2022 FIFA World Cup
Saturday 3rd December 2022
Kick off at 7pm GMT
Venue: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
Match Preview:
Is this shades of World Cup 1990 for Argentina who lost their first game of the competition in one of the biggest shocks in world football and yet still reached the final? That is how this Argentina team started their campaign by losing a lead against, all of teams, Saudi Arabia and all of a sudden the doubts crept in that one of the pre tournament favourites despite their 36 game unbeaten run were going to choke once again at a World Cup finals. All of that has been put aside though given how Argentina had to beat Mexico then had to beat Poland and put in convincing displays to do so.
In their last two games Argentina have played very good football and it’s been exciting too creating many chances. Lionel Messi so applauded as one of the best players of all time has struggled at World Cups- granted Argentina were runners up in 2014 but it’s hard to pinpoint a single World Cup game where we witnessed Messi’s club form, but we have seen a lot of examples in the games against Mexico and Poland. There have been the goals and of course a penalty miss against the Poles, but there has also been his famed dribbles, his vision, his passing and now we have seen his passion as he realises that Qatar 2022 will surely be his last chance of winning a World Cup. In finishing top of their group Argentina have avoided France and they will be the odds on favourites to overcome Australia and make it to the quarter finals.
For Australia this is huge news to be in the knock out stages of the World Cup and they can claim with all validity that they belong in the top 16 nations in the world. The Socceroos are advancing all the time in the world of football and they will try and create one of the all time upsets in World Cup history. Any way you look at it you have to be impressed with how Australia have bounced back in this tournament after their horrific start against the world champions France which ended in a 4-1 defeat the irony there is that Australia had taken the lead. In their next game they squeezed past Tunisia 1-0 and rounded off the group by beating Denmark also by 1-0. In the end only goal difference meant that they finished 2nd in their group.
Team News:
Argentina: There are no injury concerns for Argentina coming into this meeting.
Australia: The Socceroos come into this one with no new injuries.
Argentina vs Australia Head to Head:
The nations have played seven times with Argentina claiming 5 wins, Australia one and one draw.
Australia’s only win over Argentina came back in their first meeting 34 years ago in a 4-1 victory.
The nations haven’t played one another in 15 years and the last fixture finished 1-0 to Argentina in a friendly.
Argentina have won the last 4 meetings in a row.
5 of the seven meetings played have finished in under 2.5 goals.
Argentina vs Australia Prediction:
The bookies are taking no chance and Argentina are the huge favourites to beat Australia being quoted at 1.20 and below. In truth an Argentine side that show the same bite they did against Mexico and Poland should ease through but you get the feeling that no one in their camp will be taking this game lightly. Australia have got to this point in the competition for a reason. Of course if Argentina click they can score a few goals here but we have seen that Australia will not be afraid to come forward and that is why we do expect to see goals for both sides here.
The worry for both coaches is the short turnaround time from the last group game to the knock outs. In past competitions sometimes five days rest has been allocated but the teams are only getting 3 days and both teams have brought this up. It could mean some changes being rung in team selection. We can’t see past Argentina getting the win when it really matters because in effect they have been through two knock out games already and they look to have been able to find that extra level that has not always been there at previous World Cups although because of their price we will look into different markets.
Argentina vs Australia Betting Tips:
Half Time Result: Argentina to win at 1.62
Anytime goalscorer: Lionel Messi at 1.72
Anytime goalscorer: Lautaro Martinez at 2.25
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