Cuba vs Argentina: Will Argentina kick off the tournament with a confident win?
In the early hours of Monday, September 29, the opening match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup group stage will take place, with Cuba facing off against Argentina. Kick-off is set for 1:00 CET, and here’s my take on the best bet for this clash.
Cuba vs Argentina: Match preview
Cuba has made it to the U-20 World Cup for the first time since 2013. This is only their second attempt at this level. In their debut campaign, the team failed to progress to the knockout stage, finishing 24th overall. Once again, the Cubans find themselves in a tough group: along with Argentina, they’ll face Italy and Australia. In theory, they could battle for third place, but their chances are slim—opponents are much more experienced and boast significantly stronger squads.
Argentina stands out as one of those formidable contenders. The team arrives at the tournament as one of the favorites for the title. Keep an eye on the young sensation Mager Carrizo—the 19-year-old Vélez Sarsfield striker has already become a first-team regular and lifted several trophies. This championship carries special significance for Argentina, as they haven’t won in a long time. In their last two tournaments, they were eliminated in the Round of 16, their last title dates back to 2007, and their best result since then was a quarterfinal appearance in 2011. Expect motivation to be sky-high for this squad.
Match facts and H2H
- Argentina is unbeaten in their last eight matches: one draw and seven wins.
- In their last four games, Cuba has two wins and two losses.
- This is only Cuba’s second U-20 World Cup appearance.
- Argentina has won the U-20 World Cup six times. Their last triumph was in 2007.
- Cuba and Argentina have never met in an official match.
Probable line-ups
- Cuba U20: Urgelles — Chavez, Mena, Karel Perez, Elvis Casanova — Valberto Leon, Marcos Campos, Maikol Vega, Romario Torres — David Perez, Yordan Castaner
- Argentina U20: Alber Castelau — Mateo Martinez, Matias Satas, Simon Escobar, Fernando Kloster — Santiago Espindola, Alejandro Tello, Tomas Nosei, Uriel Ojeda, Jeronimo Mattar — Mager Carrizo
Prediction
Argentina is the clear favorite in this encounter, and I’m confident they’ll secure a win in their tournament opener. I recommend betting on Argentina’s individual total over 3 goals at odds of 1.65.
