Lionel Messi and Argentina look to continue their march to a second straight World Cup triumph when they take on Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Argentina staged a dramatic late comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 in the Round of 16, while the Swiss took a 0-0 draw with Colombia to penalty kicks and emerged victorious. Kickoff in Kansas City, Mo., is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
The latest Argentina vs. Switzerland odds from FanDuel list Argentina as -325 favorites to qualify for the semifinals, while Switzerland are +250. Meanwhile, the Over/Under for total goals scored in regulation time is 2.5. There's no shortage of other soccer betting options at FanDuel, where you can use the latest FanDuel promo code to get $1,000 in bet reset tokens.
You can get even more Argentina vs. Switzerland picks and more World Cup bets from SportsLine's experts like Brad Thomas, Jon Eimer, Martin Green, Matt Severance and Brandt Sutton. Anyone following their World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Argentina vs. Switzerland odds
| Argentina vs. Switzerland 90-minute money line: | Argentina -145, Tie +250, Switzerland +490 |
| Argentina vs. Switzerland 90-minute over/under: | 2.5 (Over +124, Under -152) |
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Argentina vs. Switzerland betting preview
Argentina never make it easy, do they? La Albiceleste carried a 2-0 deficit deep into their match with Egypt and looked bereft of ideas. Messi looked frustrated.
And then lightning struck. Three goals in less than 15 minutes turned the match on its head and sent Argentina through to the quarterfinals. At the heart of it all was Messi, who assisted on the first goal and launched a lightning bolt for the second. The 39-year-old magician can still turn a match on its head, even if Argentina's attacking setup almost requires him to do something extraordinary in every single match.
He'll need more stardust against Switzerland, who haven't conceded more than one goal in any of their matches at the tournament thus far. The Swiss are good at controlling the game and could have even more incentive to sit in and play for counterattacks given that breakout young midfielder Johan Manzabi will miss the match with a knee injury. The Swiss attack came to life after Manzambi was inserted into the starting lineup. Switzerland scored zero goals with him sidelined against Colombia and had to win a shootout to advance.
The Argentine defense has been leaky, as their two knockout matches show, but Manzambi's electricity will be sorely missed. This could be a slow match that comes to life when Messi finally -- inevitably -- breaks through.
Argentina vs. Switzerland picks, prediction
Lionel Messi first goalscorer (+270)
The odds are so heavily tilted in Argentina's favor and Messi has accounted for such a heavy portion of Argentina's offense that it's hard to find a ton of betting value here, but this is an appealing prop. The concept is simple -- Argentina's defense has been questionable, but the Swiss attack is so thoroughly unconvincing without Manzambi that Argentina should score first. And if Argentina are going to score, it's probably going to be the GOAT swinging the hammer.
Over 2.5 goals (+128)
The Swiss defense is good, but the best offenses they've faced thus far have been a misfiring Colombia and a banged-up Canada. With all due respect, they haven't faced Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez. The options Argentina can bring off the bench would start for basically all of Switzerland's previous opponents. Even if Argentina only score two, the questionable Argentine defense can help us out and hand us the third goal we'll need.
