As soon as the lineups were announced, there must have been a collective sigh of relief when Argentina fans saw the teamsheet. Jorge Sampaoli had decided to scrap the three-man defence and had opted to go back to a back-four.
Nicolas Otamendi and Marcos Rojo started at centre-back in a 4-3-3 with Javier Mascherano, Ever Banega and Enzo Perez in midfield. Gonzalo Higuain started up front with Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria on either side.
As a result, Argentina started on the front foot. The hard-working Di Maria was effective in putting pressure out on the left and he tracked back to press the midfield in a bid to win the ball back and initiate attacks.
Nigeria – playing a 3-5-2 – had to sit back to absorb the pressure and hit them on the counter-attack. Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa played up top but John Obi Mikel played in a deeper role compared to the no.10 role he had adopted in the first two games.