Hi all, this is my second prediction post on HiveBuzz World Cup 2022 contest. The match I choose is Argentina vs Saudi Arabia on 22 November 2022. This is a no brainer match up, everyone already know that no way Saudi Arabia can keep up with Argentina. An easy 3-0 or 4-0 win is surely will happen.

I won't talk about Saudi Arabia here because I am afraid I might accidentally belittling them. They are a strong team, regular World Cup participant in top 32, however... The gap is too between regular participant against champion candidate.

KEY POINTS OF MATCH PREDICTION

1. LIONEL MESSI

There always be a debate who is the GOAT (greatest of all time), between Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. For me, both are the GOAT, no need to debate, just cherish it because two GOAT exist on the same time line.

This year Messi is 35 years old, so this could be his last world cup. I think he will give his best this time, and his teammates are more supportive than the previous Argentina World Cup team.

2. CURRENT COPA AMERICA CHAMPION - 2021

The current Argentina team now is the team that won COPA AMERICA 2021. They are the champion of CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation). It means the current team is the best. They might not have bigger stars like in the old days such as Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, or Diego Milito... however the team right now is a lot more well balanced.

Let see their attacking force. Lionel Messi - Angel Di Maria are great experienced player and they have Paolo Dybala and Lautaro Martinez who both are top scorer in Serie-A Italy. Those for represent different age zone and type of play and somehow blend better than the previous / older version of Argentina team.

Not only the forwards, the mids and defenders seem to be working better too. Somehow having less mega stars bring better result for them, a blessing in disguise.

3. HISTORY AND TRACK RECORD

Argentina always manage to get into knock out stage. Exception for 2002 they failed in group stage because that time they were in a group with Sweden, England and Nigeria. All of them were outstanding, and please don't compare that year Sweden and Nigeria with the current ones. Those two were terrifying that time. Sweden was in their golden age, and for Nigeria 2002, you can go to youtube to see what kind of player were Nwanko Kanu and Jay Jay Okocha in their prime.

Talking about history and track record, Saudi Arabia never wins against Argentina. There was time when they got a draw but it was a sheer luck. Like I said before, Saudi Arabia is a strong team however the gap is too big. If they are lucky, maybe they can get a draw and steal a point from this match.

MAN TO WATCH - LAUTARO MARTINEZ

If we talk about Argentina Team, the name of Lionel Messi will be the center of discussion. Argentina won't be the same with out him. He has made 91 goals from his total 165 matches for the team. It's a very impressive number however in his age, 35 years, I really don't think he can perform the way he has played for the national team before.

Recently in Paris Saint Germain, he takes a more deeper role, like a second striker or attacking midfielder. His dribbling and ball keeping is still the best however his age won't allow him to run everywhere terrorizing opponent defender. In the last 2 seasons, he consistently has made more assists than goals.

So based on that conditon, I beleive there will be a new figure, a new super star that Messi will be sending a great assist to him. He is LAUTARO MARTINEZ, Inter Milan main striker. He will be the Argentinian target man, and hopefully he can be one of the top scorer in World Cup 2022.

Lautaro Martinez is an all rounder striker, he is not a big guy who utilize physical prowess or a speedster like Kylian Mbappe who exploit his agility to destroy opponent defence. There are 3 things that are great about him:

1. He has extraordinary determination in winning the ball, keeping it in the possesion.
2. Good vision and positioning. Everything he does are well planned, he knows where to be, when to run, where his teammates are and never gets panicked under heavy pressures from opponent.
3. The best thing about him is that currently he is one of the best clinical striker in the world. His composure and flair is top notch. Let's hope he can show us his quality in this World Cup

CLOSING AND CREDIT

This post is made as my participation in HIVBUZZ WORLDCUP CONTEST x OCD, which the more detailed one can be found here: https://peakd.com/@hivebuzz/wc2022

I have cited all material sources and I hope there's none that breached any License or Copyright. Materials that I have not cited mostly are the property of @hivebuzz. If in any case I unintentionally breach any copyright or license, do let me know and I will apologize and remove them a.s.a.p. Football, specially during World Cup are full of license from big businesses, so sometime we need to be extra careful not to offend any of them.

I would like to thank you to this HIVEBUZZ WORLD CUP event's sponsors:

you guys ROCKS!!