After Argentina easily disposed of Algeria—thanks to yet another historic performance by Lionel Messi—they now face the other big winner from the first round, Austria, in a matchup that will likely determine the group winner.
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.
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 field 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.
How the bookies view it: The world champions to take a huge step forward
The bookmakers are in complete agreement that the world champions have far better odds of winning this match—and, with it, the group. Currently, Argentina are listed at about 3/5, a draw at 3/1, and Austria at 5/1, but you can find the best odds using our best mobile apps for World Cup betting.
Recent head-to-head: A brand new target for La Albiceleste
It has been more than 35 years since the last match between Argentina and Austria—specifically, the 1990 friendly between the two countries, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
The upcoming World Cup match will be the first official encounter between the two national teams.
Players to watch: Messi has no plans to stop
There are quite a few national teams built around a single leader or top scorer, but Argentina proved they are a perfectly oiled machine, with Messi unstoppable in front of the opponent’s goal.
Messi took a total of six shots on Austria’s goal, scoring a hat trick. Surprisingly, the bookmakers are offering high odds on him in the second match; you can choose between 9/10 for a goal or 1/2 for a goal or an assist.
Probable line-ups
Argentina: Martinez, Montiel, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico, De Paul, Mac Allister, Fernandez, Messi, Martinez, Alvarez
Austria: Schlager, Posch, Danso, Alaba, Mwene, Laimer, Seiwald, Wimmer, Sabitzer, Schmid, Arnautovic
Anything else catch the eye?
Ralph Rangnick’s team has its strengths on offense and could create dangerous chances against Argentina, and why not even score a goal?—but it would be a surprise to us if La Albiceleste didn’t come out on top in this match.
Historically, Austria haven’t had much success against South American teams, having won only one of their last 10 matches against nations from that continent. We don’t expect this trend to change, so we’ll take advantage of the odds on Argentina, and we expect them to score at least two goals in this match.
GambleAware