Paraguay vs Argentina: Argentina to win another World Cup 2022 qualifier

Argentina have only managed to beat Paraguay in one of their last five fixtures. Will the White and Sky Blues be able to improve on that statistic now? We predict that the Argentines will pick up three points this time!

The Paraguayan squad continues to be close to the top five South American teams that will have a chance of playing in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They are currently sitting in sixth place in the standings, two points behind their nearest rivals. The Red and Whites have had a very disappointing start to the qualifying round as they have only managed one win in their opening eight games, and that was over Venezuela 1-0. In the last round, they faced Venezuela again and won 2-1, which improved their position in the standings.

Argentina are in excellent form at the moment. Their last defeat was more than two years ago in a 2-0 loss to Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa America, but they managed to get revenge in the final of that tournament - 1-0, winning last summer the continental championship. The White and Sky Blues also look strong in their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign, with five victories and three draws. The encounter with the Brazilians was called off in the course of the game because of problems with the entry of the Argentines into the country. Nevertheless, they are currently in second place in the standings, and only a miracle will prevent them from travelling to Qatar.

Argentina have always had a host of star players in their attacking line-up, but this has not always allowed them to be productive in the attack. That has now changed, with the White and Sky Blues already averaging 15 goals (1.88 goals per game) in their eight World Cup 2022 encounters, a very respectable total by the standards of South American football. The Paraguayans’ defense is far from being very reliable, and therefore we would expect Argentina’s individual total to be over 1.5 goals at odds close to 1.79.

The Argentine national team are approaching the upcoming match staying in great shape. They have not lost for two years in a row. They won Copa America and are well on their way to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. The White and Sky Blues are finally doing well as a team, with Lionel Messi crying tears of joy after the games, so they should be expected to produce another decent result. The Paraguayan team beats only Venezuela in the World Cup 2022, but they are not represented in Asuncion. Therefore we should lay our bet on the victory of the Argentine team with a handicap (-1.5) for the odds of about 2.95.

Surprisingly, of the 15 goals scored by Argentina in the current qualifying tournament, Lionel Messi has only scored five, which is only a third. It is too modest an indicator for the main star of the White and Sky Blues and world football as a whole. Fortunately, in the last match against the Bolivian national team, he finally managed to complete a hat-trick, which should add to his mood and courage. So now we should look at the apparent bet on the Lionel Messi goal at around 2.05.