The former Barcelona midfielder ruled out having a complicated relationship with Jorge Sampaoli, stating that the team wants to turn things around.

Argentina faces the embarrassment of being eliminated from a FIFA World Cup for the first time since the 2002 edition. La Albiceleste seemed to have their downfall against Croatia, and now, only a win against Nigeria could see them through to the next stage, and maybe that will not be enough.

Speaking in a press conference earlier today, midfielder Javier Mascherano tackled a variety of topics, including Lionel Messi's fitness levels and how the team will face Nigeria with all eyes set on them trying to see them fail.

Mascherano admitted that the current situation at La Albiceleste hasn't been easy to handle for Messi, but he ruled out that the Argentine ace wasn't happy to defend his National Team's colors.

"Leo is fine, but when you're part of a team that's not doing what they are supposed to do, you get a bit frustrated. He's a human being and he has his reasons to be frustrated, but he's also willing to try and turn this thing around and to erase the bad image we've left in the past couple of games," Mascherano stated.

Following the game against Croatia, there were reports of an alleged player mutiny against their coach, Jorge Sampaoli. While he admitted that the relationship with the coach is not on its best terms, Mascherano denied that the players will be making any decisions regarding the squad that will face Nigeria.

"Our relationship with Sampaoli is completely normal, if he makes a call we don't like, we tell him about it. We'd be hipocrits if we didn't do it, we have to work for the greater good of the group,"Mascherano added.

"We know it's a complex situation. There have been eight coaches in the past years and when everyone left, they all said we told them how to do their job, and that's a lie. It's a myth that some have published about this generation of players, and the rest of the world believes that. We're not making excuses, we'll be the ones to face the music and accept the outcome of this game," the player concluded.

Argentina needs to win their clash against Nigeria to have a better chance of making it to the next stage. If Iceland beats Croatia in the other group game, then the goal differential will play a key role in who makes it to the next round.