Argentina begin their World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia in what should be a fairly straightforward for Lionel Scaloni’s men.
Saudi Arabia who are currently ranked 51st in the FIFA World Rankings (the 2nd lowest ranked team in the competition) topped their qualifying group, dropping only 7 points after the 10 games. Since confirming their place in Qatar with a 1-0 win over Australia back in March, Herve Renard’s men have played 10 friendlies (W2, D5, L3) with every game having under 2.5 goals. It’s a monumental task for Saudi Arabia to get anything from their three games in their group, given that Poland and Mexico (who complete Group C) are ranked at least 20 places above them by FIFA.
As for Argentina, it’s quite the opposite. Coming into the tournament as 2021 Copa America and 2022 Finalissma winners, will only add to the confidence for the side who are currently second favourites to win the tournament.
Argentina have always been known for their unbelievable attacking talent over the years, and this tournament will be no different, captain and legend Lionel Messi will want to bring home the biggest prize of them all, in what could well be his last tournament.
They’ve not been short for goals either, scoring 27 through qualifying in 17 games, conceding only 8. Since then, Argentina have kept 5 clean sheets on the bounce, scoring 19 goals in those games, which included a 5-0 thrashing of UAE in their penultimate friendly before the World Cup.
I can see plenty of goals in this one – but only for the South American side. If Argentina get on the score sheet early, it could be a long old 90 minutes for Saudi Arabia.
Score Prediction: 4-0
Bet Prediction: Argentina -1 Goal Handicap – 9/20
