Argentina vs Australia prediction: WORLD: World Cup – Play Offs betting tips on match 2022-12-02 19:00.
Despite a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their World Cup Group C opener casting plenty of doubt, a much-fancied Argentina came storming back to top their group thanks to clinical 2-0 wins over Mexico and Poland, respectively. Hence the familiar line of âArgentina progress from the group stages of the World Cupâ sounds once again, having impressively done so in 13 of their last 14 World Cup finals appearances!
This is the stage where they fell short in 2018, losing 4-3 to eventual champions France, though having won each of their four Round of 16 ties prior to that game, youâd have to fancy them to go at least one better this term. Despite being overwhelming favourites, the two-time world champions now have to deal with the surprise package of Australia, with their superstar Lionel Messi refusing to underestimate the opposition when saying "anyone can beat anyone, everything is very evenâ as he hunts a World Cup winners medal in what could be his last shot at doing so.
After losing their World Cup opener 4-1 to eventual Group D winners France, Australia have caused a massive upset with 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark to progress despite being written off by many. Theyâve only ever reached the Round of 16 once before, going down 1-0 to eventual champions Italy in 2006, but having now won two matches in a single World Cup finals tournament for the very first time, the Socceroos will almost certainly have their tails up!
Despite this, their backs will likely be against the wall as they deal with an Argentina side who they trail by 35 spots in the FIFA rankings. They have played the South Americans on six prior occasions, only ever winning their first ever competitive match (D1, L4 since), although they did secure a shock 2-0 win at the Tokyo Olympics in July last year, although with that not recognised by FIFA, this World Cup clash will undoubtedly represent a totally different proposition.
Players to watch: With this being widely stated as his last chance at a World Cup crown, Argentinaâs Messi will have to step up like he never has before, having never scored in the knockout stages of a World Cup. Meanwhile, Mathew Leckie sent Australia through to the knockouts and will want to work his magic once again, with his country winning 11 of the 12 matches heâs scored in (D1).
Hot stat: Only three teams have managed to find the net against Argentina in their last 18 matches.
World Cup trivia: There are only eight stadiums being used in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, the lowest since the six used in the 1978 edition hosted by Argentina.