Qatar vs Argentina Predictions

Incredibly, Argentina’s final Copa America group game has become a shoot-out for a place in the second round. Lionel Messi and co. are struggling in Brazil with just a point to their name from their first two games. Now they go into this clash knowing that they have to pull something out of the bag in order to book a place in the next round. We saw something similar at the 2018 World Cup, but can Messi save them in the final game like he did against Nigeria 12 months ago?

Of course, Qatar are still very much in the fight for second in this group. They come into this clash above Argentina in the table after the first two games. With each of the top two going through and two third-placed finishers from the three groups, there is a chance for Qatar to move into the next round. However, they’re probably going to need a win over Argentina in order to do it. Given that they’ve already won the Asian Cup this year, we can’t rule out Qatar ahead of the final day.

Argentina sitting bottom here is a sorry state of affairs. They’ve fallen far below the depths any team with the world’s best player should ever go. They’ve barely made an impact on the international stage across the last World Cup and this tournament, while they made three straight finals between the 2014 World Cup plus the Copa America in 2015 and 2016, losing each. This could be Messi’s last chance of silverware with his country, so will he miss out once again?

It’s hard to have much faith in Argentina right now. They head into this clash with one goal from their two games and even that was a penalty. They’ve looked vulnerable at the back in each game, while Qatar really tested Paraguay and Colombia in their clashes. Qatar have been the more impressive of the two sides so far, while they have a brilliant recent record to fall back on.

Qatar have played 10 times in 2019, winning seven and drawing just once. They were able to sweep the board at the Asian Cup, which shows their progress as a footballing nation. Meanwhile, Argentina have won just one of their last seven matches at major tournaments. We expect them to struggle yet again here, so we’re backing Qatar with a +1 Asian Handicap. That bet gives us a return if Qatar avoid defeat – like a Double Chance pick – while we get a full refund if they lose by a single goal. Given how Argentina are playing, they don’t seem capable of hammering anyone, while we struggle to see them winning this match.