Argentina and Austria meet in an intriguing fixture in Arlington and both sides have one foot in the knockouts after winning starts to their Group J program.
Inter Miami GOAT Lionel Messi added to his superhuman résumé with a sparkling hat-trick as the current world champions beat Algeria 3-0.
Austria were made to work far harder for their victory, scoring twice in the last 15 minutes to sign for a valuable 3-1 Group J win over Jordan.
Argentina vs. Austria betting picks and predictions
Austria +1.0 Asian Handicap (-118)
Messi-mania. The Messi-ah. You know how it goes. The GOAT turns it on at a World Cup. Who knew?
He's 38, supposed to be over the hill, and here he is tying Miroslav Klose for the most World Cup goals in history courtesy of his treble in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria.
One more and he's the greatest ever. Er, isn't he anyway?
Fact is, it's hard to be churlish about the veteran ace's opening salvo against a supposedly tough Algeria and La Albiceleste as a unit looked pretty darned decent.
However, Game 2 isn't the same as Game 1 and opponents Austria are a step up on what Algeria had to offer and everyone in Argentina is well aware of that.
The Austrians are some way down the list of 'dark horse' alternatives being espoused by those who pretend to know, but Ralf Rangnick's boys are good.
Good enough to beat Jordan 3-1 in their opener - not their best effort, but job done - and good enough over the last two or three years to have beaten the likes of Germany, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea and many more besides.
They fended off decent European nations Bosnia and Romania to qualify and boast world-class players such as David Alaba of Real Madrid, plus a gaggle of players who grace the Bundesliga.
In short, they are no mugs, far from it. And this looks a serious test for Argentina who, history tells us, do have defeats in their locker even in World Cups they win.
Since being crowned world champions for a second time in 1986 they have played in every finals - nine of them - and lost at least one game in eight of those.
The point is, these sides are in strong positions and have no need to take risks. A draw and four points will be good enough to go through and Da Team will be an uncomfortably well organised opponent for Messi and his mates.
So the bet? Surely forget the short odds about the champs and look at Austria to cover the spread instead.
Over 30.5 match tackles (-120)
Even in the good times, La Albiceleste like to flex their muscles, to show who's boss and they have never minded a scrap.
At the last World Cup, which they won, they were top-10 for tackles and fouls committed, demonstrating that if you can do the dirty work you can clean up by ruling the world.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni preached combativeness four years ago and since he's still in charge, things don't look any different.
So in their opener Argentina piled in 27 tackles and 13 fouls, way higher than the tournament average thus far - and in a game they won at a canter.
How fiery are they going to be up against a team who can hurt them? Like Austria.
Argentina and Austria combined for 44 tackles in their opening games. You've got to want to side with over 30.5 match tackles at the AT&T.
Carney Chukwuemeka over 1.5 shots on target (+225)
Carney Chukwuemeka came off the bench for Austria against Jordan with the scores tied at 1-1 and, while difference-maker may be overdoing it, the Borussia Dortmund youngster certainly played his part in helping his team over the line.
The former England youth player is a real handful and he will definitely get more minutes against Argentina because he looks so calm on the ball but also a threat.
He had one shot on target in his half hour or so on the field in Santa Clara and can repeat that as a minimum in Arlington.
Read more betting picks and predictions for soccer on site.
Argentina vs. Austria odds
Argentina | -175 |
Tie | +300 |
Austria | +475 |
Argentina vs. Austria player props
Anytime goalscorer
Lionel Messi (Argentina) | -110 |
Lautaro Martinez (Argentina) | +110 |
Enzo Fernandez (Argentina) | +350 |
Marko Arnautovic (Austria) | +275 |
Sasa Kalajdzic (Austria) | +300 |
Michael Gregoritsch (Austria) | +350 |
Read the latest soccer news on site.
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.
