Argentina’s chances at the World Cup 2018
Argentina may well have the best player in the world in Lionel Messi however they don’t have the greatest form in the world at the moment. There could be a difficult campaign ahead of them in Russia. Argentina are a side who have depth and quality and they can call on some of the biggest stars in the world. But seeing them put it all together as a cohesive team is a totally different matter altogether.
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Argentina are running at a flattering 9/1 odds price at bet365* (betting odds taken on May 18th, 2018 at 6:12 p.m.) to win the World Cup 2018. But given the struggles that they had in qualification and otherwise indifferent form they don’t appear to be as strong as some of the other front-runners heading to the summer tournament. They have the individual quality but do they have the team mentality?
Visit Bet365Argentina World Cup 2018 Fixtures – Group Stage
Argentina are drawn in Group D for Russia 2018 and there they will be facing Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria. On the surface of things that doesn’t look to be too difficult a task for the South Americans. However when you break it down, their opponents are going to each offer a different challenge for Argentina. Argentina open against Iceland on Saturday, June 16 in Moscow and while they are favourites to win that, punters probably won’t be too afraid of backing Iceland to get something out of the game given how strong their qualification campaign was and what they produced at Euro 2016.
It is Argentina’s second match in Group D which is really going to be the test as they face more European opposition in the form of Croatia. Croatia have one of the best midfields heading to the tournament and they are a real dark horse option. Croatia do look as if they have the tools to potentially upset Argentina and beat them to top spot in the group. The game between the two of them on Thursday, June 21 is going to be a fascinating tussle. Argentina are 10/11 favourites to win* (betting odds taken on May 18th, 2018 at 6:12 p.m.) the game but there is the appeal of Croatia at 4/1 odds with bet365* (betting odds taken on May 18th, 2018 at 6:12 p.m.).
Argentina will close out the group stage campaign against Nigeria on June 26 and depending on how they have performed against Iceland and Croatia, there could be some pressure on the South Americans going into it. Argentina holds a 5-2 head to head lead against Nigeria with the one drawn match and from the three previous games against Croatia, Argentina are 2-1 ahead. The most recent meeting was a friendly in 2014 which Argentina won and one of the three previous meetings was in the 1998 World Cup with the South Americans taking a one-nil win on that occasion.
Argentina Stage of Elimination
If you push them through in qualifying from the group stage then their route is going to be dependent on whether they win the group not. Going through in second place could put them against France in the round of 16 while if they could top the group it would more likely be a game against Denmark in the first knockout stage.
Argentina are 6/1 odds to get eliminated* (betting odds taken on May 18th, 2018 at 6:12 p.m.) in the group stage well they are a more realistic 9/4 odds quote at bet365* (betting odds taken on May 18th, 2018 at 6:12 p.m.) to have their tournament ended in the round of 16.
Argentina Top Goalscorer
There is only one player that punters are going to be thinking about in the Argentina top goalscorer market is Lionel Messi who is 4/6 odds-on favourite* (betting odds taken on May 18th, 2018 at 6:12 p.m.) to finish the tournament as Argentina’s top goalscorer. Considering the tremendous season that he has found a club level with Barcelona it does make sense to back him. Other options that Argentina have in the goal scoring department are primarily Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero who are joint 8/1 second favourites* (betting odds taken on May 18th, 2018 at 6:12 p.m.).
Outright Odds* for the World Cup 2018
Brazil 4/1, Germany 9/2, Spain 6/1, France 13/2, Argentina 9/1, Belgium 11/1, England 18/1, Portugal 25/1, Uruguay 33/1, Croatia 33/1, bar 40/1* (Betting Odds taken at 5:27 p.m. on May 16th, 2018)
Predictions
Argentina have not had a great couple of years and they really have the struggles of times during qualification with opposing teams not having a great deal of difficulty in shutting them down. That’s a huge concern for the South Americans as they head to Russia 2018. With no great form behind them, they do have some of the best-attacking players in the world, but it just does not seem to come together for them often enough.
Seeing them make repeat run to the Final as they did four years ago looks highly unlikely and they get a tough challenge in the group stage as well. While we can see them squeezing the way out of the group stage we don’t see them progressing beyond the round of 16 and they are 9/4 odds* (betting odds taken on May 18th, 2018 at 6:12 p.m.) to be packing their bags at that stage.
