After an unconvincing, but an important 2-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Argentina’s next assignment is Iran on Saturday afternoon at the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte. Lionel Messi and Co are expected to roll past the Asians who will not trouble the Albiceleste but can Alejandro Sabella’s men finally come to their own and display some eye catching football that fans all around the world have been expecting of them. A change from the 5-3-2 system looks more likely as Sabella should start with an attacking 4-3-3 system to aid Messi’s free runs in the attacking third. Will Iran be at least able to stage a fight against one of the favourites or will Argentina simply roll past their opponents.
Here is Argentina’s possible starting lineup against Iran.
Goalkeeper:
Sergio Romero hardly played for Monaco this season, but the 27 year old looked quite comfortable under the sticks for his team against Bosnia. The shot stopper, however would be disappointed not to save the late Bosnian goal despite getting a hand to it and will be equally up for the task in his next assignment. Romero isn’t expected to be tested much by the Asian outfit but he needs to make sure that he is in the best of shape for his country in the knockout stages of the competition.
Defenders:
Sabella is expected to ditch his three man defence philosophy for the encounter and should deploy Federico Fernandez alongside Ezequiel Garay in the heart of the backline. The Napoli man is vulnerable to raw pace which means Garay will have to come out to help his defensive partner. Marcos Rojo should start in the left back role while Manchester City’s Pablo Zabaleta will man the right back spot. Both the full backs should dart forward with every possible chance as Argentina will have a different attacking outlet out wide with Higuain to aim at in the opposition penalty box.
Midfield:
Javier Mascherano starts in his modern day quarter back role or the auxiliary centre back role, donning the title of the libero to screen the back four and ensure Fernando Gago carries the ball out linking midfield and attack with his intelligent movement and bold passing arrays. Angel Di Maria will play in his carrilero role shuttling up and down with his tireless movement off the ball. The Real Madrid star will pick the ball up from the deep and look to drift wide to ensure Aguero makes his runs inward into the attacking third.
Strikeforce:
With Gonzalo Higuain pulling centre backs out of their position with effortless ease out wide, Lionel Messi will look to dart in with his dribbling ability. Sergio Aguero will initially start off on the left and look to occupy a more central role as the game goes on. An easy victory for the Albiceleste looks likely with Ezequiel Lavezzi putting up a late show from the bench.
