World Cup 2018: 3 things Argentina needs to do against Nigeria

Nigeria has provided a helping hand to the sinking Argentine ship by hammering Iceland 2-0 to blow the competition for the knock-out stages in group D wide open.

The super eagles were in scintillating form in the 2nd half and put the recently famed Icelandic defense to the sword during the 2nd half of the game. Ahmed Musa was the hero for Nigeria as the forward grabbed the winning goals and kept Argentine World Cup hopes alive.

Now what is of paramount importance to Argentina is to beat Nigeria in what promises to be a cracker of a game.

But beating Nigeria is easier said than done. The Nigerians will be brimming with confidence heading into the game and Leo Messi and company need to be wary of that threat.

So here are 3 things which Argentina needs to do against Nigeria.

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#3 Accommodate Dybala in the starting eleven

Dybala - exciting talent

Despite all the attacking riches Argentina has, their midfield has a dearth of pace and creativity. No one in the Argentine midfield seems capable to generate line breaking passes and move the ball swiftly in the opposition half.

For that specific reason, Lionel Messi usually drops deep in midfield and carries the ball forward for his national team. But when Messi didn't drop much in midfield in the game against Croatia, the result was horrendous to say the least.

One thing that goes against playing Dybala in the starting eleven is that his playing style is similar to that of Messi.

While it seems a plausible reason, there is a shortage of quality in the Argentine midfield which is only compensated by Messi since the likes of Enzo Perez and Lucas Biglia provide zero or no creativity to the midfield. This leads to opposition teams heavily marking Messi in order to nullify the Argentine threat.

Although Dybala's playing style is quite similar to that of Messi, he can be accommodated in the starting lineup by playing a 4-2-3-1 with Dybala playing in number 10 position and Messi playing down the right wing as an inverted winger.

In this manner, the creative burden will be less on Messi and even if he drops deep in the midfield, Dybala will be there in the final third to maintain consistent threat in and around the opposition penalty area.

#2 Exploit Nigeria's set-piece weakness

Otamendi will be crucial to Argentina's chances during set-pieces.

As correctly pointed out by Iceland's central defender, Kari Arnason, the Nigerians do have a problem while defending set-pieces.

Prior to the game against Iceland, the Super Eagles had conceded 4 goals in 3 games against England, Czech Republic, and Croatia.

To make matter even worse, the one conceded against Croatia was an own goal. Even in the initial stages of the game against Iceland, the African side looked bereft of ideas during set-pieces.

Although it does not seem to be a major issue, it must be duly noted by Jorge Sampaoli. As per the current qualification scenario, the Nigerians require only a point in their last game against the Albiceleste to qualify for the knock-out rounds of the World Cup.

So the Africans will be content to defend deep and thus, it will be hard for Argentina to score via open play. So, they will need to utilize the set-piece vulnerability of Nigerians in order to have any chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the World Cup.

#1 Improve defensive transitions

Sampaoli needs to pull off some trick to get out of this pickle.

Jorge Sampaoli's teams are often constituted with a high pressing system along with a very high defensive line. Also, his teams were quick enough to get back in shape as soon as opposition hit them on the counter-attack.

But this aging Argentine side clearly lacks in this regard, which has been the main cause for team's abysmal defensive performance in this World Cup.

Against Croatia, the team was guilty of ball watching when the 3rd goal was conceded. Even during the 2nd goal which Luka Modric scored, he was marked only by Nicolas Otamendi while it is a known fact that Modric is good at losing his marker quite easily.

With Mascherano being 34, it is quite difficult for him to track back when the team is hit on the counter, which results in the team being out of shape once the team lose possession higher up the pitch.

Sampaoli needs to set up his team in such a way that it remains compact defensively without being compromised on the attacking front.