Preview of Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia
Argentina enters the World Cup hoping to add trophy on their Copa America victory, but head coach Lionel Scaloni is well aware of the obstacles his team will face in Qatar, beginning with their opening opponents Saudi Arabia.
By defeating Brazil in the 2021 Copa America final, La Albiceleste broke a 28-year trophy drought and qualified for this World Cup as the continent's champions for the first time since the 1994 World Cup.
Argentina will expect to advance far in this World Cup, unlike the previous one, where they were eliminated by Romania in the round of 16. Lionel Messi will be leading a determined team in what is expected to be his final World Cup.
Prior to playing Mexico and Poland, Argentina's Group C campaign gets underway against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at Lusail Stadium. Scaloni does not anticipate an easy matchup against a team ranked 51st in the most recent FIFA rankings.
We are familiar with Saudi Arabia, he continued. They have speedy players and are a highly strong technological squad. They'll make life hard for us.
"On top of that, it's our first World Cup game, which is always challenging. And since it's the World Cup, every game is challenging.
"We don't feel under pressure because, at the end of the day, this is just football; we'll play in the World Cup. We are aware of what football means to Argentina, but because it is a sport, we must enter the field and do our own actions.
Flashback on Argentinian Football
Along with Brazil (five times) and Uruguay (twice), Argentina is one of three South American nations to have won the World Cup. But since 1986, after Diego Maradona's reign they are not able to reach the height .
In fact, even taking into account their run to the final eight years ago, when they lost to Germany, the World Cup has given Argentinians far more unhappy memories than pleasant ones over the last three decades.
Goal of Saudi Arabia in world cup 2022
The goal for Saudi Arabia in this, their sixth tournament appearance, will be to advance from the group stage for just the second time. Anything less than that will be deemed a failure for Scaloni's team.
Herve Renard's team qualified for Qatar with 18 qualifying matches divided across two group rounds, 13 wins, and only one loss, however the draw wasn't on their favor for the championship match.
Renard has a history of beating the odds. He led Zambia to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2012 and then repeated the feat with the Ivory Coast, who were given more of a chance, to become the first person to win the competition with two separate teams.
Renard, who previously captained Morocco in the 2018 World Cup, is dreaming of another incredible adventure with Saudi Arabia in this, his second World Cup experience.
We have a difficult schedule of games, but as a player or coach, you always hope to represent your country in the World Cup.
"Even though the finest teams in the world usually arrive with the goal of winning, surprises occasionally occur. You have to rely on shock outcomes when you are one of the tournament's lesser teams.
Argentina possible starting lineup:
E. Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna; De Paul, Paredes, Mac Allister; Messi, L. Martinez, Di Maria
Saudi Arabia possible starting lineup:
Al-Owais; Al-Burayk, Al-Amri, Al-Bulahyi, Al-Shahrani; Kanno, Al-Malki; Al-Shehri, Al-Faraj, Al-Daswari; Al-Buraikan
Key players to watch
Argentina: Lionel Messi
Messi has been personally involved in 26 goals in all competitions in his second season at Paris Saint-Germain, a total that only Erling Haaland and teammate Neymar can match among players from teams playing in Europe's top five leagues. Messi has returned to anything resembling his best form.
The 35-year-old has already said he expects this to be his final Global Cup, and after helping his team win the Copa America last year, he is now keen to help his nation win the world championship.
In his last four World Cups, Messi went 756 minutes without scoring a goal, but he has six goals in the group stage and will bet on himself to add to that number in this opening game.
Saudi Arabia: Saleh Al-Shehri
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Due to the winger failing a drug test earlier this year, Renard is missing the 17-goal Fahad Al Muwallad, but there are a number of other options to choose from in the final third.
Al-Shehri is one of them and will be hoping to make an impression in Qatar after scoring on all four of his shots on goal in the AFC third-round qualifiers to tie for the league's top scorer.
Although Saudi Arabia has scored 11 goals in the finals, more than any other team participating in Qatar, four of those goals have come from the penalty spot.
Prediction of Match
Argentina is the overwhelming favorite to win this match against Saudi Arabia despite having lost three of their last five World Cup games, which is more losses than they had in their previous 24 games combined (W16 D5).
Our supercomputer prediction model reflects this, giving Argentina an 80.2% chance of winning compared to Saudi Arabia's 6.9%.
The odds of a draw occurring are 12.9%, with Renard's team trying to achieve a shocking outcome.
Score Prediction
We say: Argentina 3-0 Saudi Arabia
While Saudi Arabia have performed valiantly on the defensive front in 2022, a distinct lack of goals at the other end has been evident, and they are unlikely to experience much joy against a red-hot Argentina side.
Scaloni's men have swept aside almost every team that has come before them in the past three years, and we can only envisage La Albiceleste storming to a routine three points on matchday one.