Blow by blow: Nigeria vs Argentina

The pair have met in four previous World Cups, with the Albiceleste winning on each of those occasions but their current turmoil could provide the perfect opportunity for the Super Eagles.

They recovered from a poor performance in their opening 2-0 defeat to Croatia to outclass Iceland by the same scoreline on Friday.

Gernot Rohr’s switch to a back-three proved inspired and the only change could see Tyronne Ebuehi come in at left-wing-back after replacing Brian Idowu against Iceland

Argentina are in crisis, with reports suggesting Jorge Sampaoli will be dismissed immediately if they fail to qualify and his selection could again raise eyebrows, with a switch to a 4-3-3 likely.

Franco Armani, Ever Banega, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain could all get starts but it will take some effort to resurrect their campaign following a 1-1 draw with Iceland and last week’s shambolic 3-0 defeat to Croatia.

They also lost 4-2 the last time these teams met in November 2017 and over 3.5 goals have been scored in their last four meetings.

An open and attacking game could be on the agenda in Saint Petersburg, with both teams scoring in five of the most recent six meetings between the pair.