Match Previews

Lanzini ruled out recently. Romero is out as well. Mammana and Benedetto are long-term absentees.

Played just a single pre-World Cup friendly and it was more of a training exercise, beating minnows Haiti 4:0. Suffered an ignominious 6:1 battering at the hands of Spain in March in their last more meaningful friendly, in a game which saw their defensive vulnerability badly exposed.

Will be desperate to make a strong start in the World Cup when facing a tricky and dangerous side like Iceland, who have great team spirit and will be doubtless eager to surprise them. The Blue and Whites are in possibly the trickiest group in the whole competition and know that the pressure will skyrocket if they fail to get the points against the Scandinavian opponents in Moscow.

Jorge Sampaoli suffered a serious blow in the week before the start of the World Cup as Manuel Lanzini suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out. The West Ham man was slated to be among the starters but now his place is likely to be taken by Maximiano Meza. Sampaoli is expected to start with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Eduardon Salvio used as a full-back in one of the more interesting caveats.

The likes of Dario Benedetto and Emmanuel Mammana are both long-term absentees. Sergio Romero is also ruled out due to a knee injury and this means that veteran Willy Caballero is expected to be the regular on goal during the World Cup, even if Franco Armani is also a strong contender.