Argentina and Messi will make their World Cup appearances in Qatar, with their first match against Saudi Arabia.

The starters of the two sides have just been released: Argentina's starter:
23-Martinez, 3-Taliafico, 19-Otamendi, 13-Romero, 26-Molina, 17-A Gomes, 5-Paredes, 7- DePaul, 11-Di Maria, 22-Lautaro, 10-Messi.

Saudi starter:
21- Mohammad Arowais, 13- Yasser Shahrani, 5- Ali Bleish, 17- Hassan Tambakti, 12- Saud Abdul Hamid, 8-Abdullah al-Malki, 7-Salman Faraj, 23-Mohammed Kanu, 10-Salem Dossari, 11-Salih Sheikhri, 9-Philippines Russ Brycan.

Argentina has been unbeaten in 36 games for three consecutive years, and is only one game away from tying the national team's unbeaten world record of 37 games held by Italy. The team has won the last 5 games, scoring 19 goals and conceding 0 goals.

At the pre-match press conference, the 35-year-old Messi also bluntly said that this is his last World Cup: "It's my last chance to realize my great dream."
Although there is a lot of speculation about his physical condition, Messi believes that his physical condition is very ideal, and he trains alone just to prevent injuries.

On the other side, in an interview before the game, Saudi coach Renard admitted that the team is easy to be ignored by the outside world. "We actually like the feeling of being forgotten, especially when everyone sees us as the weakest team."