Penpix of Argentina squad for World Cup final

Argentina's most likely squad for Sunday's World Cup final against Germany comprises the following 11 players:

Goalkeeper

Sergio Romero (Monaco). Age 27; 53 caps. The 1.92 meters tall goalkeeper was the hero of Argentina's semi-final penalty shootout win against the Netherlands, saving two and celebrating wildly in what will be an abiding image of their run to the final. Argentina's first choice since the late stages of qualification for the 2010 tournament but struggling for games at Monaco, Romero has let in just three goals in Argentina's six matches in Brazil. Two of those came in the 3-2 win over Nigeria in the group stage. Romero has had some other crucial moments in the tournament, including several superb saves against Iran that stopped the Asians taking a shock lead when they were drawing 0-0.

Defenders

Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City). Age 29; 42 caps. After a highly successful youth career, Zabaleta had to wait for his first taste of a World Cup and has been one of Argentina's best performers in Brazil. The ever-present right back's marauding runs have been integral to Argentina's attacks, but he has not neglected duties at the back either, doing particularly well to contain Arjen Robben in the semi-final against the Dutch.

Ezequiel Garay (Benfica). Age 27; 24 caps. The strong and speedy centre back, who comes from Lionel Messi's home town of Rosario, has become a favourite of coach Alejandro Sabella. A leader on the pitch who never shirks a tackle or header, Garay's reliability is perhaps exemplified by his impressive 88 percent pass success rate so far in Brazil.

Marcos Rojo (Sporting Lisbon). Age 24; 27 caps. A product of Estudiantes club's youth scheme, the left back grabbed a goal off his knee in the 3-2 win over Nigeria during the group stage. Having impressed in the early games and won over detractors at home, Rojo was disappointed to miss the quarter-final against Belgium due to suspension but came back to hold the line against the Netherlands' much-vaunted strike force in the semi.

Martin Demichelis (Manchester City). Age 33; 40 caps. The tall centre back, who is a veteran of the 2010 World Cup under then coach Diego Maradona, has got his chance in the latter stage of the tournament, playing in both Argentina's quarter-final and semi-final. In both games, he gave assured performances both in the air and on the floor.
 

Midfielders

Javier Mascherano (Barcelona). Age 30 (June 8) 104 caps. The "Little Chief" captained Argentina at the 2010 finals in South Africa but lost that position to Barcelona team mate Lionel Messi for Brazil. Nevertheless, he has shown great leadership skills on and off the pitch, and has the respect of the whole squad. A fine ball winner and distributor who provides solidity in midfield as a platform for Argentina's flair attackers, his World Cup was typified in the semi-final against the Netherlands when he flung himself full length to block an Arjen Robben shot on goal. "It was Mascherano and 10 others," Maradona said. Mascherano has played all 600 minutes of Argentina's six matches.

Lucas Biglia (Lazio). Age 28; 25 caps. Normally a stand-in for Mascherano or Gago, the battling Biglia came into the starting lineup for the quarter-final and semi-final as Sabella sought more bite to stop more skilful opponents.

Enzo Perez (Benfica). Age 28; 10 caps. A fast midfielder who can play on either flank or in the middle, Perez has only figured in two games, coming on to replacing the injured Di Maria against Belgium then starting against the Netherlands. In those games, Perez has been able to maintain some of the spark down Argentina's flanks lost by Di Maria's absence. Perez was in Sabella's Estudiantes side that won the Libertadores Cup in Brazil, beating Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte in 2009, along with reserve goalkeeper Andujar.

Forwards

Lionel Messi (Barcelona). Age 27; 92 caps. The world's best player has lived up to his billing and been Argentina's star performer. Messi's four goals in the first stage helped Argentina top their group, while as team captain he also showed passion and authority on the pitch. His brilliant left-foot curling winner against Iran is one of the goals of the World Cup. And though not scoring since the first round, he was the provider of a late goal to beat the Swiss in the last 16, and has been at the heart of all Argentina's best play. Belgium and the Netherlands sought to swarm him in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively, forcing Messi to go deeper but still taking pressure of teammates. Argentines may have sometimes doubted his patriotism in the past, given he left for Spain at an early age to join Barcelona's youth setup and had been quiet in two previous World Cups, but they will never do so again. Now the stage is set for Messi to emulate Diego Maradona, with whom he is so often compared, and bring the World Cup home.

Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli). Age 26; 42 caps. After a relatively quiet tournament until then, Higuain finally showed his brilliant finishing in the quarter-final with an instinctive shot against Belgium that they never recovered from. An intelligent player who prefers to run onto passes but can also do a good job with his back to goal holding the ball up, Higuain will be hoping to repeat the trick on Sunday.
 

Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris St Germain). Age 29; 36 caps. "Pocho" (chubby one) is a temperamental, skilled forward who has at times got on the wrong side of officials but at others thrilled fans with his skills and speed. Used as a substitute in the group stages, Lavezzi has then been in the starting lineup doing an important job tracking back into defensive positions but had little chance to shine in attack though he put across a couple of dangerous crosses. A joker in the squad, he may be best remembered in Brazil for squirting water over Alejandro Sabella on the pitchside looking to ease the coach's nerves.