Argentina vs Austria Predictions

• Argentina have won their last eight matches.
• Lionel Messi is joint-top of the all-time scoring charts in the World Cup.

Magical Messi to light up the World Cup

Argentina legend Lionel Messi made history as he became the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick as La Celeste thrashed Algeria in their opener, and he is expected to make the difference again as their title defence continues against Austria.

The 38-year-old has scored 120 goals for his country and has found the net nine times in his last seven appearances for Inter Miami and Argentina. His hat-trick against Algeria took him level with Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading goalscorer in the World Cup, and he looks good value to take another record for himself in pursuit of his first-ever World Cup Golden Boot award.

La Celeste primed for another win

The success against Algeria was Argentina’s eighth successive win and they have scored a mammoth 24 goals in this sequence. Austria are more formidable than many of their recent opponents, but a star-studded squad should have the measure of Das Team.

Monday’s underdogs picked up a comfortable win over Jordan in their opener and have now scored in 11 of their last 12 matches, but they have only scored more than once in two of their last five.

They should get on the scoresheet against Argentina, but Lionel Scaloni’s side have been relatively solid at the back and, with them scoring exactly three in their last two matches, that should help them to a 3-1 victory.