World Cup Qualifier: Chile Needs To Upend Argentina

For the first time in history, they moved the match against Argentina out of the capital Santiago to Calama, 7.500 feet above sea level, the gateway into the Atacama Desert. Even some of the Chilean players are unconvinced that it will hand them much of an advantage. Chile hauled themselves back into contention with three wins in their last four games, but they enter this clash as favorites being priced at +170 on the three-way moneyline according to the latest soccer odds.

Unfortunately, they will be without their star player Arturo Vidal who’s suspended for this clash. They have not won a match in this campaign when he has been missing and they must find a way without their most important player. Still, they are no pushovers, and their fighting spirit is huge. They will definitely enter this clash all guns blazing as they can’t afford to lose against Argentina’s high-octane attack.

They are a constant participant at the World Cup and only once in their history have they missed it. Four years ago, they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and this might be the second time in a row, so they are risking a lot. Imagine how much energy they will put against Argentina and the final three games. Yes, they are not exactly the team to be backed and included in our soccer picks and parlays but this time the situation is totally different.

Argentina: Already Qualified

With 29 points earned in 13 games and 20 goals scored in the process, Argentina is sitting second in the group, six points behind leaders Brazil. They already booked their World Cup ticket but like all the big teams in the world, they want to finish the campaign on a positive note. Of course, they won’t give everything as they have nothing to fight for and they don’t want to risk injuries because most of their players are fighting to win the most important leagues in Europe.

Lionel Messi has not been included in Lionel Scaloni’s latest Argentina squad as he continues to recover from coronavirus. Still, Argentina has Paulo Dybala, Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria and many more super players who can solve a match on their own. It will be very interesting to see how they will perform without Messi and how much they will give on the pitch.

If you’re betting online, you should understand that Argentina sees this match as a training one. On paper, Argentina is the better side but given the current situation, we don’t expect them to return home with point/s. Chile surprised Argentina on several occasions managing not to lose in their previous three head-to-heads across all competitions.

Chile will be happ with one point so if you’re live betting and you see that in the 70th minute of the game there’s a draw on the scoresheet, you shouldn’t expect a lot of action happening in the final 20 minutes. The hosts have a tough schedule ahead of them as they are playing both Argentina and Brazil but also Bolivia on the road and Uruguay, their direct opponents for qualification.

We have two betting options for this match. The draw looks like a great bet, so we are going with a small stake at +210 but our official pick remains for both teams to score.

Pick: Both teams to score at -115