Argentina
Argentina’s defence of their World Cup title could hardly have gotten off to a better start, with a classic 3-0 shutout and a hat trick by the legendary Lionel Messi. This victory marked the eighth consecutive win for La Albiceleste, their best streak in 10 years.
Perhaps even more impressive is that Argentina have conceded only one goal in those eight victories. In fact, their only loss since November 2024 came against Ecuador in the final qualifying match, a game that was completely meaningless for La Albiceleste, who had already secured their spot long ago.
Injuries & Team News
Surprisingly, it was Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez who got the nod to start alongside Cristian Romero at centre-back, ahead of Benfica captain Nicolas Otamendi. Gonzalo Montiel has been ruled out of their second game with Nahuel Molina set to come in.
It was also a big surprise that Julian Alvarez was left out of the eleven after an underwhelming season at Atletico Madrid, with Lautaro Martinez starting, with Thiago Almada preferred ahead of the likes of Nico Paz.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 3-0 vs Algeria | W W W W W W |
Predicted Line-Up
Argentina possible starting lineup:
E Martinez; Molina, Romero, Li Martinez, Medina; De Paul, Mac Allister, Fernandez, Almada; Messi, La Martinez
Austria
Ralf Rangnick’s squad is in similar form, with just one loss in their last 12 matches, including 10 wins. The Wunderteam also started the World Cup strongly with a commanding 3-1 victory over Jordan.
But the difference is that Argentina dominated the match for the entire 90 minutes, while Austria struggled somewhat and allowed Jordan too much freedom. It was solely the class of individual players and their effectiveness in the final third that made the difference. And if Jordan managed to get 11 shots on Schlager’s goal, then Argentina will certainly cause them far more problems.
Injuries & Team News
Crvena Zvevzda striker Marko Arnautovic, Austria’s all-time top scorer, replaced Sasa Kalajdzic at half-time of their clash with Jordan and it could well be that the veteran forward starts this time around, albeit a lot of work will be required.
Christoph Baumgartner was the key man in the build-up to the tournament but the RB Leipzig withdrew before the start and now Werder Bremen attacker Romano Schmid is taking on a lot of the attacking burden in the final third.
Key defender Stefan Posch has been ruled out due to a broken jaw and so versatile Tottenham Hotspur man Kevin Danso may come in to replace him.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 1-1 vs Belgium | W D W D W W |
Predicted Line-Up
Austria possible starting lineup:
A Schlager; Laimer, Lienhart, Alaba, Mwene; Seiwald, X Schlager; Schmid, Chukwuemeka, Sabitzer; Kalajdzic
Betting Odds
| Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina Win | 11/20 – (1.53) | Grand Ivy |
| Draw | 10/3 – (4.33) | Dream Vegas |
| Austria Win | 13/2 – (7.5) | 247Bet |
Prediction
Argentina 2-1 Austria
It is going to take a good team to stop Argentina & Lionel Messi if they contiue to show the form they did vs Algeria but it might not be as straight forward against Austria who have shown an ability to compete with some of Europe’s best over the last 24 months. It could be a slog but La Celste could just got the job done.