Follow live coverage of Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina here

Argentina take on first-time participants Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group F of the 2014 Fifa World Cup at the Estadio Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 11pm BST. Live coverage is on BBC One and BBC One HD. Radio commentary of the game will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Overview

Argentina earned a direct place into the final tournament after emerging first in the Conmebol (South American Football Confederation) zone among eight other participants with 32 points from 16 matches. The Albiceleste are one of the favourites to progress from this group comprising of Iran and Nigeria.

In their pre-World Cup warm-up matches, Alejandro Sabella's side beat Trinidad and Tobago and Slovenia with a comfortable score line of 3-0 and 2-0 respectively before leaving for Brazil.

The Argentineans last won the coveted prize in Mexico in 1986 when their legendary striker Diego Maradona helped them be crowned champions for the second time in their history. The current crop of players will be hoping to emulate the past success and make it safely to the knock-out stage for the third time in a row.

Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina are playing in their first ever World Cup after earning a direct berth available to the European nations. They finished on top of Group G with 25 points, separated by Greece on goal difference.

The Zmajevi's attacking force plundered a staggering 30 goals and conceded only six to be among the 13 teams from their continent to make the trip to Brazil. Safet Susic's side registered a 2-1 victory against Ivory Coast and a narrow 1-0 victory against Mexico in their warm-up matches ahead of the major event.

Susic's squad boasts the likes of Manchester City's Edin Dzeko, Roma star Miralem Pjanic and Stoke City shot-stopper Asmir Begovic. However, they will be most dependent on experienced skipper Emir Spahic to chip in a solid defensive display against the tremendous talents in the Argentinean lineup like Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, etc.

What Managers Say

Alejandro Sabella: "I can't predict the future but we are going to be playing in games where we must play well. We are going to be playing strong teams, physically very strong teams, specifically Iran and Nigeria; Bosnia is a European team and so they also are physically a threat but have other stronger elements. We are obviously going to try our best to perform well in the group stages and have the players be in their best condition."

Safet Susic: "This is probably the biggest thing that happened to our country since the independence. We went through a horrible war and the wounds are still fresh. People are still suffering and what the football team have done brought something positive to them. People now expect us to get out of the group, reach the knockout phase. With the team that we have, that could be a realistic goal. We are finally on the big stage and we deserve it. Now we have a chance to prove that to the world."

Team Form

Argentina

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): W W D W D
  • Last Result: Argentina 2-0 Slovenia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): W W L L W
  • Last Result: Mexico 0-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Team News

Argentina

  • Injured: N/A
  • Doubtful: N/A
  • Suspended: N/A

Probable Lineup: Romero; Zabaleta, Fernandez, Garay, Rojo; Gago, Mascherano; Di Maria, Messi, Higuain; Aguero

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Injured: N/A
  • Doubtful: N/A
  • Suspended: N/A

Probable Lineup: Begovic; Mujdza, Spahic, Bicakcic, Kolasinac; Hajrovic, Ibricic, Misimovic, Lulic; Pjanic; Dzeko

Argentina