Messi and Argentina prepare for Iran
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Iran coach Carlos Queiroz looks ahead after the goalless draw against Nigeria and precisely the challenge against Argentina: “It will require a miracle since Albiceleste is one of the best teams in the world and also they have one day of rest more than we do. ” – continues Queiroz also praising the individual
” if it were human it would be Messi the best player in the world, but he is not human and therefore does not enter the race. Apart from Messi there are players like Di Maria, Higuain and Mascherano who are fantastic. We can’t worry about one player, there are quite a few of them “
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Iran vs. Argentina Prediction
By Sounak Mukhopadhyay | June 18, 2014 9:26 AM EST
Overview
The twenty seventh match of the FIFA World Cup 2014 is going to be held between Argentina and Iran. The Group F match should be interesting as Argentina will try to secure its place in the “group of 16” by winning this match. Iran, with one point, will settle anything more useful than a loss.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates scoring a goal against Bosnia during their 2014 World Cup Group F soccer match at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro June 15, 2014.
Teams
Argentina: Argentina started cautiously as expected. Its victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina was not extravagant but secure. Alejandro Sabella knew the critical importance of winning the first match of the tournament. The most significant point of the match was that Lionel Messi, the Argentine football icon who is often criticized for his lack of brilliance in world cups, scored after 8 years in a world cup. Messi’s goal was the most striking moment of the match. He can only get better as the tournament progresses. However, he apparently lacked support. Sergio Agüero failed to take advantage of a few chances Messi manufactured. Gonzalo Higuaín looked far from his best. Argentina has to play better as a team to perform better.
Iran: Iran had the first draw of the tournament against Nigeria. The match was also the first one when no goal was scored. Coach Carlos Queiroz said after the match that his team had played pragmatic football. Realizing that it might not be able to score and win against the African team, it decided to stay back and defend. While Iran became successful in securing a point with such a strategy, it may continue the same tactics against Argentina as well. If it manages to secure a draw against the group favorite, it will have a great chance of going to the next round. However, Iran must understand that Argentina’s capabilities are far greater than Nigeria‘s.
Head to Head
These two teams played only once against each other before. The match ended in a draw. Both scored 1 goal each. The match was played in Santiago Bernabu , to celebrate Real Madrid’s 75th anniversary. in March 1977 Argentina with a full stregnth team could not beat Iran. A year later , both teams took part in the World Cup 1978 Argenetian, with Iran appearing for the first time in its hiostory , the host Argentina winning the OWrld Cup alsi for the forts time.
Key Players
Argentina: Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero
Iran: Iran: Reza Ghoochannejhad , Ashkan Dejagah and Javad Nekounam
Date, Time & Venue
Brazil’s time zone is UTC/GMT -3. The match starts at 1 pm (local time) on June 21 . The match will be held at Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte (BRA)
Prediction
Iran’s defensive tactics might not work against Argentina which will be desperate to find its best rhythm. Messi will score again, maybe more than once. Argentina will win 3-0.