Argentina get their World Cup qualifying campaign underway with a difficult clash against Chile at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires on Friday.
Argentina are hoping to return to their glory days under the guidance of newly hired boss Alejandro Sabella. Los Albicelestes didn't live up to expectation at the Copa America, having been eliminated much earlier than they had anticipated, so a win in their opening 2014 World Cup qualifier at home to Chile will be crucial for the team's confidence.
The two-time world champions count with an array of international superstars, most notably Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi. The current World Player of the Year has yet to make an impact when representing his country, and this has caused much debate in his homeland. Messi, who will captain the side against Chile, will be under enormous pressure to perform at the Monumental stadium.
On Tuesday Messi took some pressure from himself by declaring: "This doesn't depend on only one [player], the national team have to put in a team effort."
He added, "We want to start from scratch in the best possible manner, with the same hope of always."
Messi will lead Argentina's attack alongside Gonzalo Higuain. Higuain has been in fine form of late, having converted a superb hat-trick as Real Madrid slaughtered Espanyol 4-0 in Spain's La Liga on Sunday. Sabella has decided to adopt a 3-5-2 formation, which he expects will allow his side to control the midfield and create goal-scoring situations for the front-men.
Like Argentina, rivals Chile, who are coached by the Argentine Claudio Borghi, also failed to make an impact at the Copa America, even though many expected them to reach the final. Since crashing out rather unexpectedly against Venezuela, the Chileans have gone four matches without a single victory.
While Chile still seem strong enough to give Argentina a run for their money, a major blow is that they will be unable to count with the services of Spanish-based players Gary Medel and Alexis Sanchez, who are both out injured. In their absence, Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matias Fernandez will be La Roja's main inspiration.
Argentina and Chile have clashed 82 times in the past, with Argentina winning 54 of the matches played while Chile only 6. However, in their last meeting in 2008, Chile scraped a 1-0 win in Santiago, a result that led to the immediate dismissal of then-national team coach Alfio Basile.
Despite the fact that both teams are still searching for their identity, Argentina are expected to claim the three points, even if it may be very difficult. Should they fail to bag their first win, plenty more questions will be asked.
The two-time world champions count with an array of international superstars, most notably Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi. The current World Player of the Year has yet to make an impact when representing his country, and this has caused much debate in his homeland. Messi, who will captain the side against Chile, will be under enormous pressure to perform at the Monumental stadium.
On Tuesday Messi took some pressure from himself by declaring: "This doesn't depend on only one [player], the national team have to put in a team effort."
He added, "We want to start from scratch in the best possible manner, with the same hope of always."
Messi will lead Argentina's attack alongside Gonzalo Higuain. Higuain has been in fine form of late, having converted a superb hat-trick as Real Madrid slaughtered Espanyol 4-0 in Spain's La Liga on Sunday. Sabella has decided to adopt a 3-5-2 formation, which he expects will allow his side to control the midfield and create goal-scoring situations for the front-men.
Like Argentina, rivals Chile, who are coached by the Argentine Claudio Borghi, also failed to make an impact at the Copa America, even though many expected them to reach the final. Since crashing out rather unexpectedly against Venezuela, the Chileans have gone four matches without a single victory.
While Chile still seem strong enough to give Argentina a run for their money, a major blow is that they will be unable to count with the services of Spanish-based players Gary Medel and Alexis Sanchez, who are both out injured. In their absence, Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matias Fernandez will be La Roja's main inspiration.
Argentina and Chile have clashed 82 times in the past, with Argentina winning 54 of the matches played while Chile only 6. However, in their last meeting in 2008, Chile scraped a 1-0 win in Santiago, a result that led to the immediate dismissal of then-national team coach Alfio Basile.
Despite the fact that both teams are still searching for their identity, Argentina are expected to claim the three points, even if it may be very difficult. Should they fail to bag their first win, plenty more questions will be asked.
