Lionel Messi and Argentina are one of the 2018 World Cup Betting Favorites.

Lionel Messi and Argentina are one of the World Cup Favorites

Written by on June 1, 2018

After coming up one victory short four years ago and still having the world’s greatest soccer player leading them, there is no other goal for Argentina. Bring the trophy home from Russia and nothing less, no matter what the 2018 World Cup Betting Odds might say. If you’re thinking about backing Argentina’s Betting Lines to win it all at MyBookie Sportsbook and you need to know all about their chances of winning the 2018 World Cup, then you’re in for a treat!

2018 World Cup Betting Odds & Prediction for Argentina

  • Captain: Lionel Messi
  • Manager: Jorge Sampaoli
  • Nickname: La Albiceleste
  • FIFA Ranking: 5
  • World Cup Betting Odds to Win: +750

World Cup History

Argentina has two World Cup titles they won in 1978 and in 1986 for those that remember the legendary Diego Maradona and the hand of God! Argentina has also finished as runners-up three times including 2014. They last failed to qualify in 1970.

How they qualified to Russia 2018

Argentina may have been the runner-ups four years ago, but they barely qualified for the 2018 World Cup. La Albiceleste finished third in the South America qualifying section and went into the final day of match play without a victory. However, that’s when the incomparable Leo Messi saved the day for them with an improbable (not for him) hattrick to avoid the embarrassment of failing to qualify.

23-man final squad

  • Sergio Romero
  • Willy Caballero
  • Franco Armania
  • Gabriel Mercardo
  • Cristian Ansaldi
  • Nicolas Otamendi
  • Federico Fazio
  • Marcos Rojo
  • Nicolas Tagliafico
  • Marcos Acuna
  • Javier Mascherano
  • Eduardo Salvio
  • Lucas Biglia
  • Giovani Lo Celso
  • Ever Banega
  • Manuel Lanzini
  • Maximiliano Meza
  • Angel Di Maria
  • Cristian Pavon
  • Lionel Messi
  • Paulo Dybala
  • Gonzalo Higuain
  • Sergio Aguero

Group D Schedule

June 16

  • Argentina vs. Iceland
  • Croatia vs. Nigeria

June 21

  • Argentina vs. Croatia

June 22

  • Nigeria vs. Iceland

June 26

  • Nigeria vs. Argentina
  • Iceland vs. Croatia

The Outlook

Lionel Messi is going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever take the pitch, it’s that simple. He’s his country’s all-time leading scorer and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down with 12 goals in 11 league appearances for Barcelona this season. Messi will show up an deliver, but will his teammates? Argentina needs a great effort from players like Angel Di Maria, striker Sergio Aguero, and Gonzalo Higuain after the trio all excelled in Europe this season. If they can all figure out how to play with and play-off off Messi, Argentina could shine. The 2018 World Cup Betting Odds for Argentina are looking good. Midfielder Javier Mascherano is the second most-capped player for Argentina behind Messi and the legendary Javier Zanetti and could overtake his total of 143 in the first game in Russia. Mascherano will likely be slotted as a midfielder on some occasions and center-back on others and he’ll be the glue that holds Argentina’s defense together. Aguero is the No. 3 all-time scorer in Argentina history, but many feel like he’s underachieved with 36 goals in 84 matches. he’s going to need to be aggressive and find the back of the net in order to help Messi. The bottom line for Argentina is that they need other players to make plays to help Lionel Messi. Even though he’s the greatest player in the world today, he can’t beat some of the other elite teams all by himself, just as the 2018 World Cup Betting Odds indicate, or maybe you haven’t seen LeBron James carry his underachieving teammates in the NBA this season.