WATCH | Messi shrugs off injuries to enter the World Cup

Argentina's 35-year-old captain and all-time top scorer Lionel Messi shrugged off some fatigue niggles and will lead the line on Tuesday in the Group C opener against Saudi Arabia (12pm SA time) where he begins his last quest for an elusive World Cup trophy.

With Paulo Dybala still not recovered from injury, Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria were upfront with Messi in a star-studded team who are one of the favourites to win in Qatar.

Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard kept captain and midfielder Salman Al-Faraj in the team despite a recent shoulder injury. He has been a cornerstone of Al Hilal's dominance of Asian club football in recent years.

Their team is entirely home-based, with the local league's financial clout ensuring few leading players aspire to play overseas.

Teams:

Argentina:

Emeliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Tagliafico Nicolas Otamendi, Nahuel Molina, Alejandro Gomez, Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Lionel Messi (c), Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria.

Saudi Arabia:

Mohamed Al-Owais, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Mohamed Kanno, Saud Abdulhamid, Abdulelah Al-Malki, Saleh Al-Shehri, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Salman Al-Faraj (c), Salem Al-Dawsari, Firas Al-Buraikan.