Argentina have a game-state problem.It seems strange to be saying “they never make it easy for themselves” — a phrase generally used by supporters of eternally frustrating bottom-half clubs — about the reigning world champions. But honestly, why do Argentina keep on doing this?To clarify, at the last World Cup, Argentina were guilty of squandering a lead no fewer than four occasions. They memorably lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their opening game of the tournament, having been 1-0 up. They went 2-0 up in the quarter-final against the Netherlands, before conceding twice to Wout Weghorst and having to win on penalties.In a memorable final, they blew France away in the first half and seemed set to win 2-0 at a canter. Then Kylian Mbappe’s quickfire double changed everything. Lionel Messi promptly put Argentina 3-2 up — only for Mbappe to equalise again. They also made heavy weather of their first knockout tie, an eventual 2-1 win over Australia, that seemed to be game over before Australia scored and gave Lionel Scaloni’s side a scare late on.All this sprung to mind on Friday, against a Cape Verde side that were dogged, well-organised and capable of scoring spectacular goals. The pattern was very familiar. Argentina took the lead, switched off, and conceded. Argentina took the lead again, switched off again, and conceded again. Argentina took the lead, switched off again… and had to rely on Emiliano Martinez to ensure they didn’t concede for a third time. “We received many tough blows tonight,” conceded Scaloni after the game. “Everyone thought the match would be a walk in the park — we didn’t think it would be.A walk in the park? Perhaps not. But why was it quite such a struggle? Complacency? Tiredness? A tactical problem or a mentality problem?Here, it felt like Argentina were trying to win the game in second gear. This will be a physically gruelling knockout stage, the first World Cup with five knockout matches, and conserving energy for later matches makes sense. The problem, of course, comes when you conserve so much energy that you get sloppy and are forced to play another 30 minutes unnecessarily.