Lionel Messi and Argentina look to win their second World Cup Group F match as they take on Iran at the Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte on Saturday. The Argentinians are coming off a 2-1 win against a Bosnia-Herzegovina side that proved itself difficult to break down and creative going forward. Iran, however, don't possess nearly the same quality as the Bosnians and will struggle against the impressive Argentinian attack.
Argentina will fancy its chances against the Iranians, who qualified atop their group in the Asian Football Confederation qualifications. The South Americans are extremely threatening up front with strikers Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain playing in front of Lionel Messi and on-form Angel di Maria. It is at the back where the Argentines are shaky -- goalkeeper Sergio Romero let in a soft goal against the Bosnians. But the game against the Iranians should be conducted mostly in the Iranian half, and therefore Argentine coach Alejandro Sabella will most likely field an extremely attacking lineup. The Argintinians failed to create enough chances in the first half against the Bosninans, but two positive changes at halftime -- the insertion of Higuain and Fernando Gago -- aided in a more dynamic and attacking second half. A brilliant goal by Messi sealed all three points and anything short of a victory against Iran will be simply astonishing.
Iran come into this match after playing out a dull 0-0 draw against disorganized Nigeria. Neither side showed any real attacking prowess and the scoreless tie was really the only appropriate result. Iran will look to get 11 men behind the ball and try to keep the likes of Messi, Aguero, and di Maria out of their box, although the task will be easier said than done. Up front, Iran will rely on the hold up play of Charlton Athletic striker Reza Ghoochannejhad, nicknamed 'Gucci', but undoubtedly his main job will be to get in front of FC Barcelona player Javier Mascherano and stop the usually defensive midfielder from roaming forward and creating chances for Argentina. The Iranians will need 90 minutes of brilliant defending to get anything out of this match.
If Argentina wins this match and Bosnia-Herzegovina wins their game against Nigeria later in the day, the Argentines will qualify to the round of 16. The Iranians will need divine intervention to stop what is sure to be a goal-fest in Belo-Horizonte, but even that will most likely not be enough to stop Messi and his friends from feasting on the 'Princes of Persia'.
The game is set to kick off at 12:00 PM EST at the Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte. It can be seen on ESPN and in Spanish on Univision. If you want to live stream the match, simply go to WatchESPN here and here for a live stream in Spanish.
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