After wins in their opening Group J games, both Argentina and Austria know three points on Monday will seal their place in the last 32 of the World Cup.
Lionel Messi took all the headlines after scoring a hat-trick in La Albiceleste's 3-0 win over Algeria and the Inter Miami star looks set to skipper the defending champions again.
Austria started their campaign with a first World Cup win since 1990, thanks to a 3-1 success over Jordan in San Francisco.
Both teams are riding impressive winning streaks, with Das Team having won their last four, while the world champions have triumphed in their last eight. At least one of those records has to go.
Argentina v Austria Tips Summary
Best Bet - Under 2.5 goals @ 4/5
Alternative Bet - Lionel Messi 5+ shots @ 13/8
Bet Builder - Marcel Sabitzer 2+ shots, Most goals in the 2nd half, Enzo Fernandez 2+ fouls committed @ 10/1
Argentina v Austria Prediction
Best Bet: Under 2.5 goals @ 4/5
The scoreline suggests the defending champions made light work of Algeria, but the stats indicate something different.
Algeria actually had more possession than their opponents and had seven shots compared to 10 from Argentina, who were far more clinical in and around the area.
Lionel Scaloni's men go into their second Group J game having won their last eight internationals, but that run does sound more impressive than perhaps it is.
Algeria (31st) are the only team inside the top 60 of the FIFA rankings who Argentina have faced during that run - which includes victories over the likes of Puerto Rico (154) and Mauritania (113).
Austria, currently ranked 21st, will provide a much sterner test, especially with experienced tactician Ralf Rangnick at the helm.
The Europeans lost just one of their eight qualifying matches and started their finals campaign with a 3-1 win over Jordan.
Austria will also be well aware that a draw should be good enough to reach the last 32.
Alternative Bet: Lionel Messi 5+ shots @ 13/8
If anyone had any doubts over whether Messi could still produce at the very top level, those were dismissed in the opening game victory.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner had six shots across the match and four of those were on target, while he had a passing accuracy of 81.1%.
Clearly La Albiceleste still feel that Messi remains the key to success and will try to get the ball to the number 10 - who turns 39 on Wednesday - as much as possible.
Argentina v Austria Bet Builder Tip
- Marcel Sabitzer 2+ shots
- Most goals in the 2nd half
- Enzo Fernandez 2+ fouls committed
Pays 10/1
Borussia Dortmund ace Marcel Sabitzer remains an influential player for Austria and he will need to shine if they are to have a chance of claiming a positive result.
The 32-year-old racked up 17 shots on target in his country’s qualifying campaign, with only Norway ace Erling Haaland registering more (28).
If, as expected, Das Team look to frustrate Argentina, then the South Americans will have to be patient in their attempts to find the net.
It's worth noting that eight of Argentina’s last 13 goals have been scored in the second half, while eight of the last 10 Austria goals have come after the break.
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez committed 36 fouls in his 36 Premier League appearances in 2025/26 and gave away a free-kick in the opening win over Algeria.
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Key Match Stats
- Argentina have kept clean sheets in each of the last four matches, against Algeria, Iceland, Honduras and Zambia
- Austria conceded just four goals in their eight qualifying matches
- Argentina scored 31 goals in their 18 South American qualifying games - an average of 1.72 per match
- Nobody had more shots than Lionel Messi's six in the first round of matches
- Marko Arnautovic is Austria's all-time leading goalscorer, with 44 goals for his country
- Emiliano Martinez had no saves to make in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
