Lucky Argentina involved in fascinating do-or-die clash with Nigeria

It is possible that the first World Cup knockout stage could feature four South American teams but I am not banking on all the Conmebol nations reaching the last 16.

Argentina
I am old enough to remember England in the 1986 World Cup. They were off to a bad start and looked on their way out but then one big win changed the whole outlook.

For England that 3-0 victory over Poland was followed by a win by the same score against Paraguay and a tournament which could have ended prematurely suddenly looked very different.

Argentina have been given that chance - will they take it? I have absolutely no idea.

It's like a lucky dip, you just don't know what you are going to get with Argentina but it is a fascinating prospect in store against a Nigeria side who beat them 4-2 in a November friendly.

That defeat was when Jorge Sampaoli ditched the back three, presumably for good until it came back for Thursday's 3-0 loss to Croatia.

It was, however, without Lionel Messi and this will be the first time in the tournament when he should get the space to weave his magic. Could this be the time when their individual talent shines through?

For Messi this is the perfect game and Nigeria holds only fond memories for him in an Argentina shirt. He beat Nigeria in the Under-20 World Cup final in 2005 and the Olympic final in 2008 and the Super Eagles' lack of defensive discipline could work in Argentina's favour.

But if Sampaoli's side do survive it will be proper Argentinian backs to the wall and grit that does it because there are so many obvious issues, particularly with a back-three system where the midfield does not press, the defence lacks pace and the wing-backs are asked to track back 80 metres.

Ahmed Musa's pace is likely to be a major problem for Argentina, but it's not the only one.

I am amazed Giovani Lo Celso or Ever Banega have not been given a proper shot in midfield when Javier Mascherano is obviously vulnerable and Manuel Lanzini's replacement, Enzo Perez, gets a start despite not even being in the squad ten days ago.

Willy Caballero's mistake for Croatia's opener was the most predictable goal of this World Cup. The goalkeeping position is a mess and it's all Sampaoli's fault given he could have waited for Sergio Romero's knee injury to clear up.

Another ludicrous Sampaoli decision was the substitution of Sergio Aguero against Croatia. He was looking sharp, created their only real chance and was arguably Argentina's best player so I totally understand why he was so angry when he was replaced by Gonzalo Higuain.

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Brazil
The fact that Serbia have to take maximum points should play into Brazil's hands and they can win the game on the counter-attack, which will be a relief to them after playing against such a negative Costa Rica side on Friday.

We have to learn and relearn every World Cup that these spoiler teams are difficult to play against. It's really not easy to beat them when their only interest is hiding the ball and running the clock down.

The Brazilian public have made a big deal of the impact made by the substitutions - Roberto Firmino and Douglas Costa are quickly flavour of the month - but there remains a lop-sided nature to the team with everything coming down the left through Marcelo, Philippe Coutinho and Neymar.

Neymar's antics are still causing an headache and so is a lack of pace at centre-back, although that may not be such a problem against Serbia where Thiago Silva and Miranda's aerial prowess should be perfect to tackle Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Uruguay
They are in a difficult position in that they don't know whether it will be better to finish first or second in Group A, but given they are ageing in parts I think it would make sense to rest players for the game against Russia.

Uruguay are delighted that they have not conceded a goal, kept a couple of clean sheets and barely given up a chance, and it's so far so good on the injury front.

However, Uruguay have not been happy with their performances and the 4-4-2 formation is showing its limitations.

It's like watching England with Gerrard and Lampard in midfield, they just cannot get any kind of football coming through central midfield because they are being outnumbered in such a key area.

Colombia
Colombia carried on their patchy form in qualifying and I don't hold out huge hope for them against Poland in such a critical contest.

They really had to beat Japan and losing Carlos Sanchez to a red card so early clearly had a negative impact. Sanchez is now suspended and would normally be one of the first names on the teamsheet. They were a mess at centre-back too.

Jose Pekerman made some strange substitutions in the Japan defeat and I do wonder whether he is indulging Radamel Falcao. On the plus side hopefully James Rodriguez will be fully fit and it would be fantastic to see him alongside fellow playmaker Juan Quintero.

Peru
If anyone thinks this clash with Australia is a dead rubber then you are mistaken, very mistaken. There is a huge 40,000 travelling army and they want a goal and they want a win.

This is a mainly young side with the potential to be back at the next World Cup and that preparation starts against Australia but they have already made so much progress, making the criticism from the ITV pundits totally unfair.

During one stage of World Cup qualifying, starting in 2004, they went 28 away matches without a win, losing 26 of those trips and to go from that state to engaging with France on equal terms is unbelievable.

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