Argentina and Saudi Arabia have never met at World Cup before

Argentina is playing in the World Cup finals for the 18th time, while Saudi Arabia is playing for the sixth time and second in a row.

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Saudi Arabia lost 5-0 to hosts Russia in the opening game in 2018 then 1-0 to Uruguay before beating Egypt 2-1 in their final game of the group stage.

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Lionel Messi has stressed he is in “good condition” ahead of Argentina’s World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia

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Saudi Arabia will be hoping to at least match their feat of the 1994 World Cup when they crawled out of the group stage before exiting in the round of 16.

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Argentina were crowned champions of Copa America last year beating hosts Brazil at the famous Maracana stadium.

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Saudi Arabia's are unlikely to experience much joy against a red-hot Argentina side.

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Saudi Arabia's sole progression beyond the group stage of the World Cup so far, and the world's 51st-ranked nation do not arrive in Qatar in the best of form, having won just two of their last 10 matches in all tournaments.

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Prediction Argentina 3-0 Saudi Arabia

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