Argentina got the easiest World Cup draw of any team in the world. Lionel Messi's side wound up with a group that features Nigeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran.
Nigeria poses the greatest threat of all, but the South Americans defeated them in 2010 and are better poised to repeat the process close to home. Bosnia and Herzegovina is playing its first-ever World Cup and is likely to buckle under the pressure; the team has a potent offense but is weak defensively. Finally, Iran is the minnow of the group and is not expected to do much overall in the tournament.
Location has also helped Argentina, which will be playing in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre. All the regions are in the southern part of Brazil and the last locale is close to Argentina; almost a home-away-from-home. More importantly, temperatures are relatively cool in those areas, making the group round relatively easy for Argentina.
However, it gets better after that match. In the round of 16, Argentina would have to take the second place side from Group E, which features France, Ecuador, Switzerland and Honduras. France is expected to win the group and may be the only team that Argentina looks to avoid. Ecuador may also be a tough proposition as Argentina did not defeat them in qualifiers. However, these are far better draws than teams like Brazil and Colombia may have to endure in the first knockout rounds. To make things better, Argentina would then have to face the winner of the match between the Group G runner-up and the Group H winner. Group H is the easiest group and includes Belgium, Algeria, Russia and South Korea. Russia and Belgium are favorites to win and will likely face Portugal in the knockout rounds. Anyone of those teams is a relatively "easy" challenge for Argentina on its way to the semifinals. Argentina would play in Sao Paolo and Brasilia in those two matches.
The semifinals will undoubtedly be difficult, but there is no reason to believe that Argentina will struggle on its way to the semifinals.
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