It's the match no team really wants to be part of, but Friday's third-place play-off at the Olympic Stadium will see South Africa battle it out with Argentina for the right to be labelled the best of the rest. At the very least, the losing semifinalists will be tasked with providing a decent warm-up for the main event across town a day later, when their respective vanquishers New Zealand and Australia go head-to-head for the Webb Ellis Cup. However, international rugby is built on taking pride in the shirt, so expect the Springboks and Pumas to go all-out for victory, even if the bronze medal is little more than a consolation prize.

Team news

South Africa have opted for as near a full-strength team as possible, with head coach Heyneke Meyer opting against giving fringe players a run-out in a match he previously likened to "kissing your sister". Veteran lock Victor Matfield will captain the side as he plays his 127th and final Test, with previous captain Fourie du Preez failing to recover from the facial injury that has left him with headaches since the semifinal loss to New Zealand on Saturday. Ruan Pienaar replaces Du Preez at scrum-half, with Lood de Jager benched to make way for Matfield.

Argentina have opted to make changes for the third-place decider, with Nicolas Sanchez captaining the side for the first time. The fly-half is the top points-scorer at the World Cup so far and has been in scintillating form for the Pumas. However, at the tender age of 27, it will be fascinating to see how he goes up against Matfield. Regular captain Agustin Creevy is injured and drops out of the squad as one of nine changes to the side that lost to Australia last Sunday.

South Africa

Willie le Roux; JP Pietersen, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Bryan Habana; Handre Pollard, Ruan Pienaar; Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, Frans Malherbe; Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield (captain); Francois Louw, Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen.

Replacements: Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Jannie du Plessis, Lood de Jager, Willem Alberts, Rudy Paige, Patrick Lambie, Jan Serfontein.

Argentina:

Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino; Santiago Cordero, Matias Moroni, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Horacio Agulla; Nicolas Sanchez (captain), Tomas Cubelli; Marcos Ayerza, Julian Montoya, Ramiro Herrera; Matas Alemanno, Tomas Lavanini; Javier Ortega Desio, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe.

Replacements: Lucas Noguera, Juan Pablo Orlandi, Juan Figallo, Guido Petti, Facundo Isa, Martin Landajo, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Juan Pablo Socino.

Key head-to-head

Nicolas Sanchez has been one of the stars of the tournament, combining with the gloriously talented Juan Martin Hernandez to stump opponents with their footballing brilliance. However, how he will respond to the burdens of captaincy and no Hernandez outside him remains to be seen. Lining up opposite him is Handre Pollard, a young Springbok of growing stature. South Africa are known for their brutality up front, but Friday could provide Pollard with a chance to see just how dynamic his backline is.

Key stats

*South Africa and Argentina have met 21 times in Test rugby, with the Springboks winning 19 and the Pumas once. However, that victory came in August this year, with Argentina earning their first win against their southern hemisphere rivals in Durban.

*South Africa wing Bryan Habana needs one more try to better Jonah Lomu's World Cup career record of 15.

*Following the semifinals, the 89 points by Nicolas Sanchez were most in the tournament, ahead of the 79 by Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw and South Africa's Handre Pollard.

Odds

Unibet are offering a South African victory at 7/2, with an Argentine win at 27/10. Bryan Habana is evens to score a try at any time and better Lomu's record.

Weather

It's set to be a perfect evening for rugby in east London on Friday, with temperatures of around 13 degrees celsius and a light covering of cloud. The kickers shouldn't have too much trouble with south-easterly winds of around seven miles-per-hour.

Prediction

The neutrals will be hoping Argentina's new-look XV can repeat the backline brilliance of their teammates earlier in the tournament, thus drawing out a South Africa side who have relied at times a little too much on the bish-bash-bosh of their hulking pack. The strength of the Springbok matchday squad, however, suggests they are in London to get the job done, and could win by 10 points.