oi-Soumyaroop Mukherjee

Argentina vs Mauritania Predicted Lineups: Defending World Champions will begin their pre-World Cup warm-up by facing the African side, Mauritania at the Estadio Alberto José Armando stadium in Buenos Aires. The La Albiceleste were originally scheduled to play against the European Champions, Spain, in the Finalissima final in Qatar. However, due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the tournament has been shelved indefinitely.

The focus for Scaloni now shifts towards title defence and providing Lionel Messi with the best lineup which can string together a cohesive partnership on the field. In line with this, the Argentinian coach has fielded the best and strongest XI, from where he can get the best out of his boys, with the likes of Lionel Messi and Mac Allister expected to be part of the starting XI.

The defending champions will enter this contest on the back of a three-match winning run, into this contest and that too without conceding in that period of time. Interestingly, Argentina has not lost a game in the capital since the 3-0 defeat to Uruguay at La Bombonera in a 2023 World Cup qualifier.

The last six matches they have played in March ended in a victory for Argentina, while they have not lost this month since a 3-1 defeat versus Venezuela in 2019. For Mauritania, the African side has not suffered a defeat since 2017, when the African side was beaten in Nigeria by a scoreline of 4-2 in a friendly played in Russia that year.

Argentina vs Mauritania Team News And Injuries

Argentina

Due to injury concerns, Leonardo Balerdi and Gonzalo Montiel have been ruled out of Argentina’s squad, while Julian Alvarez is on the verge of a special milestone as he eyes his 50th international appearance. In the defence, Guti Romero is expected to start from the bench after the unimpressive campaign with his PL club, Tottenham Hotspur.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi, Argentina’s all-time leading scorer and most-capped player, is closing in on another landmark, needing just four more appearances to reach 200 caps. He and Lautaro Martinez were on target in the team’s recent 2-0 victory over Angola, although Martinez is currently nursing a calf issue.

Mauritania

Meanwhile, four Mauritanian players from the current squad could make their international debuts during this window, including Djeidi Gassama, who plays for Rangers, and Jordan Lefort of Angers in Ligue 1. On the other hand, Moctar Sidi El Hacen, the most-experienced footballer in the side, can climb to the second place on the national team’s all-time scoring list. The 30-year-old is currently tied with Ismael Diakite on 9 goals.

Argentina vs Mauritania Predicted Lineups: Starting XI

Argentina Predicted Starting XI

Emiliano Martínez, Nahuel Molina, Marcos Senesi, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Thiago Almada, Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez

Mauritania Predicted Starting XI

Babacar Diop, Abdallahi Mahmoud Keita, Lamine Ba, Aly Abeid, El Hassen Saleck, Oumar Magassa, Guessouma Fofana, Mohamed Hacen, Aboubakar Koita, Pape Ibnou Ba Diallo, Ablaye Gassama

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