World Cup: Argentina Seeks Rapid Redemption Against Mexico 

The Argentines suffered one of the greatest upset in World Cup history with a 2-1 defeat against a very low-ranked Saudi Arabia.

The captain as well as top scorer Lionel Messi embarked on his fifth and what appeared to be his final attempt to win the only trophy that has eluded him in his illustrious career.

Mexico’s under-performing and injury hit squad bore out pre-tournament pessimism in their first game, drawing 0-0 against Poland, avoiding defeat thanks to a stunning saves from veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

Both teams have to avoid defeat in the hot encounter to avoid the ignominy of early exit.

“We have to win or win…It is up to us to correct mistakes and get back to the basics of who we are,” Messi stated.

Those basics took Argentina on an extraordinary, three-year unbeaten run of 36 games until defeat by the Saudis, which they hope was an aberration rather than a sign of decline at just the wrong moment.

Reuters/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma