Group J · Matchday 2
The day's strongest pairing by combined FIFA ranking is free for everyone: full forecast and full live tracker. Every other match needs a Standard Pass. See the Pass
Live descriptive stats
Predicted = the pre-match model's expected goals; actual = xG created so far. A calibration read, not a forecast.
Descriptive only — the pre-match probability tile above does not change during the match.
Analysis
How it plays out
Argentina want to build from the back; Austria press high to prevent exactly that. If Argentina play through the press they'll find dangerous space. If they don't, turnovers come in costly areas. Argentina will expect to hold 59% possession. Austria need their shape to stay compact without the ball and be clinical when they win it back.
What decides it
Argentina's possession game (59% avg) requires patience in the final third and quick ball recovery when they lose it. Austria press high (PPDA 17.0). If the press doesn't win the ball early, the space behind their back line becomes exposed. Lionel Messi carries the marginally higher scoring probability (9.8% vs 6.2%).
Off the pitch
Lionel Scaloni (8 years in charge of Argentina) vs Ralf Rangnick (4 years). That tenure gap shows up in squad familiarity and set-piece coordination.
The angle
Argentina are the defending champions. That brings quality but also the weight of being everyone's scalp match.
Latest news & match context
- Stage:
- Group J · Matchday 2
- Date:
- 22 Jun
Argentina
Argentina come in at close to full strength.
Austria
Austria come in at close to full strength.
Argentina and Austria both come in at close to full strength, so the forecast rests on baseline team strength rather than late team-news swings.
Availability from the predicted squads and injury feed; forecast adjustments from the model's own decomposition. See /docs/methodology/.
Chance-creation momentum
rolling 10-minute xG · delayedExpected goals created in the trailing 10 minutes, Argentina minus Austria: a description of recent chances, not a forecast. Built from the same delayed snapshot as the rest of this page.
Live commentary & events
- Penalty missedL. Messi· L. MessiL. Messi can't beat the keeper from the spot.9'
- GoalL. Messi· F. MedinaL. Messi scores for Argentina.38'
- 40'Yellow cardS. Posch· Unsportsmanlike conductS. Posch is booked — Unsportsmanlike conduct.
- SubstitutionC. Romero· N. OtamendiArgentina change: N. Otamendi.57'
- SubstitutionT. Almada· J. AlvarezArgentina change: J. Alvarez.64'
- SubstitutionL. Martinez· N. GonzalezArgentina change: N. Gonzalez.65'
- 67'SubstitutionD. Alaba· M. FriedlAustria change: M. Friedl.
- 68'SubstitutionS. Posch· A. PrassAustria change: A. Prass.
- 68'SubstitutionP. Wanner· M. ArnautovicAustria change: M. Arnautovic.
- Yellow cardF. Medina· Unsportsmanlike conductF. Medina is booked — Unsportsmanlike conduct.76'
- 76'Yellow cardK. Laimer· Unsportsmanlike conductK. Laimer is booked — Unsportsmanlike conduct.
- 78'SubstitutionR. Schmid· P. WimmerAustria change: P. Wimmer.
- SubstitutionR. de Paul· L. ParedesArgentina change: L. Paredes.82'
- SubstitutionF. Medina· N. TagliaficoArgentina change: N. Tagliafico.82'
- 85'SubstitutionM. Gregoritsch· C. ChukwuemekaAustria change: C. Chukwuemeka.
- Yellow cardL. Paredes· RoughingL. Paredes is booked — Roughing.90'+2
- GoalL. MessiL. Messi scores for Argentina.90'+5
Player involvement
Argentina
Austria
Pre-match forecast
goals
The published probability for this fixture is fixed at lineup confirmation (≈1 hour before kickoff) and never updates afterwards. It is the number the post-match recap holds accountable. The live win probability in the Live section is a separate, delayed, descriptive estimate; it does not replace the published forecast.
Most likely scorelines
- 1–017.0%
- 2–014.2%
- 0–011.6%
- 1–111.3%
- 2–18.5%
From the Dixon-Coles joint Poisson with the low-score correction. Scorelines are listed in probability order; this is a description of the model's distribution, not a recommendation.