’t meant to be.
Nunez knocked out of the World Cup
For club, though, he seems to have found his feet in after a tough initial phase for his new team. In 18 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool, Nunez has nine goals and two assists.
There is always a redemption arc, and Nunez could possibly come back strong for his country whenever they play next. But for the time being, he should reset his batteries and come back and prove his critics wrong and shine for Liverpool.
Nunez will get a decent amount of break before he comes back to play competitive football, and this break will be more than just essential for him to make a reasonable recovery and come back all guns blazing.
More Liverpool News:
- Matthew Upson slams Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez for Uruguay’s performance against Portugal
- Liverpool have rejected the chance to sign Brighton & Hove Albion forward Leandro Trossard
- Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique believes England manager Gareth Southgate does not trust Trent Alexander-Arnold
The white side of this situation is for the club, as he will not be susceptible to any injury issues and will fly back to Merseyside completely fit, and with a point to prove on his mind. The Reds will be in Premier League action on Boxing Day, and in the most likely situation, we could see Nunez lead the line for the Reds.
