Brazil and Argentina are two giants of world football and whenever these two South American giants clash, expect a special match of the highest quality.
So when Brazil face Argentina for a friendly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the atmosphere is expected to be electric. Australians love their football, and when players like Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Philippe Coutinho are set to show their skills, they are not going to miss the action.
It is quite rare to see such quality teams playing in Australia. No wonder tickets have already been sold out for the mega encounter.
Though some might say it is just a friendly, Brazil and Argentina never wants to lose against one another, and players from both the teams will be keen to help their respective teams emerge victorious.
Argentina have some wonderful offensive players like Messi, Paulo Dybala and Higuain, who are known for scoring goals. It remains to be seen which formation the newly appointed coach Jorge Sampaoli will field against Brazil.
Previous manager Edgardo Bauza rarely played Dybala and Messi together, which might have surprised many, but Sampaoli could use the duo and increase their attacking threat. If Sampaoli is keen to impress in his first match, Brazil's coach Tite, who took over the role in June 2016, has already done an incredible job with the team.
Brazil have fired as a unit after Tite took over. Players have responded to his tactics, and Tite will hope to see his players flourish once again against Argentina on Friday.
Watch Brazil vs Argentina match live
However, Tite will not have the services of Barcelona forward Neymar, who has been given a summer-break. Neymar will also miss their next match against Australia on June 13 at the MCG.
Is Neymar's absence a cause of concern for Brazil? Not really, Brazil have huge depth in their squad, and with players like Coutinho, Douglas Costa and Gabriel Jesus, they have the ammunition to top their rivals in Melbourne.
Brazil beat Argentina 3-0 in their last head-to-head encounter in November last year. Can Neymar-less Brazil come up with a repeat performance in Melbourne?
Brazil vs Argentina schedule
Date: 9th June
Time: 8:05 pm local time (3:35 pm IST, 7:05 am Brazil time)
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground
TV listings: India and UK: Unavailable. US: BeIN Sports. Argentina: TyC Sports Argentina. Brazil: Globo TV. Africa: SuperSport 3.
BRAZIL SQUAD: Diego Alves, Weverton, Ederson, Alex Sandro, David Luiz, Fagner, Filipe Luis, Gil Jemerson, Rafinha, Rodrigo Caio, Thiago Silva, Fernandinho, Giuliano, Lucas Lima, Paulinho, Philippe Coutinho, Renato Augusto, Rodriguinho, Willian, Diego Souza, Douglas Costa, Gabriel Jesus, Taison.
ARGENTINA SQUAD: Sergio Romero, Nahuel Guzman, Geronimo Rulli, Javier Mascherano ,Emanuel Mammana, Gabriel Mercado, Nicolas Otamendi, Eduaro Salvio, Lucas Rodrigo Biglia, Ever Banega ,Manuel Lanzini , Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez,, Leo Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Joaquin Correa ,Alejandro Dario Gomez, Mauro Icardi, Angel Di Maria, Paulo Dybala.
