Saudi Arabia vs Argentina Preview

November 14, 2012 By Gregory Sica

Topics: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Friendly

Lionel Messi and co. will be expected to fire on all cylinders for Los Albicelestes against the struggling Arabs.

Argentina will be hoping to continue with their outstanding form when they take on relatively easy opponents in Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium on Wednesday.

The two-time world champions currently lead the South American World Cup qualifying group and have practically assured themselves of a place in Brazil 2014.

Since the arrival of Alejandro Sabella, Los Albicelestes have finally gained the necessary confidence to return to the elite of world soccer, and have shown their gradual improvement with a number of positive results in recent months.

In last month's South American World Cup qualifiers, Argentina thrashed River Plate rivals Uruguay 3-0 in Mendoza and then went on to edge Chile 2-1 in Santiago.

Much of Argentina's success can be brought down to the fact that FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has finally adjusted to the pressures associated with representing his country. Messi has been in sensational form with Argentina and has scored no less than eight goals in his last six matches with them.

For Wednesday's clash, Sabella will be unable to count with the services of Benfica pair Ezequiel Garay and Enzo Perez. But more importantly, Real Madrid hitman Gonzalo Higuain and Valencia midfielder Fernando Gago will miss the fixture due to sustaining recent injuries in La Liga action.

Due to Higuain's absence, in-form Inter Milan striker Rodrigo Palacio is expected to parter Manchester City ace Sergio Aguero in the attack. Messi, who scored twice as Barcelona trounced Mallorca 4-2 on the weekend, will sit behind the front-two in what can be regarded as being one of the deadliest offensive lines in the world.

Rivals Saudi Arabia will definitely be motivated simply by facing the star-studded Albicelestes, and will be looking to pull-off what would be a historic upset.

However, the chances of achieving this are rather remote, as Saudi Arabia struggled enormously as they failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

Dutch legend Frank Rijkaard understands the obvious limitations of his side, and will take the game as a learning experience looking ahead to next month's West Asian Federation Championship in Kuwait.