Argentina skipper and star man Lionel Messi is fit to face Mexico in Saturday’s crunch tie after shaking off an ankle problem, according to The Sun.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward has reportedly been nursing an ankle problem but should be fit enough to help his country keep their World Cup dreams alive.
La Albicelestes suffered a shocking defeat against Saudi Arabia in their opening game as Herve Renard’s side came from behind to secure a 2-1 win.
Messi had given his side the lead with a well-taken penalty ten minutes into the game, but two second-half goals by the Saudis were enough to sink the South Americans.
Despite being among the favourites for the World Cup, Argentina are now in a precarious position and head into the tie with Mexico knowing that nothing but a win will do.
However, Messi’s availability will further boost Lionel Scaloni’s side, as another defeat could spell the end of Argentina’s World Cup adventure.
While it has been confirmed that Messi will be available for the make-or-break tie, Scaloni also insisted that he will not make wholesale changes in response to their opening game defeat and backed his players to recover from the blow.
He said: “When you are knocked out you have to get up, and my players are more than capable of doing so. We will not change the way we play because of the loss to Saudi Arabia.
“I can make a change or two in the selection but not in our system. That is not in question. This group will leave everything they’ve got on the pitch to recover from that heavy blow.”
Mexico and Poland drew the other game in group C during the first round of fixtures, so the Argentines are still in the race to qualify for the knockout stage.
Poland will slug it out with Saudi Arabia on Saturday, looking to put pressure on Argentina.
But Renard’s side have shown they cannot be underestimated, especially knowing victory will secure an unexpected passage into the round of 16.
