Argentina v Iceland Betting Preview – World Cup 2018 16th June – 2.00 p.m
(Full time: 1:1 – goals: (Full time: 1:1 – goals: Agüero 19′ – Finnbogason 23′)
What a fascinating game this should be from Group D. Here you have Iceland who are making their World Cup debut and who proved at Euro 2016 a team spirit and self-belief alone can get you a long way. Will Argentina, the 2014 runners-up, be able to find a way to break the spirited Europeans? Argentina will be looking for a positive start in what is a potentially tricky group which they are favourites to win.
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Argentina News and Form
Punters have not been afraid to oppose Argentina by backing Croatia to win Group D. That has all come about because Argentina failed to produce a very convincing World Cup 2018 qualification campaign. They struggled for goals and they struggled for away form. So it was very impressive stuff from them, but then again they did not look particularly great at the 2014 World Cup but still managed to finish second. The South Americans will be looking for a confident start going to give themselves a good platform to build on in what should be a competitive group with Croatia and Nigeria to come. For our Argentina v Iceland predictions we are taking a look in the bet365 correct score market where an Argentina 1-0 result is at 4/1 odds* (betting odds taken on June 11, 2018, at 7:20 p.m.).
That will again be based on their lack of goal output during qualification. So while they are favourites for this game they may not be able to produce a victory by a large margin. Despite the wealth of attacking talent that they do have it’s not very often you see them playing at a high tempo or in full out attack mode. They are able unfortunate enough to be able to rely on the brilliance of Lionel Messi who is the 11/5 odds first goalscorer favourite* (betting odds taken on June 11, 2018, at 7:20 p.m.) at bet365. Argentina’s record since the start of September last year reads W4 D3 L2 those two losses have happened in their last four games. Interestingly one of the defeats at the Albiceleste suffered in that sequence of games was against Nigeria who they will be meeting at the World Cup in the group stage. Anyway, looking at the positive for Argentina the South Americans have scored at least two goals in three of their last four games and are currently on a six-match scoring streak.
Visit Bet365Iceland News and Form
Iceland have a tremendous work rate and tremendous team spirit, but will that combine enough to rattle the cage of Argentina? After their huge tremendous success at Euro 2016 and then following that up by winning their World Cup 2018 qualification group over Croatia, it hasn’t installed much belief with punters that they are going to have a huge impact in their World Cup debut. They are rank outsiders in Group D and that is a pretty fair assessment given that the form of Iceland hasn’t been great in their buildup. So for Argentina v Iceland predictions, the Europeans are not going to have a tremendous amount of appeal to produce a shock victory.
Iceland have produced only a W1 D2 L4 record in their last seven games and surprisingly they have been badly exposed in defence during a sequence. In each of their last four games Iceland have conceded at least two goals and in three of those four games, Iceland conceded exactly 3 goals. So their defence looks there for the taking at the moment and that is going to be problematic for them in trying to keep Argentina’s attack quiet. Iceland have scored in all but one of their last nine games and you are looking at 6/4 odds on the bet365 both teams to score option* (betting odds taken on June 11, 2018, at 7:20 p.m.). As another of our Argentina v Iceland predictions, it may be worth looking over 2.5 goals as a long shot alternative, and that is because three of Argentina’s last four games and each of Iceland’s last four, have all made it above the 2.5 goal line.
Argentina v Iceland Head to Head
The two nations will be breaking new ground in this fixture as they have never met before.
Argentina v Iceland Betting Odds*
Argentina 1/3
Draw 7/2
Iceland 10/1
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on June 12th, 2018 at 8:29 p.m.)
Argentina v Iceland Predictions
Argentina may well find Iceland a tricky and unusual opponent to have to deal with, and the Albiceleste weren’t all that great through qualification. But they do have the individual talent there to handle themselves and it is worth backing the South Americans to come through this test with a victory but consider the draw/Argentina half-time/ full-time option.
