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Hat-trick hero Lionel Messi will be back in action on Monday as defending World Cup champions Argentina face Austria in their second Group J match in Dallas, US.
Messi proved that age is just a number as he stunned the world with yet more magic against Algeria in Kansas City. The 38-year-old, who is making his sixth World Cup appearance, scored all three goals as Argentina eased past their North African opponents.
Austria should prove to be sterner opposition for the South American giants, with Ralf Rangnick’s side beating Jordan in their opening group game.
Both sides arrive in Kansas City knowing that a win will all but secure their place in the knockout stages.
Lionel Messi inspired Argentina’s title defence with a hat-trick in their opening match at this tournament, drawing level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
His three goals marked his first-ever hat-trick at a FIFA tournament, and the Argentinian superstar even had one other effort ruled out for offside. He now sits on 16 World Cup goals.
The iconic Argentinian number 10, who spent the majority of his club career in Spain with Barcelona before moving to French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), now plies his trade in the US football’s Major League Soccer with Inter Miami.
His appearance against Algeria was the 200th of his international career, which began in 2005 at the age of 18.
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Despite his hat-trick heroics against the North African side, Algeria have complained that Messi should have been sent off for standing on the calf of their captain, Aissa Mandi. They have since lodged a formal complaint to FIFA’s refereeing commission.
In the build-up to this encounter, Austria captain David Alaba has stressed that Argentina’s quality extends well beyond their talismanic midfielder.
“We know what kind of opponent we’re up against, what kind of quality they have in their ranks, even besides Messi, but also what they’re capable of as a team,” he told reporters.
Austria will hope their organised pressing game can disrupt Argentina’s rhythm and strengthen their credentials as potential group winners.
The European side eventually ran out 3-1 winners against Jordan in their opening Group J match, with veteran striker Marko Arnautovic scoring a 102nd-minute penalty to seal the win.
Argentina assistant coach Pablo Aimar warned that Austria would pose a different challenge to Algeria, describing Rangnick’s side as a physical team capable of causing problems despite Argentina’s impressive start.
“Austria is a very tough team, as we’re seeing with the vast majority of the teams participating in this World Cup,” he said in a FIFA interview.
Stats provider Opta’s supercomputer has made Argentina heavy favourites for this match, giving them a 60.1 percent chance of winning against Austria.
The draw is ranked at 22.4 percent, with Austria given just a 17.6 percent chance of beating the defending champions.
Opta currently rank Argentina as the fourth favourites to win the World Cup.
Argentina, Austria, Algeria and Jordan are in Group J.
Argentina and Austria both have three points, with Argentina leading the way on goal difference.
Jordan and Algeria remain pointless, with the Middle East nation third and Algeria bottom.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.
(Last five games, latest result first)
Argentina: W-W-W-W-W
Austria: W-W-W-W-D
Both teams are in fine form heading into this fixture.
Argentina have won their last eight matches, keeping a clean sheet in all but one of those games.
Austria, meanwhile, are also enjoying a strong streak, winning all of their pre-World Cup friendlies.
These two sides have never met in a competitive fixture before.
Their only two previous meetings have come in friendlies in Vienna, with Argentina winning 5-1 in 1980 and a 1-1 draw 10 years later.
Gonzalo Montiel is a doubt for Argentina, with the right-back suffering from a hamstring issue. Nahuel Molina is likely to take his place if he misses out.
Austria also have issues at right-back, with Stefan Posch unlikely to feature due to a broken jaw.
Marko Arnautovic will push to start in attack after coming off the bench against Jordan.
Emi Martinez (goalkeeper); Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Facundo Medina; Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Thiago Almada; Lionel Messi (captain), Lautaro Martinez.
Alexander Schlager (goalkeeper); Konrad Laimer, Philipp Lienhart, David Alaba (captain), Philipp Mwene; Nicolas Seiwald, Xaver Schlager; Romano Schmid, Carney Chukwuemeka, Marcel Sabitzer; Sasa Kalajdzic. (Al Jazeera)
