Argentina vs Mexico - 2022 World Cup Betting Guide

Argentina Team Info – Messi’s Last Chance

As champions of South America after winning the Copa America in 2021 it’s easy to see why Argentina head into the tournament as one of the favourites. Form is on their side after a seamless qualification where they finished second to Brazil having won 11 and drawing six of their 17 matches played.  They boast the longest unbeaten streak in the history of men’s international soccer, with their last loss coming to Brazil in 2019. This World Cup is likely to be Messi's last chance to add a winner’s medal to his impressive trophy cabinet and there is good news, with many experts citing this as one of the most unified squads Messi hass played with, meaning he’s never been in a better position to win a World Cup as a result. Will this be the year it comes together? Only time will tell.

With a strike force that includes the likes of Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, Roma’s Paulo Dybala, and the world famous Lionel Messi, Argentina can worry their opponents defenders. Their own defence is also tight, with a combination of older players such as Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico, Marcos Acuna, as well as younger players such as Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez.

Mexico Team Info – Aiming for the Later Stages

Mexico won eight, drew four and had two defeats on their way to qualifying for the World Cup finals - finishing second behind Canada in Concacaf qualification. While a longshot for the tournament outright, Mexico is a familiar name at the World Cup – making their seventh straight appearance at the tournament. Unfortunately, they have a history of progressing well through the group stages before coming up short in the knock-out phase. However, there is hope. They bring a squad full of experience and boast one of the most experienced managers in Gerado Martino. Having previously managed Argentina he will be familiar with his Group C rivals and their superstar talisman Lionel Messi. Mexico has a tough challenge to get through the group stage at the World Cup but hopes will be high that El Tri can advance.

To progress through the group, they will be relying heavily on Raul Jimenez and Hirving Lozano. Jimenez hit double digits two seasons in a row for Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Napoli’s Lozano, 26, has 56 caps for his country so far and has already scored 15 times wearing the national team’s shirt. Andres Guardado is the most capped player in Mexico, with 175 caps in which he has netted 28 goals. In addition to the Mexican midfielder Guardado, defender Hector Moreno and goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa have played 124 and 129 times for their country.

Argentina vs Mexico Head-to-head

Argentina will head into the match as likely winners. The two teams have met 3 times before at the World Cup with Argentina running out as victors on all three occasions. This included a 6-3 group stage victory in 1930, a 2-1 round of 16 win in 2006 and most recently in 2010 when Argentina ran out 3-1 winners in the round of 16. 

Argentina vs Mexico Betting Preview

With any first tournament match nerves dissipating, this promises to be a great match. Bettors interested in this game will find a number of different markets available. Let’s dive into where the tips could lie…

To Score and Win

The statistics will have Argentina as the favourites for this match meaning odds on them as the outright winner will be short. However, you will get more value on those short price odds by combining the bet with a goal scorer tip. The safe money will always sit with Messi but those backing La Albiceleste may wish to consider Lautaro Martinez with the forward thriving in Serie A this season for Inter Milan.

Goalscoring Markets

For fans hoping for a goal fest, there is a range of markets to consider including first time scorer, anytime scorer and last scorer amongst many others. The obvious candidates for Mexico will lie in their record goal scorer Javier Hernandez or their new talisman Raul Jimenez who his country will be hoping is in top fitness after working his way back to form following a head injury last season. For Argentina the likes of Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez all offer strong tips, having recently brushed aside European champions Italy with a 3-0 win in June they then went on to smash Estonia 5-0 in a friendly with Messi scoring all five goals.

Over/Under Total Goals

This is always a popular market for those who want to bet on goals but without having to specify an exact score. The market will give you a betting line, for example 2.5, and you simply bet on whether you think there will be more or less than that number of goals scored. We expect both teams to come out fighting and whether you’re backing an Argentinean whitewash or a tightly fought extravaganza, with the attacking threat posed by both teams, this could be a very interesting bet.

Win with a Margin or Asian Handicaps

You can bet on one of the teams to win with a specific margin. Here, you will find bets offered on Argentina to win by a margin of 1, 2, or >2 goals, and the odds on Mexico to win by the same margins.

Handicaps are similar, as they will require the team to win by at least a certain margin, or to not lose by more than a certain margin. For example, if you bet on Argentina with a handicap of -1.5, this will mean Argentina needs to win the game by 2 or more goals. If you set a handicap of -1, this will mean Argentina needs to win by 2 goals, but if they only win by 1, your bet will be void and your money will be returned. If you set a handicap of -1.25, this will mean half your money will go on Argentina to win by -1.5 and the other half on -1, meaning you will not win as much as the handicap of 1.5 if they do win by 2, but if they only win by 1, you will cut your losses.

Halftime/Fulltime

You can specify which team you think will win the first half and the second with the halftime/fulltime bet. There will be numerous combinations, such as Argentina/Argentina, Mexico/Argentina, Draw/Argentina, Draw/Draw, and so on. You will find that even the most likely outcome, which is Argentina/Argentina, comes at longer odds than simple match bets, which is why these bets are hugely popular.

And Loads More

You will find that there are so many different aspects that you can bet on in the match between Argentina and Mexico. These include bets on which of the two teams will score first, will one of the teams keep a clean sheet, which half will be the highest scoring, which team will win and what will the winning margin be, how many goals will be scored in the first or second half, what will the correct score be at the end of the game, and many more.

You can also find combination bets, where you can bet on both teams to score and total goals, match bet and both teams to score, match bet and total goals, all the way up to bets such as correct score half time and full time, or half time full time and total goals, which come at extremely long odds.

Betting on the World Cup games can be highly exciting, as the games come quickly and there are many different types of bets you can enjoy. One important thing to remember is to always make sure you do not spend more money than you can afford. Keeping track of how much you spend and making a budget are amongst many methods you can use to try to avoid that scenario, and you can always find useful information on the subject at gambleaware.co.uk