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The FIFA World Cup is slowly entering the business end of the competition and the knockout stage will kick-off tomorrow at the Kazan Arena with Didier Deschamps' France taking on Jorge Sampaoli's La Albiceleste and Lionel Messi. The encounter promises to be an enticing one considering the number of star names who will lock horns to keep their World Cup hopes alive by progressing to the last eight of the competition.
Despite finishing as winners of Group C, France have not hit the peak of their form and have been far from convincing especially after being considered as hot favourites to lift the trophy prior to the tournament. Argentina, on the other hand, have had problems of their own and just about did enough to progress ahead of Nigeria as runners-up in Group D after snatching a late win over the Super Eagles in their final group game.
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However, both teams will be heading into the game with only one thing in mind and that will be to nullify the other and keep themselves alive in the tournament. In this segment, we will be profiling the 3 key player battles that can possibly decide the outcome of this crunch game. Without further delay, let's take a closer look at how these personal battles are expected pan out during this steaming battle in Kazan:
#3 Antoine Griezmann vs Nicolas Otamendi
Antoine Griezmann entered the competition as one of the strong contenders to win the golden boot award considering France's rich vein of talent in the attacking department. However, the Atletico Madrid striker has not been at his usual best so far in the tournament after managing just a single goal, which came from the penalty spot against Australia in Les Bleus' opening game, so far.
The Frenchman will be looking to exploit Argentina's fragile defending with his blistering pace when the two teams meet in their pre-quarter tie but he will certainly have his task cut out when he goes toe to toe with Nicolas Otamendi at the heart of La Albiceleste's defence. The defender struggled against Croatia as part of a back-three but he looked more assured and caught the eye with his sturdy defending when he was deployed alongside Marcos Rojo in a back-four against Nigeria.
Otamendi's volatile nature coupled with Griezmann's lightning pace will surely result in an intriguing battle on the pitch.
#2 Javier Mascherano vs Paul Pogba
Like in many crucial games, even this encounter has the potential to be won or lost in midfield and that does not bode well for Argentina, to be honest. On paper, there is only one winner in this department and Les Bleus have the legs of Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, two players who can decide the outcome of any game on their day, in contrast to Sampaoli's lack of options in the centre of the park.
The emergence of an unlikely hero in the form of Ever Banega is something La Albiceleste will welcome with open hands but Javier Mascherano's decline could be a cause of concern especially in the knockout stages of the competition where there is very little margin for error.
Mascherano is undoubtedly a leader on the pitch but it is quite clear that he is a shadow of his former self from Brazil four years ago, when Argentina finished as runners-up in the tournament, and his sloppy passing and lack of pace can put his side to the sword against teams like France.
Pogba will be liberated in midfield with the extra protection behind him and this battle could well and truly decide Argentina's hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals.
#1 Lionel Messi vs Raphael Varane
Lionel Messi and Raphael Varane has locked horns against each other on many instances at club level in possibly football's most prestigious fixture known as the 'El Clasico'. However, the stakes are even higher this time around when they meet in the round of 16 tie of the FIFA World Cup with absolutely no room for the slightest of lapse in concentration.
Messi opened his account in this year's tournament with a goal against Nigeria while Varane has looked solid at the back for France and has now gone over 180 minutes without conceding a goal. Argentina's hopes of progressing solely rest on Messi's individual brilliance to a certain extent while Les Bleus' best form of resistance against the little magician from Rosario will definitely include Varane.
The duo has nullified each other before but the occasion is certainly above every other battle they have ever contested and it could well and truly come down to who copes well with the weight of expectations.
