Heading into Russia 2018, Argentina’s hopes rest heavily on the shoulders of their No. 10, captain and superstar; Lionel Messi. FIFA ranking: 5 (till June 7)
Coach:
Jorge Sampaoli: Sampaoli, 58, landed the position as mentor just a year prior to the finals in Russia, assuming control at a grieved time and turning into the third man to lead the group since Alejandro Sabella left after the 2014 World Cup.
Key players:
Lionel Messi: Messi will praise his 31st birthday amid the competition and this could be his last opportunity to win the one major title he needs. Scarcely any individuals question the five-times WorldPlayer of the Year will score objectives. The central issue is whether his colleagues will be sufficiently enlivened to approach his level.
Gonzalo Higuain: Higuain is Argentina’s puzzler, a player who appears to score freely for his club Juventus however works to hit the objective when wearing the national shirt. Higuain’s current record for Argentina – – one objective in nine World Cup qualifiers – – is poor to the point that he isn’t even an assurance to go to Russia under Sampaoli. Be that as it may, another fine season for Juve recommends Sampaoli can’t stand to forget him. In the event that Higuain can duplicate his club shape Argentina will be risky.
Nicolas Otamendi: Unsung legend Otamendi is the main present in Sampaoli’s line up since Argentina fit the bill for the World Cupback in October. The Manchester City safeguard gives truly necessary unwavering quality in a national side that has changed the two names and developments with disturbing normality since Sampaoli assumed control. How he is used, and who will play nearby him, will be of crucial significance to the double world champions.
Form guide:
Argentina struggled in the qualifiers and they have barely improved since, with inconsistent results and a porous defence. They lost a November friendly 4-2 against Group D opponents Nigeria and although a 2-0 win over Italy in March briefly raised their spirits, they lost 6-1 to Spain a few days later in one of their worst performances in years.
How they qualified:
Argentina booked their ticket to Russia largely due to the brilliance of Messi, who scored a hat-trick in their final game against Ecuador. The Argentines needed to win the match to guarantee qualification, and the 3-1 victory lifted them into third place in the 10-team group. Most surprisingly for a team with Messi, Paulo Dybala, Angel Di Maria and Higuain in their ranks, they scored just 19 goals in the 18 qualifying matches. Only Bolivia scored fewer.
Prospects:
Argentina reached the World Cup final in 2014 and the Copa America final in 2015 and 2016, but it has been downhill ever since for the twice champions. They are in the hardest group of all, Group D, alongside Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria. If they qualify they will at least be in the side of the draw that would keep them apart from Brazil, Germany and England before the final. Another advantage for Argentina is that they begin their campaign early, just three days into the tournament on June 16 against Iceland, giving the players more time to rest.