Argentina World Cup 2022 preview - prediction, fixtures, squad, star player

La Albiceleste were crowned 2021 Copa America champions for the first time in nearly 30 years when they beat hosts Brazil at the Maracana, before securing a comfortable 3-0 victory against Italy at Wembley Stadium to lift the 2022 Finalissima trophy, a one-off showpiece event contested by the Copa America and European Championship winners.

Ranked third in the world, Argentina are the in-form nation heading to Qatar as they have not lost for over three years, and Scaloni has named a talented squad with a mix of youth and experience vying to better their disappointing last-16 exit in Russia four years ago.

Argentina have produced a plethora of memorable World Cup moments over the years as well as some of the greatest players to have graced the beautiful game, including legendary forward Lionel Messi, who will complete his silverware cabinet should he go all the way to lift the most prestigious trophy of all.

Here, Sports Mole previews Argentina's chances at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

GROUP

Argentina will be regarded as favourites to progress from their World Cup group, but they cannot take their Group C opponents lightly, with Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia all preparing to test their mettle against the two-time world champions.

Scaloni's side begin their group-stage campaign on November 22 at the Lusail Stadium against arguably their easiest opponent, on paper, in Saudi Arabia, who are the second-lowest ranked nation at this year's tournament.

Argentina will then lock horns with Mexico - who have progressed to the knockout rounds in each of the last seven World Cups - in the same stadium four days later, before taking on Robert Lewandowski's Poland in their third and final group fixture at Stadium 974 on November 30.

FIXTURES

November 22: Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia (10am, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail)

November 26: Argentina vs. Mexico (7pm, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail)

November 30: Poland vs. Argentina (7pm, Stadium 974, Doha)

HOW THEY QUALIFIED

Having been put through their paces in qualifying for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, Argentina secured safe passage to Qatar without suffering a single defeat after winning 11 and drawing six of their 17 CONMEBOL qualifiers.

Arguably their toughest fixture away against South American rivals Brazil was suspended and later cancelled in September last year due to coronavirus controversies, with Brazilian health authorities accusing several Argentine players of violating quarantine protocols.

Nevertheless, both nations eventually qualified despite having played a game less than the remaining eight South American nations, with Scaloni's men finishing in second place behind the Selecao at the summit. Indeed, a goalless draw in the reverse fixture against Brazil in November last year was enough to see Argentina book their place in Qatar with six games remaining.

La Albiceleste kicked off their qualification campaign with back-to-back wins against Ecuador and Bolivia, with Lionel Messi securing a slender 1-0 victory against the former in their opening fixture.

After a run of three draws in four matches against Paraguay, Chile and Colombia, Messi was there again to drive his nation to success, with the Paris Saint-Germain star netting a superb hat-trick in a 3-0 home win over Bolivia, a result which began a six-game streak without conceding a goal.

Argentina picked up nine points from a possible 12 available to end their campaign, but they were unable to knock Brazil off top spot and eventually finished six points behind the five-time world champions.

Messi and Lautaro Martinez were Argentina's top scorers in qualifying with seven strikes each, while only Colombia's David Ospina kept more clean sheets (seven) than Emiliano Martinez (six).

RECENT FORM

Argentina head to Qatar in scintillating form as they have put together a remarkable 35-game unbeaten run across all competitions. La Albiceleste are the only nation in world football who currently boast an unbeaten run of over 30 matches.

Brazil were the last team to beat Scaloni's side back in July 2019 when they secured a 2-0 home win in the Copa America semi-finals before going on to win the tournament.

Since then, Argentina have racked up 25 victories and 10 draws, and their 3-0 Finalissima win against Italy at Wembley Stadium in July saw them break a new national record of 32 games unbeaten, surpassing the previous feat of 31 games without defeat registered between 1991 and 1993.

Friendly victories over Estonia, Honduras and Jamaica - in which Messi scored nine of their 11 goals without reply - have increased this impressive tally to 35, which is just two behind Italy's all-time record of 37 international matches without defeat.

At the World Cup, however, Argentina have only won one of their last five fixtures, with two of their last three ending in defeat against eventual 2018 finalists Croatia and France.

Scaloni and co have one final friendly fixture away against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday before they travel to Qatar to take on Saudi Arabia in their Group C opener on November 22.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal), Franco Armani (River Plate)

Defenders: Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Juan Foyth (Villarreal)

Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, (Atletico Madrid), Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Papu Gomez (Sevilla), Enzo Fernandez (Benfica), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Angel Di Maria (Juventus), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Joaquin Correa (Inter Milan), Paulo Dybala (AS Roma), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)

STAR PLAYER - LIONEL MESSI

At the age of 35, Lionel Messi still reigns supreme as Argentina's talisman and all-time leading goalscorer, netting 90 times in 164 international appearances.

Along with his 36 titles at club level, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is also an Under-20 World Cup champion, a 2008 Olympic gold medallist and a 2021 Copa America winner. The legendary forward inspired his nation to glory in the latter for the first time since 1993, finishing as the tournament's best player and joint-top scorer.

However, the World Cup still eludes Messi, who will be looking to cement his place in the pantheon of the game's all-time greats at this year's tournament in Qatar by lifting the prestigious trophy for the very first time in his career.

Competing at his fifth - and potentially last - World Cup, Messi will be as motivated as ever to follow in the footsteps of Argentine World Cup heroes such as Mario Kempes in 1978 and of course Diego Maradona in 1986 in going all the way to win football's finest prize.

Argentina will once again be banking on Messi in their quest to end their 36-year wait for World Cup glory, and success in Qatar would certainly boost his reputation as arguably the greatest to have ever played the beautiful game.

MANAGER - LIONEL SCALONI

Lionel Scaloni was just five weeks old when Argentina won their first World Cup in 1978 and he watched on as an eight-year-old when they lifted their second title in 1986. Now, the 44-year-old is tasked with steering La Albiceleste to glory for a third time in Qatar.

A versatile right-back in his playing days with the likes of Deportivo La Coruna and Lazio, Scaloni was at the 2018 World Cup as an assistant to head coach Jorge Sampaoli, who resigned a month after Argentina lost 4-3 to eventual world champions France in the quarter-finals.

Scaloni, who had previously been Sampaoli's assistant at Sevilla, was then named Argentina's caretaker manager along with Pablo Aimar before taking the role permanently in November 2018.

Having been promoted from assistant to his first senior managerial role, Scaloni had to earn the trust of his players in the early stages of his tenure, but the Pujato-born boss is now admired by his squad and homeland following their 2021 Copa America success, ending a 28-year drought without an international trophy.

Scaloni will be the youngest manager and one of the most inexperienced at this year's World Cup, but he has already proved his credentials in a short period of time, and further plaudits will come his way if he can guide Argentina all the way in Qatar.

WORLD CUP RECORD

Best finish: Winners (1978, 1986)

Argentina's two triumphs at the World Cup occurred over an eight-year period, with their first in 1978 inspired by Mario Kempes who scored twice in the final to beat the Netherlands 3-1 in Buenos Aires.

Kempes, who won the Golden Boot after scoring six goals, was also rewarded with the Golden Ball and he is one of only three Argentina players to win the accolade, preceding Diego Maradona in 1986 and Lionel Messi in 2014. Indeed, Maradona was the standout performer at the 1986 World Cup, with Argentina beating West Germany 3-2 in the final held in Mexico City.

Argentina have since been runners-up twice, with Germany getting their revenge on both occasions with 1-0 victories, firstly in 1990 when an 85th-minute penalty from Andreas Brehme's prevented La Albiceleste from retaining their crown, and again in 2014 when an extra-time winner from Mario Gotze helped the Germans lift their fourth world title. Argentina also lost to hosts Uruguay in the very first World Cup final back in 1930.

La Albiceleste have been present at 16 of the previous 21 World Cups, with the 1970 edition the only time they failed to qualify, while they withdrew from the tournaments in 1938, 1950 and 1954.

Argentina, who have only failed to progress from the group stage once (2002), have won 47, drawn 10 and lost 24 of their 81 World Cup matches in total.