After presiding over two friendlies, Jorge Sampaoli makes his FIFA World Cup™ qualifying debut as Argentina coach on Thursday. It will be a baptism of fire, too. With La Albiceleste lying fifth in the table and in need of points if they are to claim one of the four direct tickets to Russia 2018, he will take his side on a perilous trip to Uruguay.

Sampaoli took up the post on 31 May, leaving him with just a few days to work with his players before the June friendlies against Brazil and Singapore. Since then his only contact with them has come on a trip he made to Europe and in face-to-face meetings in Buenos Aires.

Given the lack of time available to him and the delicate position Argentina find themselves in, Sampaoli could have been forgiven for keeping changes to a minimum in a squad that has remained largely untampered with in recent years. Yet, in laying out his plans for the crucial double header against the Uruguayans and Venezuela, he has decided to make a break with the past.

*In goal *That said, continuity is the name of the game between the posts, with Sergio Romero, Nahuel Guzman and Geronimo Rulli the three men selected. Romero and Guzman played in the June friendlies, though the Manchester United keeper, who has been his country’s first choice since 2009, will retain the No1 jersey.

[SELECCIÓN MAYOR] Los arqueros hicieron un turno matutino. ¡Aquí @PatonGuzman muestra la exigencia! pic.twitter.com/kZKLc9D2an — Selección Argentina (@Argentina) August 28, 2017

*Defence *Sampaoli’s preference is for a three-man defence, last used on a regular basis in the Marcelo* *Bielsa era (1998-2004), though he may choose to go with four at the back, in which case the biggest change would come with the deployment, or not, of Javier Mascherano.

Though Mascherano has won all 136 of his caps in midfield since his international debut in 2003, Sampaoli sees him as a defender only, naming him as such in his official squad list. For the first time since 2006, however, the Barcelona man is not guaranteed a starting place.

Though Nicolas Otamendi and Gabriel Mercado are Albiceleste regulars, Sampaoli is looking to renew the back-line. As well as handing Federico Fazio (3 caps) and Nicolas Pareja (1 cap) their first call-ups since 2014 and 2011 respectively, he has also drafted in the similarly inexperienced Javier Pinola and sprung a surprise with the inclusion Fabricio Bustos, a 21-year-old attack-minded right-back who has played just 25 games in the Argentinian first division.