Argentina almost risked a shock elimination in the previous round but came through in the end, with Lionel Messi scoring again, and their prize for that is a Last 16 tie here against Egypt.
Keep reading for the all-important team news, key stat, trivia and a decent-looking 4.0 betting tip.
Argentina - Egypt Betting Tip
Egypt have done well so far, but this is a big step up in quality compared to what they’ve faced.
Despite failing to win inside 90 minutes as strong favourites against Cabo Verde, Argentina should be too strong for the North Africans here, but we think Egypt should be good for a goal, having scored in all four of their matches so far.
Besides, Argentina conceded one against minnows Jordan and two against Cape Verde, so they’re not at their best defensively at the moment.
- Prediction: Argentina to win and BTTS Yes
- Odds: 4.0 (at the time of writing)
- Key Stat: Argentina have scored two or more goals in all of their last 10 games, with six goals on one occasion, five on another, three in three different matches, and two on five occasions.
Argentina
After an extremely smooth start to their campaign, Argentina got a much-needed wake-up call in that Last 32 match against Cape Verde on Friday night, being forced into extra-time before an own goal in the 111th minute proved enough to see them through.
Good thing for them they got it because, if they’d been knocked out by the Blue Sharks, it would have ranked as one of the biggest World Cup upsets of all time, and the source of much embarrassment for Argentina and their fans.
Once again, Lionel Messi was among the goals with an excellent finish for the game’s opening goal, his seventh of the competition. That’s the same number as France's Kylian Mbappe and, perhaps more surprisingly, Erling Haaland as well.
But those extra 30 minutes won’t have done Argentina or Messi any good, with the relatively quick turnaround. At the age of 39, an additional half-hour was the last thing he needed, so let’s wait and see how fresh he looks for this one.
Argentina picked Cristian Romero ahead of Nicolas Otamendi in the heart of their defence last time out, so let’s see if they go with the Spurs man again. Enzo Fernandez has been a bit quiet so far, but this might be a game in which he could spark into life.
- Player to watch: Enzo Fernandez - 4.33 to score anytime / 7.5 to be shown a card.
Egypt
Egypt have progressed further than ever before in a World Cup after a penalty shootout win against Australia. Midfielder Emam Ashour opened the scoring before a Mohammed Hany own goal forced extra time.
With no goals in it, penalties were needed to split the two, and Egypt were ruthless from the spot, scoring all four of their attempts, while Australia missed two.
One of those penalties was scored by Mo Salah. It’s a good thing he did, because he’s been a bit out of form so far, with just one goal (against New Zealand) in four games to show for his efforts.
Curiously, three of their four games so far ended 1-1, the exception being that 3-1 win over New Zealand that was vital in them getting out of the Group Stages. They’d certainly settle for another 1-1 and extra time if it was offered to them right now.
- Player to watch: Mo Salah - 2.0 to be fouled 2 or more times / 5.0 to score anytime.
Did You Know?
Mo Salah has scored 67 goals for Egypt in 116 appearances. That’s more goals than all the other players in their squad combined, with Trezeguet (23) and Omar Marmoush (11) the next-highest scorers.
