Argentina and Austria meet in Group J on 22 June at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 in their opener while Austria got past Jordan 3-1 and a second win here would leave the third placed finisher needing a favour from elsewhere to eliminate either side, making the loser face a nervy final group game with a lot to do.
Lionel Scaloni has managed Argentina since 2018, with his contract running through the tournament, Pablo Aimar, Roberto Ayala and Walter Samuel alongside him and a philosophy built entirely on continuity from the 2022 triumph. Ralf Rangnick took charge of Austria in 2022 (extended to 2028), his staff including Lars Kornetka, Onur Cinel and Stefan Oesen sharing his fixation on relentless high pressing and quick vertical passes to release runners in behind and the two coaches have never faced each other before.
Argentina have been in good nick ahead of this, opening the tournament with a 3-0 win over Algeria having already beaten Iceland (3-0), Honduras (2-0) and Zambia (5-0) without conceding. Austria have also been in fine form, beating Jordan 3-1 here and registering earlier wins over Ghana (5-1), Tunisia (1-0) and South Korea (1-0).
Neither side is missing anyone significant, with concerns over Lisandro Martinez's calf and Christoph Baumgartner's thigh both appearing resolved ahead of kick off. Argentina are expected to line up in a 4-3-3 with Emiliano Martinez in goal, Nahuel Molina and Nicolas Tagliafico as full backs and Cristian Romero alongside either Lisandro Martinez or Nicolas Otamendi at centre back. Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez cover midfield, with Messi, Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez leading the attack.
Austria will likely go 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 with Alexander Schlager in goal, Kevin Danso alongside David Alaba or Maximilian Lienhart at centre back, Stefan Posch or Philipp Mwene on the right and Konrad Laimer on the left. Nicolas Seiwald and Xaver Schlager anchor midfield, with Patrick Wimmer, Marcel Sabitzer and Romano Schmid supplying Marko Arnautovic.
Argentina like to control possession, with Messi dropping deep to pick passes while the full backs push up to create width. Mac Allister recycles possession while Fernandez makes late runs into the box, giving the three forwards room to stay high and the whole shape sits in a mid block when out of possession, looking to spring Alvarez or Lautaro in behind once the ball is won.
Rangnick's Austria press high and transition at pace, with Laimer and Wimmer looking to combine down the left and deliver early crosses. The real question is what happens when that press meets Argentina's build up: if De Paul, Mac Allister and Fernandez are forced backwards, Argentina slow considerably and Arnautovic becomes a viable threat on the break. Messi will face sustained attention from Alaba and Seiwald, while Lautaro and Alvarez will have to deal with Danso, who tends to step aggressively to win headers but is less comfortable dealing with runners in behind.
These two sides have barely met, with Argentina winning 5-1 in a 1980 friendly, a 1990 meeting ending 1-1 and Austria claiming a 1-0 win at the 1966 World Cup in the only competitive encounter on record.
Argentina and Austria approach set pieces quite differently: Argentina rely on Messi's delivery with Martinez attacking the near post and Alvarez arriving late at the back, while Austria build structured routines around Alaba's experience and Arnautovic in the box.
Argentina 2-1 Austria. Austria's high press is vulnerable to the kind of quick triangle passing Argentina build through Messi, De Paul and the full backs and that is where the breakthrough is most likely to come from, whether a Messi free kick or an Alvarez run in behind settling it. Rangnick's side are not without teeth though: their press won the ball high repeatedly against Jordan and if it works against Argentina's build up here, Arnautovic could punish them on the counter. Expect Austria to score through exactly that route, though not before Argentina have already made it count.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
