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The Albiceleste are looking to banish their World Cup 2014 demons. Its been four years since Lionel Messi's Argentina fell to a lone strike by Germany's Mario Gotze in extra time at the famous Maracana stadium, they certainly will be looking to make amends in Russia.
The loss to die Mannschaft in Brazil began a spate of three successive losses in major finals for Argentina. They lost the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals to Chile, extending their title drought to 23 years. The last time Argentina won a major tournament was courtesy of a Gabriel Batistuta brace in 1993, they saw off the Mexican national side 2-1 in Ecuador.
Lionel Messi is arguably the best player in the world at the moment (some believe the greatest ever), he has won a plethora of individual and team titles but one category of trophy continues to elude him.
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Messi has never won a major international tournament. Many believe that is the only chink in his glittering armour, a win at the FIFA tournament in Russia will indeed place him undoubtedly in the cadre of King Pele and Diego Maradona.
Argentina is blessed with a vast Arsenal of attacking talent, here are five who could provide much-needed firepower alongside La Pulga.
#5 Angel Correa
He was largely a spectator during the last two Argentinian friendlies in March as he was left on the bench for both games, but the fact he got a call-up ahead of the mercurial Paulo Dybala says a lot. Correa has been in sublime form for Athletico Madrid scoring 8 goals and providing 7 assists in all competitions so far.
Sergio Aguero missed the friendlies due to injury and Argentinian Manager Jorge Sampaoli asked Correa to provide the needed fire-power ahead of more experienced colleagues such as Inter's Mauro Icardi and Juventus' Dybala.
He is a versatile player and can play on both flanks aswell as through the middle. He will be looking to be on the plane to Russia in a bid to assist his colleagues end the long trophy drought on the international stage.
#4 Mauro Icardi
An accomplished scorer on the domestic scene, having netted a staggering 140 goals in 241 games in Italy since 2010-11. His performances for his national team in comparison have been less than emphatic, to say the least.
Mauro Icardi has featured just a mere four times for Argentina and his last three outings were deemed to be largely underwhelming. He is yet to score for Argentina.
Jorge Sampaoli expressed his frustration with regards Icardi's performances prior to the last friendlies against Italy and Spain. Although he didn't get the nod for the March outings, he could still get on the plane to Russia due to his stellar performances for Inter.
"I don't dismiss him, but, as Argentina's coach I have to focus on performances in the field." - Jorge Sampaoli
#3 Gonzalo Higuain
Higuain truly needs no introduction, although he is largely underrated. He has scored a total of 280 goals in 536 games in a career which has seen him don the colours of European giants such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Napoli.
Higuain has hardly been called up by Sampaoli since he took the reins of the Albiceleste but trusted him to fill Aguero's boots in his absence for the March friendlies.
He has been in top form for Juventus this season, having netted 22 goals in 40 games for the old lady and has provided 6 assists so far.
Higuain certainly is one of the best forwards in the world at the moment and although Argentina has a plethora of attacking talent, he would be an invaluable member of the squad especially with Aguero's consistent injury concerns in mind.
#2 Paulo Dybala
He's a player who has drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi due to his style of play, this has been a gift and a curse especially for the national team. His performances for Argentina have been underwhelming so far, as the decision makers have not figured out how to use him alongside Messi.
He was dropped for the March friendlies and the manager has spoken on his frustration with regards the Dybala situation.
"It is complicated for Dybala to get used to our system, we couldn't improve his performances and we have to evaluate if the current players in this squad are better than Paulo or if we have to keep working with Paulo to improve his performance." - Jorge Sampaoli
He has had a relatively slow start this season for Juventus but has since picked up, scoring 21 goals in 36 games and bagging 5 assists.
Dybala's immense talent is undeniable, he truly is a gem and if Argentina wants to pose a serious threat at this summer's World Cup they need all the help they can get. The Juventus forward would be a positively lethal addition to Jorge Sampaoli's team roster for the World Cup.
#1 Sergio Aguero
Aguero has been in lethal form this season having scored 30 goals in 37 games so far as Pep Guardiola's Manchester City march towards Premier League title success in fine fashion.
Despite a history of frequent injury, Aguero has notched an impressive 35 goals in 83 games for the national side so far.
Aguero, like Leo Messi, certainly has a golden ticket for the trip to Russia. He is undoubtedly one of the finest forwards in World football and if Argentina are to banish the ghosts of the 2014 World Cup, an injury-free Aguero should definitely be onboard the plane to Russia.
