DHAKA: Argentina will be looking to seal its place in the knockout stages of the World Cup with a match to spare when Lionel Messi and his teammates face Iran on Saturday night.

Alejandro Sabella’s side stand alone at the top of Group F following their 2-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Iran and Nigeria playing out a goalless draw in their opening match.

Iran have leaked just one goal in their last five matches and, subsequently, Argentina may require patience as they seek to break down the dogged defence of Carlos Queiroz’s charges in Belo Horizonte.

Despite conceding early, Bosnia and Herzegovina made it difficult for the Argentineans in the Maracana and it wasn’t until Lionel Messi inspired his team with a second half goal that they started playing in the manner that was expected of them by fans and neutrals alike.

Their opponents Iran played against Nigeria in Group F’s other game earlier this week and it ended in a bore 0-0 draw. However, this probably should have been expected given that Iran conceded the fewest goals in any of the Asian qualifiers.

Messi scored only his second World Cup goal in the game against Bosnia, despite playing in three tournaments. Argentina have only played Iran once before in a friendly in Madrid, ending in a 1-1 draw. There have only been three goalless draws at the World Cup so far, one of which Iran played in.

BDST: 1030 HRS, JUN 21, 2014