Pre-match information
Defending champion Argentina started the tournament smoothly with a 3-0 victory over Algeria. Lionel Messi played brilliantly with a hat-trick, thereby helping him equal the World Cup scoring record with Miroslav Klose (both 16 goals).
Meanwhile, the Austrian team also left many impressions when defeating Jordan 3-1 in the opening match. The European team has shown many qualities in their playing style and promises to cause many difficulties for the Argentine team.
The Austrian national team is on a four-match winning streak in all competitions and has won 10 out of 12 recent matches, drawing one and losing one.
If they win another victory against Argentina, it will be the first time since 1982 that the Austrian team has started a World Cup with two consecutive victories.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni clearly understands the challenges his team is about to face. He said: "The whole team is fine and ready for the match against Austria. They are a tough opponent, possessing very good players. They press well and have had a great qualifying campaign. This will definitely be a difficult match. There is no easy match at this World Cup".
Messi will continue to be Argentina's biggest hope. If they beat Austria, the South American team will have a great opportunity to top Group J, thereby being able to avoid a strong opponent in the round of 32.
With the Austrian team, they are also very excited to face Messi's Argentina team. Before this match, defender Konrad Laimer said: "In the end, we always want to play against the strongest teams. Argentina is the reigning world champion, so they are the strongest team, and Messi is the best player in the world.
It's great to play with such classy players and see how we perform compared to them. Finally, you will see how good you are. Argentina is a special team, with incredible quality. Of course, we also want to show our ability, but other matches are equally important if we want to advance to the next round.
We are really looking forward to this match. Whether the opponent is Jordan, Argentina or Algeria, we just want to win. To do that, we need to show excellent performances. First, we just want to get through the group stage and see where the journey ahead will lead.
