Argentina – Iraq SOCCER PICKS
Iraq and Argentina meet at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, in a friendly match. This will be the 7th of the year for Iraq, after the previous disputes against Kuwait, Palestine, Syria, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In the case of Argentina, this is their 6th friendly of the year, after having already faced Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Spain and Italy. These two teams have never faced each other before, so this will be their first direct confrontation. In this game the home factor may be decisive, since Iraq presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor.
Iraq:
This is the 7th friendly match of the year for the home team, after previous friendlies in which they recorded the following results: Kuwait (2-2) Iraq, Palestine (0-3) Iraq, Iraq (0-0) Palestine, Iraq (1-1) Syria, Iraq (2-3) Qatar and Iraq (4-1) Saudi Arabia. This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 5 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses in away matches; against 7 wins, 7 draws and 1 loss at their stadium. Iraq won 1, drew 2 and lost 1 of its last 4 home games for the Friendly. Their attack has scored regularly, since they have scored goals in 5 of the last 6 matches for this competition.
The Iraqi team comes to this game with a draw, 2-2, against Kuwait, adding the third game followed without losing in friendly games. In this friendly against powerful Argentina, coach Srecko Katanec must act in 4-4-2, but with a fairly defensive strategy, since the opponent has great individual values. Justin Meran, player of the Columbus Crew, is the player with more capacity to shake the game of the Iraqi team, being possessor of great quality in the finalization. Everything indicates that the coach has his best players for this friendly.
Argentina:
This is the visitor’s 6th friendly match of the year, after previous friendlies in which they recorded the following results: Colombia (0-0) Argentina, Argentina (3-0) Guatemala, Argentina (4-0) Haiti, Spain (6) -1) Argentina and Argentina (2-0) Italy. This is a team that usually maintains its competitive levels in home and away matches, since in the last 30 matches they register 7 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses in away matches, with 27 goals scored and 22 conceded; against 8 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses at their stadium, with 25 goals scored and 11 conceded. In the last 10 games played away for all competitions, Argentina won 5, drew 2 and lost 3. The defense has been strong and only suffered goals in 1 of the last 5 matches, and their attack has scored regularly, since who has scored goals in 4 of the last 5 matches for this competition In 15 matches, they suffered the first goal 5 times and only managed 1 comeback. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 11 away matches for all competitions: they have suffered 6 of their 17 goals between minutes (46′-60 ‘).
The Argentina team comes to this game with a draw, by 0-0, in the reception to Colombia, recording the second game without loss. In this game against Iraq, coach Lionel Scaloni will be expected to risk again in 4-3-3, privileging possession of the ball and organized attacks: Giovani Lo Celso will be one of the main responsible for creating and organizing the offensive process. For this friendly coach can not count on Armani and Pavón, injured, in addition to Lionel Messi, by the player’s own decision.
