Sinner leads Italy to Davis Cup semifinals; Australia edges past USA
Defending champions Italy advanced to the Davis Cup semifinals on Thursday after defeating Argentina 2-1, with world No 1 Jannik Sinner winning the singles and doubles match.
Argentina has easily been the most disappointing team of the World Cup so far with their star Leo Messi failing miserably. Jorge Sampaoli was appointed the head coach in 2017 following his success with the Chile National team and was expected to bring some luck to the Argentina side. So far, his stint with Argentina has been a disaster and match against Nigeria could be his last match.
After their failure against Croatia, Sampaoli is expected to make atleast five changes to the line-up. With a win needed against Nigeria, Argentina is expected to switch back from a defensive 3-5-2 to a more attacking 4-3-3 line-up. This is how we expect them to line-up on Tuesday.
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ALSO READ: 2018 FIFA World Cup | Argentina vs Nigeria: Preview
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Expected Line-up
4-3-3
Franco Armani, GK
He is expected to replace William Caballero after his disastrous performance in the last match.
Eduardo Salvio, RB
He is expected to retain his place because of lack of options
Nicolas Otamendi, CB
He has had a disastrous World Cup so far and this could be his last game in an Argentina shirt. He will look to salvage some pride.
Gabriel Mercado, CB
He had a decent game against Croatia and is expected to start again.
Nicolas Tagliafico, LB
He has been the only bright spot in an otherwise dull Argentine defence. Expect him to start again.
Javier Mascherano, CDM
Just like many others, this could be his last match for Argentina.
Enzo Perez, CM
He was called in as Manuel Lanzini’s replacement and missed an open goal in the last match. He is expected to start again due to lack of options.
ALSO READ: Messi to have more ball time against Nigeria: Argentina coach
Ever Banega, CM
Surprisingly, he has not started a single match so far. Expect him to bring some much needed experience to the midfield.
Lionel Messi, RW
He has been disappointing at this World Cup so far and will be looking to make amends for his penalty miss against Iceland.
Gonzalo Higuain, ST
He is expected to replace Sergio Aguero in the line-up after the latter’s fallout with Sampaoli.
Angel Di Maria, LW
He did not start the last match but is expected to replace a disappointing Maximiliano Meza in the side.
The match will start at 11:30 PM.
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