The confidence and optimism Argentina have taken to this World Cup were best captured by the sight of the messianic Diego Maradona jubilantly celebrating the team's 2-1 game against the Ivory Coast.

Twenty years after his divine exploits in Mexico, Maradona claims an insurmountable place in the affections of his countrymen in a way that outshines even the feelings for Pele in Brazil. Since the inimitable Buenos Aires street boy swept all before him, Argentina have not made it past the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

However, they come to Germany with the rich conviction they have the squad to win their third tournament, and the rehabilitated Maradona is delighting in the role of cheerleader in chief.

Exciting and persuasive as José Pekerman's team were against the Ivory Coast, there was a nagging feeling about their performance that the general acclaim and bold predictions have been a little rushed.

Serbia and Montenegro, who are in the stark position of needing a victory to keep their last-16 hopes alive, should provide a rigorous test of the South Americans' state of health this afternoon.

Yet again, Pekerman has resisted the temptation to bring Barcelona's Lionel Messi into the starting line-up. After his startling exploits with the Catalan giants over the winter, the 18-year-old has been the subject of drooling reports and came to Germany under immense expectations.

Although Messi has recovered from the thigh injury that ruled him out of Argentina's opening match, Pekerman, whose reputation was built on his outstanding record as the country's youth coach, has made it clear he will not start the prodigy in what promises to be a bruising contest in Gelsenkirchen.

Despite the general impatience to see Messi on the field, it would seem like the prudent choice.

Juan Roman Riquelme, the creative force in this Argentina team, began the tournament impressively, laying on the scores for Crespo and Javier Saviola - who might yet have the kind of tournament so many predicted he would four years ago in Japan.

Pekerman has a further option in Carlos Tevez, one of the most highly regarded strikers in Brazil, but he has persisted with the more experienced front line of Crespo and Saviola, and they are likely to stay on at least for the first hour here.

The only change Pekerman has made is to replace Esteban Cambiasso with Luis Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is deemed more of a ball-player than the robust and hard-tackling Cambiasso and, says Pekerman, will bring more fluidity to midfield.

Serbia and Montenegro have promised changes. As happens to all countries that lose the opening match, their tournament has suddenly boiled down to a number of stark choices.

They were hardly destroyed in the opening game against the Netherlands, but their cagey, inhibited style frustrated their small but fervent band of supporters.

Nimandis Vidic, suspended for the Dutch game, will return to the team, and coach Ilija Petkovic will almost certainly bow to public demands to give Nikola Zigic, the nation's popular 6ft 8in striker, an opportunity to play from the beginning, probably in place of the blunted Savo Milosevic.

Nemad Djordevic, tormented by the speed and audacity of Arjen Robben throughout a merciless 45 minutes in Leipzig last Sunday, must be dropped, and having acknowledged the need for goals, Petkovic may give his team licence to play more expansively.

They had admirable performances from Predrag Djordevic and the stern Mladen Kristjajic against the Netherlands and overall conveyed the impression there was more to their game.

Dejan Stankovic will have to raise his performance to temper Riquelme's flair and to scrap against the tough and consummately professional Javier Mascherano.

An early goal for the Balkan team could turn this into a dream match for neutrals, and a victory for Serbia would mean a fascinating concluding round of matches in what is arguably the toughest group of all.

But if Argentina truly have the substance of potential champions, then they should inflict more misery upon a football country once known as the Brazil of Europe.

Probable line-ups

Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)

Kick-off: 2.0pm

Venue: Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen

Argentina (4-3-1-2)

Abbondanzieri; Burdisso, Ayala, Heinze, Sorin; Gonzalez, Mascherano, Rodriguez; Riquelme; Saviola, Crespo

Coach: Jose Pekerman

Serbia & Montenegro (4-5-1)

Jevric; Dragutinovic, Gavranic, Kristjajic; Duljaj, Vidic, Stankovic, Predrag Djordevic, Nadj; Kezman, Zigic

Coach: Ilija Petkovic