Belo Horizonte (Brazil), June 13 (IANS/EFE) Argentine defender Pablo Zabaleta believes that Brazil's hard-fought 3-1 victory over Croatia in the opening game of the World Cup is an alert to his national team.

Argentina, one of the favourites, start their campaign against Bosnia Sunday in Group F. The other two teams in Group F are Nigeria and Iran, reports EFE. [FIFA World Cup: Schedule]

"Croatia's performance against Brazil may be similar to the way Bosnia will play against us. All Eastern European teams have the same playing style. The players have physically what it takes to move the ball verticall"," he added. [FIFA World Cup 2014: Special Coverage]

The 29-year-old international went on to say that the first matches are always the hardest, noting that his team has to fight hard in order to win over Bosnia.

"We are going to have to create a good game to achieve victory. Our group is strong and ready for this challenge," Zabaleta concluded.

IANS