GROUP D PERMUTATIONS
shut down by Iceland and Croatia’s defence in their first two matches. A missed penalty in the first game against Iceland may have deflated Argentina’s leading scorer, who was already under immense pressure, from critics and fans, to guide his nation to glory.
he had just 20 touches in the first half against the Croats, the second fewest touches by any Argentina player. In the second-half of the encounter, aside from a couple of occasions, Messi could be seen nowhere near the ball.
numerous additions and reductions from the Argentine squad that made it to the World Cup final in Brazil, it was Messi’s brilliance in the group stage that dragged the Albiceleste to the knockout stage.
in all the group stage matches, including an injury-time in Germany 2006 v Serbia in Brazil 2014 v Bosnia and Herzegovina Venue: Saint Petersburg Stadium Capacity: 64,287
Salvio Tagliafico Mercado Otamendi Banega
Mascherano
Perez Di Maria Deliveries into attacking third Runs into attacking third Deliveries into penalty area Runs into penalty area winner against Iran. He set up Angel Di Maria’s winner in the round of 16 game against Switzerland and got Argentina off the mark in the semifinal penalty shoot-out against Netherlands.
his form if they are to beat Nigeria by a good margin. in Brazil 2014 v Iran in Brazil 2014 v Nigeria With all the attention on Messi, it is a chance for Higuain to take advantage as he is expected to replace Sergio Aguero at the top. Balogun, who plays for Bundesliga side Mainz 05, will have to be on his toes to stop him from utilising the extra space. Musa scored a brace against Iceland in their last game but had also scored twice against Argentina in Nigeria’s final group game at the 2014 World Cup. Manchester City’s Otamendi will have to keep him quiet so that the South Amercians can focus on attack. Source: ladbrokes.com Nigeria while hoping Iceland lose to or draw with Croatia. If Iceland and Argentina both win they will be split by goal difference (GD).
are already through to the round of 16. A win or draw against Iceland will be enough for them to top the group if Nigeria fail to win. If Nigeria wins and Croatia loses, Croatia could slip to second on GD. But with a plus-five GD at the moment, it's very unlikely. NIZHNYNOVGOROD: Argentina’s struggles at the World Cup may not come as a surprise to many after a qualifying campaign where they almost ended up missing the bus to Russia. It took a Lionel Messi hat-trick against Ecuador on the last matchday to help Argentina squeeze into the World Cup.
One of the biggest weaknesses that the South American qualifiers exposed was the absence of a well-oiled midfield.
During his time as head coach, Jorge Sampaoli has been unable to find a stable set-up in the midfield that can help execute his high-press, attacking brand of football with fluidity.
With an attack boasting of some of the world’s finest forwards, there is always a temptation to use as many of them as possible. When Argentina trailed Croatia by a goal, Sampaoli introduced Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Cristian Pavon, taking off Sergio Aguero, Eduardo Silva and Enzo Perez.
His refusal to add another midfielder left Javier Mascherano alone in central midfield. The idea of the high-press deteriorated further and aided Croatia’s counter-attacking game.
Against Nigeria, a match Argentina must win – and win by a big margin, in case Iceland beat Croatia – Sampaoli can ill-afford to go ahead with a similar set-up.
That is why Ever Banega and Angel di Maria could be the key on Tuesday. Nigeria are likely to use the 3-5-2 formation they did against Iceland. For Argentina’s high-press game to be effective against a team that will look to crowd out the midfield, Banega could be important in improving the ball circulation that Argentina lacked against Croatia.
Lucas Biglia will be another option for Sampaoli but the AC Milan midfielder failed to impress against Iceland and is
Argentina midfielder Stats: Fifa