Iran face-off with giants Argentina after a not-so-productive first game against Nigeria and will have a herculean task ahead of them if they are to finish the game in a positive manner. If Argentina manages to win this fixture they will progress into the Last-16 stages with a game in hand. Manager Alejandro Sabella will hope for just that as he gets a little more time to devise a plan to put his team further into the final stages. Carlos Queiroz’s Iran, meanwhile, are joint second with Nigeria and have had a good defense to boast of. They came off the Asian qualifying group conceding the least amount of goals and will definitely test the South American team’s attacking prowess. If Argentina’s first game is anything to go by they will face a tough time unless they up their game.
Players to look out for:
Lionel Messi, the best player on the planet, will be under pressure to deliver his performance after he scored that spectacular goal versus the first timers Bosnia and Herzgovina. Angel Di Maria the star Real Madrid midfielder will hope to give a much better performance than last time. If the Iranians are to pose any threat to the Messi and Co.’s goal it has to come from the winger Ashkan Dejagah and the forward Reza Ghoochannejhad.
Teams head-to-head:
The two teams have other faced each once before and the result was a meager 1-1 draw.
Probable Line-ups:
Argentina (4-3-3): Romero; Zabaleta, Garay, Fernández, Rojo; Rodríguez, Mascherano, María; Messi, Higuaín, Agüero.
Iran (4-2-3-1): Haghigi; Montazeri, Hosseini, Sadeqi, Pooladi; Nekounam, Teymourian; Heydari, Hajsafi, Dejagah; Ghoochanneijhad.
Prediction:
Argentina even with their gifted squad failed to impress the crowd. They are likely to win the match this time too but there won’t be much to talk about.
Final Score Predictions:
Argentina 2 – 0 Iran.
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