Argentina
Argentina, ranked fifth in the world, would want to take the trophy in their regional archrivals Brazil’s home turf this time. They displayed their class in the friendly they won 3-0 against Trinidad & Tobago, letting everyone know that they are playing in the 2014 World Cup to take home no less than a win.
The team’s record at the mega event has been impressive, as they have bagged the biggest title twice. In this edition of the tournament, the squad has been prepared by Alejandro Sabella, also known as ‘the Magician’, while the beloved Lionel Messi will continue to lead the team.
The Sabella-Messi combination has proved to be fruitful for Argentina, and Sabella’s first decision as the coach was to make Messi the captain of the side in 2011.
Meanwhile, other players to watch in the Argentine team will be forwards Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain.
However, in the showcase match, it was Rodrigo Palacio, midfielder Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodríguez who scored one goal apiece to exhibit their class against Trinidad & Tobago.
“We finished strongly, Trinidad and Tobago were opponents who closed up at the back like some teams in the group will do at the World Cup,” said Messi after the warm-up.
The respect for the Argentine team was evident, as midfielder Ataullah Guerra bowed to Messi before the match on June 5.
Argentina will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in their opening match of the group.
Nigeria
The Nigeria-Argentina fixture in the world cup has now become a tradition. They have met four times before.
Nigeria are better known as the team against which Argentina legend Diego Maradona played his last match in the World Cup. The South Americans won 2-1 in 1994.
But for Nigerians, qualifying for the World Cup was no piece of cake.
“It’s so unpredictable. Anything can happen in 90 minutes, so you never know, Nigeria can even win the World Cup this time,” Emeka Aliewa, former Nigerian league player in Islamabad told The Express Tribune. “While Argentina and Nigeria are favourites within the group, I’m predicting tough resistance from the other teams as well. But it’s important for Nigeria to get to the later stages of the World Cup this time.
“My loyalties will obviously be with Nigeria, but over all this is going to be an interesting group. There are under-dogs here.”
Nigeria is led by Coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi. His team is ranked 44th in the world, and in their pre-World Cup friendly against Greece, they played a goalless draw.
The main players who can make an impact for Nigeria in the grand event are midfielders John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses and Victor Obinna.
Iran
Iran are a single step ahead of Nigeria on the 43rd position in the Fifa world rankings. Their team is led by Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, who is a former Real Madrid manager. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Iran’s national football team, which will end after the World Cup.
His side drew their match 1-1 in the friendly against Angola for the preparation of the World Cup.
Their forward Reza Ghoochannejhad, captain Javad Nekounam and Karim Ansari will be on the radar of the players to watch.
According to Aliewa, Iran will be the team to watch out for when it comes to a big match.
“Iran are the best team at least from Asia and they will look for upsets,” said Aliewa. “At least for Nigeria, playing against Iran will not be easy. .”
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The mystery team for the Group F will be Bosnia and Herzegovina. The team’s most impressive feat on paper is their Fifa ranking. They are the second best team after Argentina in the group, ranked at 21 in the world.
This will be the debut for a nation that arrived at the football circuit in 1995.
The team has not played its pre-World Cup friendly yet, therefore, there is not much to predict.
However, their coach Safet Susic can be labelled as a force to be reckoned with.
The all-time best Paris Saint-Germain player took charge of the Bosnian national side in 2009.
There has been no looking back for the team. They were on a winning streak of nine games from August 2012 till August 2013.
Manchester City star Edin Dzeko together with Vedad Ibisevic and Miralem Pjanic will be the players to watch from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Summary
Fifa World Cup 2014 Group F might very well be called the group of hope as Argentina is expected to face resistance from small teams with big heart. While Argentina will be hoping to win the world cup as one of the favourites, Nigeria, who will be making their sixth appearance in the tournament, will hope to qualify for the next round along with Messi’s side.
Iran would hope for the same in order to break into the league of the world’s top teams and graduate from being the strongest team in Asia. Meanwhile, debutants Bosnia and Herzegovina will look to play their heart out and make an impact. The matches for Group F will begin on June 15.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2014.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ