Argentina are tipped to win this one, with many believing it to be a little bit beyond the capabilities of Nigeria. The Super Eagles will carry on regardless, with Oboabona ready to return after recovering from the knock on the ankle he picked up before the Bosnia and Herzegovina win. Stephen Keshi may decide to stick with his winning formula though and will likely keep Joseph Yobo in the starting eleven and allow him to receive his 100th cap for his country. With Argentina already through to the last sixteen, Alejandro Sabella may decide to rest some of his key players, however he will need to keep a wary eye on the Nigerians, who with a win, would take top spot in the group and condemn Argentina to a tricky tie with France in the last sixteen. Marcos Rojo is unlikely to feature as he is one booking away from picking up a suspension.
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Argentina only need a point to keep top spot in the group, and would probably mean a knockout game against either Switzerland or maybe Ecuador, however they will likely as not be looking for a further three points and a much improved performance, as befits a side that has won this tournament twice in its illustrious history. If the Argentinians were to be honest with themselves, they would have to admit that it’s largely thanks to Lionel Messi that they are through a t all, thanks to two pieces of magic conjured up during victories over Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran that saw Argentina really make a meal of it where they didn’t need to. Indeed it seems the other three of the storied “fantastic four” which includes Sergio Kun Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria have gone missing during this tournament. They will need to seriously raise their game instead of allowing Messi to carry the entire side, something he is probably more than willing to do, but shouldn’t have to.
Nigeria will definitely be looking for at least a draw, as that would see them into the knockout rounds, so with that in mind, Stephen Keshi is likely to stick with Joseph Yobo. They also need Iran to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to get through, and should this not happen, they will be out of the tournament. Argentina can expect a hard fought game though as Nigeria will not want to let this one slip away, having been up against Argentina on three previous occasions at the group stages of the World Cup and having lost them all by a mere goal each time. However, even though Nigeria are only seen as minnows at these games, they are the only World Cup side still to concede a single goal, so Argentina will have it all to do in front of their fans at the Estadio Porto Alegre in Rio later. They will still believe they can triumph however, as they have won eleven of their last fourteen World Cup games, scoring a very respectable twenty seven goals in the process.