World Cup 2022: Argentina v Saudi Arabia Betting Preview
World Cup Qatar 2022: Argentina v Saudi Arabia betting preview: Argentina starts their World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia at the Lusail Stadium. Join us as we assess both teams and highlight the players to watch. We also make predictions in the popular Over / Under goals market and what we feel will be the final score.
Argentina head to the World Cup with the longest international unbeaten streak of thirty-five games. The incredible form makes them the outright favourites to win the title, with a well-balanced squad, talent, and sufficient depth in every position. The South American’s first test will be Saudi Arabia, with (almost) home advantage given their familiarity with the climate and conditions in the Gulf.
Saudi Arabia has reached the round of 16 of the 1994 edition but has just one win in the last twelve games. Nevertheless, they have talented technical players who perform well as a unit with a great test against one of the giants of the competition, Argentina.
Senegal v Netherlands Betting Odds and Markets
The most popular markets are the full-time result or the over/under. See the latest odds on offer in the tables below.
| Match Result Betting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Argentina Win | Draw | Saudi Arabia Win |
| 1/6 | 13/2 | 14/1 |
Argentina has a lethal attack led by Lionel Messi, who will be determined to have a World Cup title in his luxurious trophy collection. Top bookie bet365 is offering 1/6 in favour of the South Americans and 14/1 for the Asian side, and 13/2 for a draw.
Argentina is the most on-form team on a thirty-five-game unbeaten run and has not tasted defeat since July 2019 in the Copa America semi-finals to Brazil. They won the last four consecutive games without conceding a single goal; Jamaica (3 – 0), Honduras (3 – 0), Estonia (5 – 0), and Italy (3 – 0).
Saudi Arabia is in impressive form of their own unbeaten in the last seven games, winning two, Iceland (1 – 0), North Macedonia (1 – 0) and drawing five, Panama (1 – 1), Honduras (0 – 0), Albania (1 – 1), USA (0 – 0), Ecuador (0 – 0).
Over/Under Market
| Match Result Betting | |
|---|---|
| Over 2.5 Goals | Under 2.5 Goals |
| 8/13 | 13/10 |
The South Americans have been free-scoring, winning all their four games, scoring three goals in three and five in the other. They have brought a strong attacking squad and are very solid in defence; thus, we anticipate a high-scoring game regardless of Saudi Arabia’s performance. However, because of the defensive strengths of Argentina, the ‘both teams to score’ market is risky.
Player(s) to watch – Argentina
Lionel Messi is one of the world’s most decorated talents, breaking records and has achieved all the possible milestones in the last two decades. An industrious career that lacks a World Cup trophy and with age catching up, this could be the maestro’s last tournament, thus the need to give it his all in this competition. The 35-year-old has ten goals in six games and is expected to improve on his tally of six goals in nineteen World Cup games. Messi has scored seven goals and provided ten assists in thirteen appearances for PSG this season.
2010 🇪🇸 2014 🇩🇪 2018 🇫🇷 2022 🇦🇷
EA SPORTS has got every World Cup winner right since 2010 using FIFA simulations. It’s predicted Argentina to lift the trophy next month using FIFA 23 🏆 pic.twitter.com/uY0LQcIXGG
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 8, 2022
Player(s) to watch – Saudi Arabia
Salem Al Dawsari was one of nine players in an exposure experiment to send Saudi players to the Spanish La Liga to gain experience in time for the World Cup. He managed just one appearance for Villareal. Salem heads to the competition as his nations hope in the attack, where they have struggled, managing just four goals in nine games. He scored their goal in their only win (1 – 0 against Egypt) in the 2018 edition of the games.
💪 Conoce a algunos de los cracks que estarán en el Mundial de Qatar 2022 junto a @CaracolRadio y @CaracolDeportes
🔥 Del grupo C: Salem Al Dawsari
🇸🇦 En su segunda Copa del Mundo buscará superar la fase de grupos luego de 18 años pic.twitter.com/hVFFnu0Spv
— AS Colombia 🇨🇴 (@AS_Colombia) November 14, 2022
Match Prediction: Argentina 4 – 0
A high-scoring encounter in favour of the South Americans, who have been in fine form. Argentina has a lethal attack, while Saudi Arabia has a shoddy defence that will have a busy day in office to keep out the relentless onslaught. We predict a 4 – 0 scoreline with the Over 2.5 market. Lionel Messi scoring at any minute is a favourable market, but likely to be low odds.
Argentina v Saudi Arabia, Group A, Lusail Stadium. Kick-off is at 4 pm (UK time).
Argentina Squad:
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Franco Armani (River Plate) and Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal).
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Nicolas Tagliafico (Olympique Lyonnais), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla).
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Enzo Fernandez (Benfica), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion).
Forwards: Paulo Dybala (AS Roma), Lionel Messi (Paris St Germain), Angel Di Maria (Juventus), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Joaquin Correa (Inter Milan), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City).
Saudi Arabia Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed Al-Owais (Al-Hilal), Nawaf Al-Aqidi (Al-Nassr), Mohamed Al-Yami (Al-Ahly).
Defenders: Yasser Al-Shahrani (Al-Hilal), Ali Al-Bulaihi (Al-Hilal), Abdulelah Al-Amri (Al-Nassr), Abdullah Madu (Al-Nassr), Hassan Tambakti (Al-Shabab), Sultan Al-Ghanam (Al-Nassr), Mohammed Al-Breik (Al-Hilal), Saud Abdulhamid (Al-Hilal).
Midfielders: Salman Al-Faraj (Al-Hilal), Riyadh Sharahili (Abha), Ali Al-Hassan (Al-Nassr), Mohamed Kanno (Al-Hilal), Abdulelah Al-Malki (Al-Hilal), Sami Al-Najei (Al-Nassr), Abdullah Otayf (Al-Hilal), Nasser Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Abdulrahman Al-Aboud (Ittihad), Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Hattan Bahebri (Al-Shabab).
Forwards: Fahad Al-Muwallad (Al-Shabab), Haitham Asiri (Al-Ahly), Saleh Al-Shehri (Al-Hilal) Firas Al-Buraikan (Al-Fateh)
You can learn more about placing World Cup bets on our World Cup betting page. In addition, our World Cup fixtures page will bring you all the latest match previews and betting tips. Use our World Cup Squad Builder to pick your best starting 11 and learn more about each squad playing at the 2022 World Cup.
