Argentina vs Ecuador Prediction & Betting Tips - World Cup

Prediction published on 06/09/2023, 15:50  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 07/09/2023 at 12:00 in World Cup Prediction

Argentina will play host to Ecuador in gameweek one of the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers this Friday. There are ten teams competing in the South American qualifiers, and the top six will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while the seventh side will head to a playoff round. The hosts will begin their journey to defend the world title they won in Doha last December here. They have played four friendly matches since that incredible final and have won all four, scoring 13 in that time while keeping four consecutive clean sheets. With those results, Argentina are on a ten-match winning streak. They lost to Saudi Arabia at the previous World Cup, though that was the only defeat they have conceded in their last 47 matches. Lionel Messi has confirmed that he will play in this competition.  

Ecuador came so close to reaching the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup but were beaten by Senegal in an incredible final match in Group A. They were overtaken by the side from Africa and ended third. Since then, the visitors have also played four friendly matches, though they lost one and won the next three. Over their last seven competitive matches, Ecuador have won one, drawn four, and lost two. However, they failed to beat this opposition in their last five meetings, losing four and drawing one. The Tricolor have qualified for four of the last six World Cups and finished fourth in these qualifiers in the previous version. Ranked 30th according to FIFA, this is a very difficult assignment for the visitors, and they will likely be targeting other matches to secure points from.