Argentina vs Mexico
It’s make or break time for Lionel Messi and Argentina at World Cup 2022. After suffering a shock defeat in their opening game against Saudi Arabia, Argentina need to bounce back in their second group game against Mexico or risk making an early exit in Qatar.
El Tri were held to a goalless draw by Poland in their Group C opener, thanks in part to the heroics of veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.
However, they will need more from their attack if they are to avoid defeat against the Argentines, who have won each of their first three World Cup meetings.
Talking Points
Pressure most definitely on for Messi, Argentina
Argentina were on the wrong end of one of, if not the biggest World Cup upset in history as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia.
La Albiceleste made a decent enough start as they went ahead through a Lionel Messi penalty and had a couple of goals correctly called off for offside. But Messi’s side were caught out by the Saudis in the second half and were unable to respond.
The pressure is now on the Argentines to get a good result against Mexico. If not, their World Cup 2022 odds of making it out of the group stage get significantly worse.
Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni will likely make some changes to his lineup after their disappointment against Saudi Arabia.
Papu Gomez, who started on the wing, is one of the prime candidates to be replaced after his underwhelming performance. Manchester City youngster Julian Alvarez provided a spark after coming on as a substitute and may have done enough to earn a start against Mexico.
Meanwhile, defender Cristian Romero, who started despite lingering injury concerns, did not last 90 minutes and could also be replaced in the starting lineup by Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez.
Mexico missing spark in attack
Mexico have begun their World Cup 2022 campaign with a goalless draw against Poland. And they have veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to thank as the 37-year-old saved a Robert Lewandowski penalty to preserve a point for El Tri.
The Mexican defence did well to keep a Polish attack led by Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski at bay, but the El Tri offence also struggled to create many opportunities.
Tata Martino started Henry Martin at centre-forward over Raul Jimenez, who has not been in the best of form for the last couple of years. Jimenez is the active leading scorer on the squad with 29 goals in 96 caps, but he has not featured for his club Wolves since August.
Jimenez did come on as a substitute against Poland, but Martin is likely to keep his starting spot against Argentina.
With Mexico’s attacking options limited, Martino will be hoping Hirving Lozano of high-flying Napoli can provide more World Cup 2022 highlights. Chucky was one of the bright spots with four successful dribbles and five progressive passes with five shot-creating actions.
Meanwhile, Alexis Vega – the team’s top scorer this year with four goals in 21 appearances – will also be a threat. The 24-year-old was lively against Poland with five shots, although none were on target.
History
Argentina have dominated Mexico over the years. La Albiceleste have a 16-5 advantage in wins against El Tri, with 14 draws. Since losing back-to-back friendlies in 1990, the Argentines have lost just once in their last 18 meetings against the Mexicans.
Moreover, they are unbeaten in their last 10 with eight wins, although most of those matches were friendlies.
Argentina have also won all three of their meetings at the World Cup. They won 6-3 in 1930, 2-1 in 2006 and 3-1 in 2010.
Betting Tip
SBOTOP odds have Argentina significantly favoured at 1.59 to beat Mexico, who are priced at 5.80. A draw is 3.75.
Despite their setback against Saudi Arabia, Argentina are still quite a good side with superb players. However, Mexico will not make it easy for them. El Tri will try to block off the middle of the pitch and restrict the space for Lionel Messi to work his magic.
And with Mexico’s own attacking limitations, expect to see a low-scoring battle of attrition between the two Latin American sides.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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