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Sergio AGUERO and Lionel MESSI to start against Russia

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The dynamic duo of Sergio AGUERO and Lionel MESSI are set to start for Argentina against Russia.

The team is in Russia and are training with SAMPAOLI having all his men at his disposal for just over 48 hours. The coach has already held a few training sessions and the media is already talking about the rumored starting eleven.

If the rumored line-up is to be believed, Jorge SAMPAOLI will be going with Barcelona’s all time leading goal scorer Lionel MESSI up front with Manchester City’s all time leading goal scorer, Sergio AGUERO. Here’s the rumored eleven to start against Russia on Saturday:

Sergio AGUERO and Lionel MESSI up front

ROMERO; MASCHERANO, FAZIO or PEZZELLA, OTAMENDI; SALVIO, Enzo PEREZ, KRANEVITTER, LO CELSO, DI MARIA; MESSI, AGUERO

While this is still the rumored line-up, there was another one which was floating around on Tuesday which was slightly different.

Line-up from Tuesday

ROMERO; FAZIO, MASCHERANO, OTAMENDI; Enzo PEREZ, KRANEVITTER, LO CELSO, RIGONI; MESSI, AGUERO, DI MARIA

The difference between the two line-ups (in terms of players) is that RIGONI would start ahead of Benfica’s Eduardo SALVIO. However, Jorge SAMPAOLI has been known to make changes and while these two line-ups are very similar, we could still see some more changes before the match on Saturday.

Lionel MESSI talks Argentina, DYBALA, AGUERO and more

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A massive interview with Lionel MESSI where he discusses several topics.

It’s not often that the world’s best player gives an interview. Be it in Barcelona or with the Argentina National Team. However, following the team’s dramatic qualification win to the World Cup, the players have started speaking to the press again and MESSI even gave an interview to TyC Sports. Here’s what he had to say:

Lionel MESSI on Argentina’s qualification:

“We suffered more than we should have because we could have qualified before we did. I always thought we would go forward and make it but I also thought we would beat Venezuela at home and Peru at home to seal qualification before getting to Ecuador.

“When we were losing (against Ecuador), obviously a lot of things went through my head but we were lucky not to go crazy, we drew quickly and after that took the advantage.”

On the other National Teams at the World Cup:

“I wouldn’t like to cross Spain which is a team we could get in the group stages. For the play that they have, it’ll be a very difficult opponent. I would prefer to avoid them. Spain, Brazil, Germany and France (as well as Spain) today are the best and play the best.”

On the rumors of him selecting players for Argentina:

“It’s a lack of respect that they say my friends play. It angers me when they say I select players. HIGUAIN continues to demonstrate that he plays a a high level.

“I laugh because there’s a lot of crazyness when they talk about my friends. They talk about DI MARIA, AGUERO, HIGUAIN, MASCHERANO, they are world class players, it’s a lack of respect to them and to me that they say they play because they are my friends. Millions of people say that I play my friends or I make the team, it’s all lies.

“It was all shown that everything they said was a lie. The last one was that we said we didn’t want Mauro (ICARDI). I’ve never chosen nor left a player out, it’s not my ways.”

On other topics:

“Our families want us to win something with the National Team more than we want. The family suffers the most.”

“It’s always great drinking mate (tea), be it with Luis (SUAREZ) or Kun. And more than just the mate, the conversations are great.”

“Now, I control the remote control in our room (when with the National Team with AGUERO) because I don’t know what kind of crap Kun has on his phone, games or not, he’s always on it.”

When asked if his things are always in order and AGUERO’s things are a disaster:

“Yeah, it’s the same at home for me too. Maybe a bit much. I try to get the boys (Thiago and Mateo) to do the same. Thiago’s starting but Mateo is a disaster.”

About DYBALA’s comments of MESSI being difficult to play with:

“We spoke with DYBALA and I understood what he tried to say, others have tried to say it in a different way. He doesn’t have to clarify anything.”

About his talk with MARADONA at The Best ceremony:

“With MARADONA, we were owed a talk.”

“Playing at La Bombonera was a beautiful experience.”

Lionel MESSI on playing with Newell’s Old Boys:

“I would like to play in Newell’s, to play in the Primera, to be on the pitch, a pitch which I’ve gone to see several matches. But I don’t know what’s going to happen today nor in a couple of years, where I’m going to be, how I would be going back. I can’t say I’m going to go back and I’m going to play. I would like that I and I always say it but I don’t know what will happen. Hopefully it could be like that and I can play at Newell’s, which is what I have dreamed of since being a kid.”

Leandro PAREDES: “Our spot at the World Cup was in question”

Leandro PAREDES says he found the World Cup Qualifiers a difficult process while commenting on Lionel MESSI, the World Cup and more.

One of Zenit St. Petersburg’s star players Leandro PAREDES was interviewed by FIFA.com where he gave his thoughts on several topics. Being one of four Zenit players called-up to the Argentina National Team, here’s what PAREDES had to say:

Leandro PAREDES on Zenit players in Argentina team:

“It’s a source of pride for us. The fact we got these call-ups mean we’re doing something right. We’re all fairly young and understand we can still develop. We’d like to think that Zenit players will be representing Argentina regularly in the future.”

On the World Cup Qualifiers:

“We found it tough in qualifying. Our spot at the World Cup was in question right until the final match. Thank God, we managed to hold on for an incredibly important victory in that fixture; it made things a lot easier for everyone. I felt calm during the game. I tried not to panic and play as well as I could.

“You have to give your all in every training session with Sampaoli, as if you’re stepping out onto the pitch for the final time”.

Leandro PAREDES on Lionel MESSI:

“Of course, everyone only talks about MESSI. I should think this would be the case, as he’s the best player in the world! It’s a huge bonus for Argentina that he plays for us. We understand this perfectly well and we appreciate it.

“How is MESSI better than Ronaldo? They are both spectacular players, but in my opinion Leo is better. They have different physical capabilities. Thanks to MESSI’s size and technical ability, he’s able to deal with situations that Cristiano would find difficult. When Leo is surrounded by four or five markers, he’ll probably find a way out without losing the ball.”

About the questions he receives about Russia:

“They ask us how we’re finding things here and how we’ve settled in. It goes without saying that most of the questions are about the weather and if it’s cold. We’re the only guys in the national team who play so far to the north. We don’t speak about the World Cup just yet; there’s still too long to go until it starts.

“The Luzhniki is an amazing stadium. It’s looking modern and beautiful after its reconstruction, but I believe our stadium in Saint Petersburg is as good. I’m sure the World Cup in Russia will be wonderful and our home ground will be one of the showpiece arenas.”

Javier MASCHERANO: “We hope to avoid Spain”

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Argentina veteran Javier MASCHERANO has spoken about the upcoming World Cup and the situation with the National Team.

Javier MASCHERANO came out stating that he would have stepped aside had the team not qualified for the World Cup. Speaking to TyC Sports, the vice captain of Argentina had this to say:

Javier MASCHERANO

“We hope the group will be an easier one. A World Cup begins from the strongest to weakest and we hope to avoid Spain (in the group stages) because they are a National Team that can be uncomfortable to play against for us and they are one of the candidates.

“If Argentina would not have qualified for the World Cup, many of us on the team would have stepped aside. The National Team would have undergone another cycle with a new generation of players. Although I am not sure about the coaching staff.”

Cristian ANSALDI in, Mauro ICARDI and Marcos ACUNA out

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Cristian ANSALDI has been called-up to the Argentina National Team.

The injury bug continues to plague the Argentina National Team with two more players being added onto the injury list. With Enzo PEREZ a doubt and Lucas BIGLIA out, Inter’s captain Mauro ICARDI and Sporting Lisbon’s Marcos ACUNA are the two latest players pulling out of the team.

The beneficiary to this is Cristian ANSALDI of Torino (on loan from Inter). The 31 year old defender is the second left back to be called-up due to injury after Emiliano INSUA of Stuttgart made the team following BIGLIA’s removal.

ANSALDI should still be familiar with Russia having played in the Russian Premier League for both Rubin Kazan and Zenit Saint Petersburg. Cristian played for Rubin from 2008 until 2013 and was signed to Zenit Saint Petersburg for 2013 until 2016, although he was on loan to a few teams during his stint at Zenit.

Cristian ANSALDI and the Argentina team

The Torino man has 5 caps to his name for Argentina with the latest coming in a 2-1 loss in 2014 against Portugal.

Here’s the full Argentina squad:

Argentina Goalkeepers:

Sergio ROMERO
Nahuel GUZMAN
Agustin MARCHESIN

Argentina Defenders:

Javier MASCHERANO
Federico FAZIO
Nicolas OTAMENDI
German PEZZELLA
Emiliano INSUA
Cristian ANSALDI

Argentina Midfielders:

Eduardo SALVIO
Ever BANEGA
Leandro PAREDES
Emiliano RIGONI
Matias KRANEVITTER
Aleandro GOMEZ
Diego PEROTTI
Enzo PEREZ
Fernando BELLUSCHI
Giovani LO CELSO

Argentina Forwards:

Lionel MESSI
Sergio AGUERO
Angel DI MARIA
Paulo DYBALA
Cristian PAVON
Dario BENEDETTO

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