Argentina vs. Iceland prediction: Odds, picks, best bet for Lionel Messis final World Cup warm-up
The real show for Argentina begins in a week against Algeria.Still, the defending World Cup champions will be put through their paces on Tuesday night against Iceland at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Auburn University’s campus.Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste are expected to draw a massive crowd to the iconic SEC venue, and the bookmakers like their chances of sending the fans home happy.
Argentina is a -650 favorite over Iceland, which did not qualify for the World Cup.Messi is expected to play, though it’s unlikely he’ll play more than half the match.Argentina is in an interesting position coming into the World Cup.They breezed through CONMEBOL qualification, so it’s been a while since they’ve played a competitive match.
A friendly against Iceland won’t really get the juices flowing, but Lionel Scaloni will want his team to show some bite so they don’t fall flat in their curtain-raiser against Algeria in a week.Still, the main point of emphasis for Argentina on Tuesday will be to get out of Jordan-Hare Stadium in one piece.We’ve already seen a couple of key players for other countries go down with injuries during a friendly, and that will certainly be on the minds of the players on Tuesday night.Iceland, meanwhile, has nothing to lose in this one.
Strákarnir okkar didn’t qualify for the big dance, so they’ll view an opportunity to upset the current champions of the world as a massive opportunity.It’s not every day that you get to play against Lionel Messi.You can expect a full-throttle effort from the Nordic side, but they are very limited when it comes to actual talent.
And they’re going up against one of the best defensive outfits in international soccer.The atmosphere for this contest should be terrific, but I doubt that the on-field display will match it.Argentina doesn’t have to get out of first gear to win this match, and I expect that the team will be happy to get ahead and put things in cruise control in order to get out of Alabama ...