World Cup
Jun 21, 2014 5.00pm
1
0
HT : 0 0
FT Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte
  • Lionel Messi 90'+1' goal
  • yellowcard Javad Nekounam 53'
  • yellowcard Masoud Shojaei 73'

Preview: Argentina vs. Iran

Argentina vs. Iran

Argentina are likely to make changes for their second Group F fixture with Iran on Saturday afternoon.

Alejandro Sabella's side struggled for the first hour of their match with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday night before an excellent finish from Lionel Messi proved decisive as they ran out 2-1 winners.

The victory came as a result of Sabella switching from a 3-5-2 formation to a 4-3-3 setup, and their improvement in the second 45 minutes is likely to see Fernando Gago and Gonzalo Higuain introduced into the starting lineup.

Iran marked the start of their fourth World Cup finals with a 0-0 draw with Nigeria, but with Argentina and Bosnia to follow, Carlos Queiroz's outfit face a tough ask to make the last 16.

Despite the uneventful encounter in Curitiba, Queiroz could opt to retain the same team as he initially looks for his players to repeat the performance of Bosnia. who found a way to stifle Messi and his teammates for much of the game in Rio de Janeiro.

Recent form

Argentina: DWDWWW

Iran: LDDDWD

Possible starting lineups

Argentina: Romero; Zabaleta, Rojo, Garay, Fernandez; Gago, Mascherano, Di Maria; Higuain, Aguero, Messi

Iran: Haghighi; Montazeri, Pooladi, Hosseini, Sadeqi; Nekounam, Heydari, Teymourian, Hajsafi, Dejagah; Ghoochanneijhad

Sports Mole says: 4-0

Author photo

Written by

Share this article:
Subscribe to our newsletter

Get FREE daily news and in-depth previews for games from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football — straight to your inbox.

Subscribe