After the storm, coach Jorge Sampaolli of the Argentine national team begins his job in earnest this Saturday, November 11, with a view to the dispute of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He will do so in the World Cup scenario. The friendly preparatory will be held at the Luzhniki Arena in Moscow.

Russia’s recent performance

The hosts spent the past few years playing friendlies as they had a place in the 2018 World Cup and did not need to play in the qualifiers. However, when they played in official games, they did not leave a good impression.
In the Confederations Cup, which was disputed in the middle of the year as a test event for the World Cup, were eliminated in the group stage with two defeats (Mexico and Portugal) and a victory (New Zealand). In the previous year, it managed to qualify for the decisive stage of Euro 2016. However, in France, it also did not have the capacity to move from the first phase.
Even in the friendly the results have not been encouraging. In the final double round of preparation, the Russians opted for ‘light’ challenges in the face of minor selections. They defeated South Korea 4-2 and were no more than a 1-1 draw against Iran.
The lack of convincing displays in favor of a major debate in the country on the use of athletes who were naturalized and even those born in Russia who play abroad. Accused of a lack of commitment to the national team, many were turned away. The results before and after these measurements showed that the attitude did not bring significant improvements.

The current form of Argentina

Frequent presence in the lists of candidates for the title due to the large number of outstanding athletes in world football, especially Barcelona striker Lionel Messi, a multi-player of the best player award on the planet, Argentina lived a nightmare in the South American qualifiers for the World Cup in Russia.
It was part of the long dispute, which involved 18 rounds, outside the qualifying zone and only guaranteed their place with a 3-1 victory against Ecuador in the opponents’ home on the final day thanks to Messi’s exuberant performance. It was enough to secure third place in the qualifiers with 28 points (seven wins, seven draws and four losses) and confirm the trip to the World Cup.
Saturday’s friendly against Russia and the duel against Nigeria, also scheduled for the World Cup host country on Nov. 14, can really be seen as the first step in a preparation that is long overdue. During the qualifiers, the Argentines had three coaches.
Tata Martino and Edgardo Bauza went down the winding road until Sampaolli was hired. He led the team under intense pressure in the last four qualifying matches. He showed a lot of insecurity and made significant changes from one game to another, since he did not get the satisfactory results. Now, calmly, you can do the work you believe in.
One thing is right. Gonzalo Higuain, the striker of Juventus, is not part of the plans. He had already been set aside in the relegation’s final playoff. It seemed to be a measure to please the critics, who blamed the athlete for recent failures. As he is not on the list for the next two friendlies, Sampaolli signals that he has no intention of reviewing this decision, although the striker has scored seven goals in 12 Juve matches in the 2017/2018 Italian League season.
Another local media darling, Internazionale midfielder Icardi has been recalled but will not be able to perform. Hurt, ended up being cut from the list of Sampaolli that has the following athletes:
Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Nahuel Guzman (Tigers), Agustin Marchesin (Club America)
Defenders: Javier Mascherano (FC Barcelona), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Federico Fazio (Roma), Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), German Pezzella (Fiorentina), Emiliano Insua
He is also a member of the team of Ever Banega (Sevilla), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Marcos Acuna (Sporting CP), Matias Kranevitter (Zenit St Petersburg), Leandro Paredes (Zenit St Petersburg), Emiliano Rigoni , Diego Perotti (Rome)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Dario Benedetto (Boca Juniors), Cristian Pavon

History of the matches Russia vs Argentina
The selections have faced each other only once. Friendly in 2009 ended with Argentina winning 3-2.

Although he has scheduled the friendly to allow the team to live up to the conditions of the host country of the World Cup, the strategy did not work perfectly. The Argentinians arrived in Moscow under very cold weather conditions quite different from what is expected during the World Cup. This may make it difficult for South Americans, even though the vast majority of those in power are in Europe. However, visitors should still be considered the best betting option for the match with a price of 1.75 on Bet365. Draw has a prize of 3.50 and success of the owners of the house multiplies the investment by 4.75