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Argentina vs Mexico – World Cup: Team news, possible lineups & prediction.
Argentina will play Group C rivals Mexico on Saturday in an effort to bounce back from their disastrous opening encounter. Their World Cup dreams are already on the line.
On Saturday night, Argentina takes on Mexico while still feeling the effects of one of the World Cup’s greatest upsets.
“We’re dead,” Lionel Messi said in the wake of Argentina’s 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia. Lionel Scaloni only has four days to revive his squad for a match which has ballooned in importance.
Regardless of the first results, the significance of this match was assured for Mexico’s manager, Gerardo Martino. The manager, who was born in Rosario, guided Argentina to two Copa America finals before quitting in 2016. Chile won both of those games on penalties.
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Team News:
Lionel Messi, the star of Argentina, trained apart from the rest of his team on Thursday, but the 35-year-old playmaker is anticipated to start this weekend, saving Lionel Scaloni a significant selection dilemma.
Although the left leg of the Albiceleste captain is his primary area of concern, it appears doubtful that Papu Gomez will be asked to fill in on Saturday. Messi should therefore be the focal point of an offensive trident that also includes Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria.
As part of Scaloni’s back four, Lisandro Martinez might replace either Cristian Romero or Nicolas Otamendi after starting on the bench in the defeat to Saudi Arabia due to a fitness concern. Additionally competing are Gonzalo Montiel and Alexis Mac Allister.
Angel Correa and Paulo Dybala, two attackers who have recently returned from injuries, are among the team players looking to play their first minutes of the championship match.
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Raul Jimenez, a Mexican striker who has lately regained fitness, will try to get into the starting lineup. In El Tri’s final friendly, the Wolverhampton Wanderers star came off the bench for the first time in three months.
Tata Martino might instead revert to Henry Martin, with flanking help from Alexis Vega and Hirving Lozano.
In Martino’s 4-3-3 formation, Pachuca’s Luis Chavez, who didn’t participate in the CONCACAF qualifications but gained a spot on the team during recent friendlies, should continue on the left side of a midfield trio. Ajax defender Jorge Sanchez begins as a right-back.
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Potential Lineup:
Argentina’s possible lineup:
E. Martinez; Montiel, Romero, Li. Martinez, Tagliafico; De Paul, Paredes, Mac Allister; Messi, La. Martinez, Di Maria
Mexico’s possible lineup:
Ochoa; Sanchez, Montes, Moreno, Gallardo; Alvarez, Herrera, Chavez; Lozano, Martin, Vega
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Score prediction:
Although Scaloni’s team may no longer be considered unbeatable, the 36-match winning streak Argentina had going into the competition shouldn’t be completely discounted. Under Scaloni, the Albiceleste have never dropped back-to-back games. In reality, Argentina defeated Mexico in their very next game after his first loss as a coach.
Argentina should be able to win against El Tri if they can regain the calm that underlay their winning streak. However, they haven’t followed the plan up to this point.
Prediction: Argentina 2-0 Mexico