Aguero or Higuain: Picking Argentina's Best Copa America XI

Argentina coach Gerardo Martino goes into the Copa America Centenario with a problem familiar to many of his predecessors. He has a wealth of talent available up front, which progressively becomes more scarce when reaching the Albiceleste's defensive ranks.

The team will feature many veterans of at least three major tournaments with their nation, with a couple of new faces hoping to make a name for themselves in 2016. The big decisions facing Martino will, as always, be in attack, while Argentina sweat on the fitness of Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

There is still room for surprise, but if nothing untoward happens between now and June 6, Argentina's starting lineup for their 2015 final rematch against Chile should contain the following 11 stars.  

He may not be Argentina's "Mr Right" in the eyes of many observers, but for the last six years, Sergio Romero has proved an adequate "Mr Right Now."

The hulking Manchester United reserve will play his fifth major tournament as the nation's undisputed No. 1, a feat no other goalkeeper has managed in the team's history. 

The 2015-16 season proved another frustrating one for Romero, as he once more saw his first-team chances limited in a pattern that has become familiar over his club career.

In Argentina, though, he has beat out the challenge of Nahuel Guzman, the Tigres' shot-stopper who won the Primera Division title with Newell's Old Boys under Martino back in 2013. 

Guzman's superior ball-playing skills are to Martino's liking, but only injury or a catastrophic start to the Copa America are likely to unseat the incumbent between the posts.

Greater competition may come after the Olympics, where Geronimo Rulli is looking to make his own case with the under-23 team. 

While Wales will send their first side to a major international since 1958, the tiny Welsh-speaking Argentine community will have their own local hero in Gabriel Mercado. The River Plate star hails from Puerto Madryn, deep in the frosty climes of Patagonia, and has thoroughly earned his spot in the side. 

Mercado has a World Cup winners' medal, albeit of the junior variety, won alongside the likes of Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Ever Banega, although his career has not exactly followed the same trajectory as those precocious stars. 

Years of solid service at Racing Club were followed by spells at Estudiantes and now River, where he won the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana in successive years and convinced Martino he could do a job with the national team.

In Pablo Zabaleta's absence, he is a decent alternative on the right, and he also pops up with some important goals—as his overhead kick to down Chile in this year's World Cup qualifier proved.

With Argentina's best central defender, Ezequiel Garay, out of shape and struggling to shake off a string of debilitating injuries, Nicolas Otamendi must prove an authoritative figure at the back. Luckily, the Manchester City man is no stranger to adversity in the Albiceleste shirt. 

The defender's first taste of top-level international action ended in disaster, out of position and thoroughly outplayed at right-back in Germany's 4-0 demolition at the 2010 World Cup. But he has matured since then, and despite some uneven City performances, he is pound-for-pound the country's most reliable centre-back right now. 

With only Jonathan Maidana and Victor Cuesta natural replacements in the Copa America squad, moreover, Otamendi's fitness will be vital to the Argentina campaign. 

An unforgettable 12 months for Ramiro Funes Mori is capped by an almost assured starting place in Argentina's Copa America first XI. It has been a meteoric rise for the cavalier Everton defender, who just two years ago was barely considered as a starter even in River Plate. 

The 25-year-old is hardly a model of consistency, combining the sublime with the ridiculous—or criminally violent—often in the space of a handful of minutes.

But those rushes of blood to the head are the price the Toffees were willing to pay for his strength, anticipation and ability to make an impact in the opposition penalty area, and Argentina will gladly pay it, too. 

A forgettable year at Old Trafford has not held Marcos Rojo back in the Argentina team. The versatile defender remains an automatic choice on the left side, perhaps due to the lack of natural challengers rather than his own outstanding merits. 

Rojo, however, proved on Friday against Honduras that he was more than up for the challenge at the Copa America.

A brilliant ball over the top teed up Gonzalo Higuain for the game's only goal in San Juan, and while his final product was sometimes lacking, Argentina can be encouraged by his willingness to break forward and aid Angel Di Maria on the flank. 

The only real debate over Javier Mascherano is whether his best spot for Argentina lies in his habitual role anchoring the midfield or dropping back into defence in a reprise of his Barcelona stamping ground.

Martino, however, appears unlikely to countenance the latter in time for the Copa America. 

That means El Jefecito will once more be charged with harassing any players foolish enough to venture into his territory in the middle of the field before quickly recycling possession.

Even on the verge of turning 32, he still has the legs for the job and will once more be a key man in the Albiceleste challenge as Lionel Messi's vice-captain and more vocal general on the field. 

A breakout season for Ever Banega has been rightly rewarded by a place in the Argentina squad in the United States. And with Lucas Biglia's unfortunate injury, the Sevilla star has the chance to carve out an indisputable place in the Albiceleste midfield. 

The Europa League winner has a range of passing and vision unmatched by his rivals in the middle of the park, and he has managed to shake off his reputation as an injury liability with a consistent season in Andalucia.

He will have to moderate his attacking tendencies if Martino uses him alongside Mascherano and Lamela, but he has the versatility to slot in perfectly for the nation. 

A lot of responsibility lies on the young Tottenham Hotspur star's shoulders. Both Argentina's abortive attempts at silverware in the last two years have been hampered by the lack of transition from midfield to attack, with Javier Pastore falling short in his attempts to fill the gap. 

Lamela, though, is arguably a far more complete, if less explosive, player than his compatriot at Paris Saint-Germain. At White Hart Lane, he has matured from an impetuous playmaker to a true box-to-box midfielder, and it is in that capacity he can best serve the Albiceleste. 

If in the 1986 World Cup Carlos Bilardo's teamsheet consisted of "Diego Maradona and 10 others," the same could be said for the Albiceleste 30 years later with Lionel Messi. The Barcelona star continues as captain of the national team and their best hope for silverware. 

Some uncertainty remains over just where he can best achieve that. Martino is fond of imitating Barcelona's all-conquering model by putting Messi out on the right wing, but if Gonzalo Higuain wins the nod over Sergio Aguero, he could well end up featuring as a more orthodox playmaker.

In any case, he will given ample license to roam and do as much damage as possible. 

In a team that otherwise almost picks itself, the identity of Argentina's first-choice centre-forward is without a doubt the biggest talking point. 

Will it be Gonzalo Higuain, fresh from tearing up Serie A with 36 goals to spearhead Napoli's ultimately fruitless Scudetto chase? Or will Sergio Aguero get the nod, after finishing an injury-interrupted Premier League season with a strike-rate unmatched by any of his rivals and an impressive 24 goals? It is a dilemma most international coaches would die for. 

While Aguero represents a more mobile option, Higuain's power and ability to shrug off markers, as he proved so eloquently with a cracking goal against Honduras, should not be ignored.

El Kun will play a big part at the Copa, but Higuain merits a starting spot at this point. 

Formerly used as the more mobile member of a midfield three under Alejandro Sabella, Angel Di Maria moved into the forward line when fellow Rosario native Gerardo Martino took over. Results have been somewhat underwhelming, but the PSG star will continue in that role for the Copa. 

Di Maria's pace and unpredictability with the ball at his feet make him a great asset. Questions remain, however, over his final decision-making, as many good opportunities have been waited due to an inability to deliver when most needed. 

After a strong season in France, the lanky wideman needs to reproduce that form for his country. At 28, he has the experience to do so and prove he can be a consistent danger for the Albiceleste in the United States. 

Romero 

Mercado, Otamendi, Funes Mori, Rojo

Banega, Mascherano, Lamela

Messi, Higuain, Di Maria