Pre-match information
Argentina will face Egypt in the 1/8 round of the 2026 World Cup in the race to win a ticket to the quarterfinals. The defending champion is rated higher, but the African representative is one of the biggest phenomena of the tournament.
Argentina advanced to this round after a 3-2 victory over Cabo Verde after 120 minutes of play. Although not showing the overwhelming form as expected, coach Lionel Scaloni's team still proved their bravery when extending their 11-match winning streak in all competitions.
La Albiceleste" is facing the opportunity to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the World Cup title. Statistics also support Argentina as they have won 24 consecutive matches on neutral ground and won all 8 recent encounters with African representatives at the World Cup since the defeat to Cameroon in 1990.
Argentina's strength continues to come from the attack with Lionel Messi co-leading the top scorer list with 7 goals. Besides, Lautaro Martinez, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul all maintain stable form, helping the South American team own many quality attacking options.
On the other side, Egypt is creating the most successful World Cup in history. Coach Hossam Hassan's team won for the first time in a World Cup knockout match after defeating Australia in a penalty shootout.
The Pharaohs" have only lost 1 of their last 8 matches in all competitions. Notably, three of their four matches at the 2026 World Cup all ended in a draw after 90 minutes, showing a tight defensive style and the ability to maintain a balanced game against strong opponents.
The highlight of the match will be the confrontation between Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah. This is the first time the two world-class stars have met at the national team level. Messi has scored 7 goals at the 2026 World Cup, while Salah has only scored 1 goal but is leading the tournament in the number of chances created with 16.
According to the prediction of the Opta supercomputer, Argentina is rated slightly higher thanks to the quality of the squad and experience in big matches. However, Egypt has proven that they are a difficult opponent with a disciplined defense and sharp counter-attacking ability of Salah and Omar Marmoush, promising to bring no small challenge to the defending champion.
