Betting Match Preview: Argentina vs. Colombia (2010 World Cup Qualifier)

Argentina vs. Colombia, World Cup qualifier, June 6, 2009

They may have one of the most exciting teams in world football, and undoubtedly the most famous coach in world football, but Argentina’s progression to the 2010 World Cup is by no means guaranteed. (Argentina are 6/1 to win the 2010 World Cup, full odds here.)

The 6-1 loss to Bolivia in their last World Cup qualifier sent shockwaves through world football and, while the altitude undoubtedly played a major part in the rout, Argentina needs to put wins on the board to claim their place in South Africa.

Argentina’s results so far in qualifying have been mixed to say the least, epitomised by their two games under Maradona (a 4-0 home win over Venezuela, and then the almighty defeat in Bolivia). They also went through a spell of four consecutive draws in 2008.

To put it simply, this is the time to claim three points (Argentina are 2/7 for the win) as whilst Argentina are fourth in the South American standings and are currently qualifying automatically for the World Cup, a win for Colombia (9/1) would see them move to within two points of their hosts, and Uruguay (who faces Brazil at home) are just two points behind Argentina.

With all the speculation over his future, we can expect Carlos Tevez (4/1 to be 1st goalscorer to be looking for revenge in this game. His send-off in the previous meeting between these two teams left Argentina a man short, and was a major factor in the 2-1 defeat to Colombia in Nov. 2007.

As ever though, Argentina have a squad packed with great attacking talent, and with a possible front line of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, and Carlos Tevez we can expect the home side to play some dazzling football.

The strength of Argentina's attack is illustrated by the substitutes bench which Maradona will have at his disposal. The former captain of the national team can call on both Diego Milito and Lisandro Lopez, two forwards who had excellent European seasons, and would walk onto most international teams.

Colombia, as their previous win over the Argies would suggest, are veryl capable of getting something from this game. Their coach Eduardo Lara however, has said, “any kind of point would serve Colombia well,” which is indicative of their ambition.

Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega (7/2 to score) has shown signs of quality in his short time in the Premier League, whilst Wason Renteria, a striker of great promise who scored the winner in the last game, could take advantage of a far-from-secure Argentina backline who will definitely be missing quality full-back Marcos Angeleri.

Maradona undoubtedly needs a result here to get the qualification process back on track. There remains the feeling that the second best player ever (probably) could well struggle without Roma Riquelme at the World Cup, but Argentina should be too good for Colombia at Estadio Monumental.

101gg predicts: Argentina 3 – Colombia 0 (15/2) & Lionel Messi to score (10/11)