Having struggled in their first outing, Argentina have much work to do when they take on Croatia on Thursday evening. The Albiceleste were held to a 1-1 draw with Iceland, meaning this encounter at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium – against a team sitting at the top of Group D – is a must win game for Jorge Sampaoli’s men.
Croatia have not beaten South American opposition since a 3-2 win over Argentina back in 2006, a result which marks their only win in the previous four meetings, but if they manage to secure victory here, they will be through to the second-round for the first time since finishing third at the 1998 World Cup.
Zlatko Dalić’s men have won three of their last five matches, losing to Brazil and Peru but registering victories over Mexico and Senegal before their Match Day One triumph over Nigeria. That game was difficult however, managing just two shots on target from open play as the 2-0 scoreline came from an own goal and a Luka Modric penalty.
But Croatia will also enter this clash without Nikola Kalinic, the AC Milan striker sent home after refusing to come on as a substitute in their opening game of the tournament. He claimed to have a back injury, but the Coach was seeming unimpressed with that excuse and exiled the former Fiorentina man from the squad.
They are expected to once again deploy Dalić’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation with Andrej Kramaric lining up behind Mario Mandzukic in attack with Modric alongside Ivan Rakitic in midfield. However, Marcelo Brozovic may step in next to the Barcelona man and push his Real Madrid rival into a more advanced role.
For Argentina meanwhile, Sampaoli has been tipped to ring the changes in reaction to their stalemate last week. That might mean a switch to either 4-4-2 or 3-4-1-2, neither of which looks like the best way to arrest their issues which largely stemmed from Lionel Messi’s ability to find space in the middle of the pitch.
He enjoyed much more success out wide against Iceland, but is expected to once again be used in a central role, while Angel Di Maria, Maximiliano Meza, Lucas Biglia and Marcos Rojo have all been suggested as possible casualties of the shakeup. Federico Fazio, Marcos Acuna, Enzo Perez, Cristian Pavon and Gabriel Mercado are all possible replacements, but which of them comes into the side will largely depend on the system Sampaoli opts for.
Unlike the Iceland game when he announced his starting XI at a press conference, the former Sevilla boss has not revealed his lineup to the media ahead of time so his team sheet will be of much interest.
Probable Lineups:
Argentina (4-4-2): Caballero; Salvio, Otamendi, Federico Fazio, Tagliafico; Di Maria, Ever Banega, Mascherano, Meza; Aguero, Messi
Croatia (4-2-3-1): Subasic; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinic; Modric, Rakitic; Rebic, Kramaric, Perisic; Mandzukic
How well do you know European and world football? Want to challenge the best Fantasy Football Managers? Play www.fantasy-worldcup.com now!