Argentina vs Egypt Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds | WC 2026

Home » Argentina vs Egypt Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds | WC 2026

World Cup Predictions

by Fred Mwambu

2 weeks ago 0 22

Last Updated on July 4, 2026

Competition – FIFA World Cup 2026

Round of 16: Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Kick-off – 7 pm

Venue – Atalanta Stadium, Atalanta

*Winner faces the winner of Switzerland/Colombia

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Why Mexico vs England match matters

Egyptian star Mohammed Salah has always been referred to as the African Messi, likening him to the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi. Now, Salah has one last chance to measure himself against that name in reality when Egypt comes face to face with Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the Round of 16 at this FIFA World Cup. Egypt are the record seven-time African champions but ironically, they’ve failed to make their mark at the World Cup. Egypt was the first African team to play at the World Cup when they debuted in 1934 but waited until Italia 1990 for their second appearance and a third show in Russia 2018. This is only their fourth appearance at the World Stage and the win over the lowest-ranked nation at this tournament, New Zealand, was their first and only victory inside the normal playing time.

They arrive at this stage after a grueling 4-2 victory in the post-match penalties over Australia following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. Emam Ashoury scored for The Pharaohs in the 13^th minute but his AL Ahly teammate Mohammed Hany’s own goal ten minutes after the breather forced the North Africans to dig deep.

Messi vs African ‘Messi’

Salah has scored 68 goals for Egypt after his strike against New Zealand and could match their current coach Hossam Hassan’s record of 69 goals if he scores against Argentina. Egypt drew 1-1 with Salah and his troops now have a chance to go further and set a new national record but they must find their way against Messi and Argentina, who are the defending champions.

Argentina come to this fixture with the pedigree of a three-time champion and an excellent record against African opponents at this stage. The only African team that managed to beat Argentina at the World Cup in eight meetings was Cameroon in the opening match of Italia 1990 but if their Round of 32 tie against Cape Verde is anything to go by, Egypt should go into this one with brevity. Cape Verde had been a good team throughout the tournament but very few gave them a fighting chance against Messi and his World Champions.

Messi leads the golden boot race with seven goals and has now scored in eight consecutive World Cup matches and should be looking for more against an Egyptian defense that has conceded two own goals under pressure.

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Argentina’s last five matches

04.07.2026 – Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde (AET)
28.06.2026 – Jordan 1-3 Argentina
22.06.2026 – Argentina 2-0 Austria
17.06.2026 – Argentina 3-0 Algeria
10.06.2026 – Argentina 3-0 Iceland

Goals scored – 14

Goals conceded – 3

Key trends from Argentina’s recent matches

Argentina was dragged to the end of extra time to break down a hard-fighting Cape Verde but their group games were rather easier and straightforward beating Algeria, Austria and Jordan. They have scored at three goals in three different matches and two goals in the other with Messi scoring seven of them. Argentina had not conceded in five consecutive games until Jordan breached their defense and then Cape Verde struck twice.

Egypt’s last five matches

03.07.2026 – Australia 1-1 Egypt (Egypt won 4-2 on penalties)
27.06.2026 – Egypt 1-1 Iran
22.06.2026 – New Zealand 1-3 Egypt
15.06.2026 – Belgium 1-1 Egypt
07.06.2026 – Brazil 2-1 Egypt

Goals scored – 7

Goals conceded – 6

Key trends from Egypt’s recent matches

Egypt has scored at least a goal in every of their last five matches including the last four in the World Cup. All the five have seen both teams scoring while three have ended in 1-1 draws.

Head-to-head results for Argentina vs Egypt

26.03.2008 – Egypt 0-2 Argentina
06.06.1928 – Argentina 6-0 Egypt

Head-to-head Summary

Argentina wins: 2
Egypt wins: 0
Draws: 0
Goals: Argentina 8-0 Egypt

Form guide

Argentina: W-W-W-W-W
Egypt: W-D-W-D-L

Argentina team news

Cristian Romero picked up a minor knee injury in the group stages but recovered in time and should be a pillar in their defensive structure while Nicolas Tagliafico also recovered from a strain on his muscle.

Key Argentina players to watch

There’s no one bigger than Lionel Messi to look out for in this game. The Qatar 2022 most valuable player has scored seven goals across the four matches he has played and is the outright World Cup all-time scorer with 19 goals. He is leading the golden boot race and has now scored in eight consecutive matches, stretching back four years ago.

Lautaro Martinez is their main striker despite scoring one goal and will be in charge of the penalties in normal time. Lisandro Martinez has featured in three matches and scored one of the goals against Cabo Verde and also made an assist. He offers the team more scoring options in case Messi is marked.

Egypt team news

There are no injuries reported in the Egyptian squad, leaving Hossam Hassan with the headache of balancing his team with a possible extra time and penalty shootouts in mind.

Key Egyptian players to watch

All eyes will be on Mohammed Salah, who is Egypt’s historical captain and has led them past the groups for the first time in history. While he has scored only one goal so far, his quality and presence in the box will keep Argentine defenders busy throughout. Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush is another potential goal scorer despite failing to score or assist in any of the four matches. His creativity and ability to break down defences are crucial.

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Emam Ahour has scored crucial goals in their 1-1 draws against Belgium and Australia and will be key alongside Mahmoud Trezeguet who has a goal.

Predicted starting lineups for Argentina vs Egypt

Argentina: Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina-Cristian Romero-Lisandro Martínez-Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul-Alexis Mac Allister-Enzo Fernández; Thiago Almada-Lionel Messi-Lautaro Martínez.

Egypt: Mostafa Shobeir; Mohamed Hany-Yasser Ibrahim-Rami Rabia-Ahmed Fatouh; Marwan Ateya-Emam Ashour; Mostafa Ziko-Mahmoud Trezeguet-Mohamed Salah; Omar Marmoush.