Will Egypt Continue to Make History?
The upcoming World Cup Round of 16 has many exciting and closely contested matches in store. Based purely on the betting odds, however, my Argentina vs. Egypt match isn’t among them, as the Gauchos are, as expected, considered the clear favorites. Although the Albiceleste had some trouble in the Round of 32, I see little reason in my Argentina vs. Egypt prediction why the South Americans shouldn’t secure a clear victory in the upcoming match.
Yes, Argentina struggled against Cape Verde in the previous round. Now they’re facing another team from the African continent. This time, however, I expect another commanding performance from the reigning world champions—and fewer goals conceded by Lionel Scaloni’s team, which boasts a strong defense.
In addition to a win for the Albiceleste, I expect the Argentines to play with greater focus, especially on defense. I also don’t think it’s at all far-fetched that they’ll keep a clean sheet again, as they’ve done in two of their three group stage matches under Scaloni. Since Egypt has conceded exactly one goal in every match at this World Cup so far, I also don’t expect too many goals this coming Tuesday.
Argentina vs. Egypt AI Prediction
Does our AI’s Argentina vs. Egypt prediction see higher odds than the bookmakers for the Pharaohs to advance to the Round of 16? The AI calculates a 12.2% probability of an Egyptian victory in regulation time, while the current Betano odds imply a 10.26% probability of winning, which creates value for us.
In contrast, the AI considers the odds for a favorite win to be set too low and thus offers no value either. Unfortunately, the AI prediction for Argentina vs. Egypt also fails to deliver value odds on the goal markets.
Argentina – Statistics & Current Form
Even at nearly 40 years old, he’s still unstoppable. We’re talking, of course, about Lionel Messi, who has been outstanding for the Albiceleste so far and has already scored seven goals in the tournament. In addition to potentially winning the Golden Boot as the top scorer of this World Cup, La Pulga can therefore also harbor legitimate hopes of being named both the best player and the top scorer of this World Cup tournament.
Will Argentina have an easier time this time around?
In the Round of 16, Argentina got a taste of why Cape Verde was the ultimate surprise team of this World Cup and remained undefeated in the group stage against, among others, European champions Spain and Uruguay. Nevertheless, in the end, the world champions’ individual quality prevailed once again after extra time.
Of course, all eyes are on Messi. But around him, coach Lionel Scaloni has built a team that, above all, performs at a very high tactical level. Aside from the slip-up against Cape Verde, the Albiceleste showed in the group stage just how difficult it is to create scoring chances against the South Americans.
Aside from the utterly dominant Messi, Argentina has other world-class players on its roster, such as Messi’s striking partner Luis Martinez of Inter Milan and Julian Alvarez of Atlético Madrid. The midfield, featuring Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, and Alexis Mac Allister, is also among the strongest in this World Cup. In my opinion, this exceptional talent should once again clearly prevail against the Egyptians in the end.
Egypt – Statistics & Current Form
This World Cup is already historic for the Pharaohs. For the first time in World Cup history, Egypt has advanced to the knockout stage. And in this first knockout match, Hossam Hassan’s team defeated Australia in a penalty shootout and has thus advanced to the round of the top 16 teams.
Can Egypt stand up to the world champions?
Three of Egypt’s four World Cup matches ended in 1-1 draws; against New Zealand, the Pharaohs won 3-1. So Hassan’s team scored in every game but also conceded a goal in each one. Nevertheless, a “under 2.5 goals” bet would have paid off in three of the North Africans’ four matches. I also consider another low-scoring match a possibility in my Argentina vs. Egypt prediction, in which I don’t necessarily expect the underdog to score again.
After all, I expect the seven-time African champions to play rather defensively against the clear favorites. So it could take quite a while for the Gauchos to break through the Africans’ defensive wall, as Egypt has now gone nine international matches without a loss. However, Egypt won only three of those matches, with five ending in draws. A draw after 90 minutes against their upcoming opponent would already be a success.
Argentina – Egypt Head-to-Head Record
The two teams have faced each other twice so far: at the 1928 Olympic Games and in a friendly match in 2008. Of course, neither of those matches is particularly relevant to next Tuesday’s game. For the sake of completeness, it’s worth noting that the Albiceleste won both games without conceding a goal. As expected, the Argentina vs. Egypt betting odds for the World Cup Round of 16 once again show the South Americans as clear favorites.
Argentina – Egypt Prediction
At this World Cup, Lionel Messi has once again confirmed why he is regarded by many soccer fans as the GOAT. With seven goals, La Pulga led his Gauchos to the Round of 16, where his team will face Egypt. I firmly believe that the individual quality of the Argentines will prevail here once again and that we won’t see any surprises in Atlanta.
The Albiceleste have won their last eleven international matches, though most of those games didn’t feature many goals. Eight of those eleven victories were clean sheets. I believe another clean sheet is possible against the Egyptians—who are clearly inferior in terms of individual skill, gameplay, and tactics—in my Argentina vs. Egypt prediction.
For Egypt, simply reaching the World Cup round of 16 is already historic and a huge success. Hossam Hassan’s team has nothing left to lose and can play freely against the heavy favorites. Spurred on by their success so far, I expect the Africans to keep pace for quite a while this coming Tuesday. Ultimately, however, the quality of the South Americans will prevail.
Before the tournament began, fans expected goals from Egypt primarily from Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush. In reality, however, Hassan’s squad has shown itself to be extremely versatile on offense. A total of seven players (including penalty kicks) have already found the back of the net for the Pharaohs in this World Cup, which currently makes Egypt unpredictable.
Now, however, they face the South American defensive fortress, which was surprisingly defeated twice by Cape Verde in its last two matches. Nevertheless, Lionel Scaloni has likely learned his lessons from those performances, which is why I expect a completely different showing from the Albiceleste in the Round of 16 and very few scoring chances for Egypt throughout the match.
