Both teams have diminutive playmakers as the focal point of their attack; in fact Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Xherdan Shaqiri of Switzerland are of the same height and both will be looking to lead their team to victory at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.
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While somewhat belated, Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has started to stamp his authority on this tournament. The former World Footballer of the Year who had scored only one World Cup goal prior to this tournament, has hit his stride this time around with four well taken goals in three group matches. Simply put, Messi has carried Argentina into the Round of 16. Of the six goals that Argentina scored in the group stages, Messi netted four, including a stunning free kick which left Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama stranded last time out. Apart from the brilliance of Lionel Messi and good performances from Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria- playing mainly through the middle for his country- the rest of the Argentina team has mostly struggled, especially the defense. Argentina are yet to win by more than one goal in this tournament and Coach Alejandro Sabella will hope the defense clean up their act as they approach the latter stages of the competition. Following the 2-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their curtain-raiser, Albiceleste beat Iran 1-0 via a late Messi strike before finishing off with a 3-2 win over Nigeria.
Switzerland qualified for the Round of 16 in style with Xherdan Shaqiri netting a hat-trick- the second one in this tournament- in the 3-0 win over Honduras. As opposed to how they played against Honduras however, the Swiss are expected to defend deep here and break on the counter. With the pace and trickery of Shaqiri, combined with the attacking abilities of Switzerland’s fullbacks Stephan Lichtsteiner and Ricardo Rodriguez, the Swiss should get much joy attacking the flanks. Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfield has said ‘anything is possible’ in one game and will hope his attackers can stun a particularly shaky Argentine defense.
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TEAM NEWS
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was subbed off in the match against Nigeria with muscle problems and the powerful forward is likely to miss this game with PSG’s Ezequiel Lavezzi set to take his place in a continued three-man attack also comprising Messi and Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain.
Apart from losing their best central defender Steve von Bergen earlier in the tournament, the Swiss should have a full squad to choose from. Fabian Schar came in for the calamitous Philippe Senderos in the match against Honduras and the FC Basel defender is expected to keep that spot for this match.
Probable Lineups
Argentina (4-3-3): Romero; Rojo, Garay, Fernandez, Zabaleta; Mascherano, Gago, Di Maria; Lavezzi, Messi, Higuain
Switzerland (4-2-3-1): Benaglio; Rodriguez, Schar, Djourou, Lichtsteiner; Inler, Behrami; Barnetta, Xhaka, Shaqiri; Seferovic
PREDICTION
The Swiss will probably find holes in the Argentine defense to score one or two goals but with Messi in the Argentina lineup, expect them to outscore Switzerland.
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