Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes (Cordoba)
Argentina and Colombia went their separate ways in the first leg of their World Cup 2022 tie. Will the opponents find a winner in the upcoming encounter? We predict the White and Sky Blues will be stronger this time!
Argentina
The Argentine national team has had a great time. All those failures they experienced in the last decade and a half, when they lost numerous finals of major international tournaments and risked flying past the world forums, are in the past. The Argentines won the long-awaited 2021 Copa America and have now guaranteed themselves a spot in the 2022 World Cup, and ahead of schedule. In their 14 games, Lionel Scaloni's side has won nine and drawn five times before defeating Chile 2-1 in 2022. This local success allowed the Argentines to consolidate their position at number two in the standings.
Colombia
The Colombian side qualified for the last two World Cups and made the playoffs both times, which shows their serious ambition. There was no doubt that they would qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but things have turned out differently. Yes, they started quite well, but they have had problems in attack since last October. Reinaldo Rueda's men have failed to score in six games in a row, with four draws and two defeats. The day before, the Colombians were close to dividing the points with Peru but managed to concede in the 85th minute and lost 0-1, relegating already to the sixth position in the standings.
History of head-to-head encounters
Over history, the teams have played 32 official face-to-face matches. The Argentines have won 17 games, the Colombians have been stronger in six of them, with nine games ending in a draw. The goal difference is also in favour of the White and Sky Blues, 64-33. The two teams met once in the current World Cup 2022 qualifying round, and that time it was a 2-2 draw.
Expert Betting Tips
Argentina and Colombia approach the encounter in quite different conditions. Although the Argentines are long since demotivated after securing qualification for the 2022 World Cup, they have won four of their last five meetings and drawn once. The Colombians are much worse, as they've fallen out of the top five and risk missing out on a trip to Qatar, but they are still without a win in six straight games. As a result, we'll wager on a win for Argentina for 1.90.
The Colombian national team has made a bright start to the current qualifying tournament, scoring 16 goals in the opening nine rounds - a very respectable number by the standards of South American football. The players in the attacking group have gradually suffered injuries, which has led to a drastic decline in productivity in the attack. For six games in a row, the Tricolors have failed to hit the opponents' goal. They will now face Argentina, whose defence has been imperfect with just seven goals conceded in the previous 14 games (0.50 goals per game average). Therefore, we suggest taking Colombia's Total Under 0.5 goals for 2.20.
Lautaro Martinez is a desperate striker who aims to overtake Lionel Messi to become Argentina's top scorer at the 2022 World Cup. While the PSG forward continues to acclimatise to the French championship, the Inter player is stamping goals for the national team. He has already scored six goals in 14 games in qualifying, making him one of the top three scorers in the tournament. The 24-year-old Argentine scored a goal against Chile the day before, confirming his good form, so you should look out for a bet on Lautaro Martinez's goal for 2.62.
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