The World Cup Round of 16 continues with Argentina vs. Egypt kicking off at noon ET from Atlanta. It’s the world #2, the reigning World Cup champions against the biggest underdog remaining in the tournament. But the narratives don’t stop there…
With Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup coming to an end yesterday, the spotlight now belongs to Lionel Messi. In what could be the final World Cup of his legendary career, Messi enters the Round of 16 tied atop the Golden Boot race with seven goals. Argentina remain among the favorites to lift the trophy, but they’ll need to navigate their toughest scheduling spot of the tournament yet, playing on short rest after surviving a dramatic 3-2 extra-time victory over Cape Verde.
Egypt, meanwhile, continues to write one of the stories of the tournament. After battling Australia to a 1-1 draw, the Pharaohs held their nerve in a penalty shootout to reach the Round of 16, setting up a date with the defending champions in Atlanta.
Argentina will still be favored to advance, but knockout football isn’t that simple.
Whether you’re betting on Messi to continue his Golden Boot charge or Egypt to produce the biggest upset of the tournament, Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook has every market available on its betting sheet. From Same Game Parlays to just betting on who wins, to who gets the goals – here’s everything you need to know before the 12 p.m. ET kickoff at Atlanta Stadium, along with my Argentina vs Egypt predictions and best bets.
Argentina vs. Egypt Current Odds
We all know who’s favored in this one, but with the three-way moneyline bet there are options on how to approach the game during the first 90 minutes (plus stoppage time). Here are the current 3-way moneyline prices at Half Time with Argentina currently trailing 1-0 on Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook:
- 🇦🇷 Argentina to Win: +130 (was -300 pre-match)
- 🪢 Tie/Draw: +190
- 🇪🇬 Egypt to Win: +240 (was +900 pre-match)
Current Odds to Advance: Egypt v Argentina
Knockout rounds of the World Cup will produce a result. While the first 90 minutes can end in a draw, and you can bet on that with the 3-way moneyline (above), bettors can also simplify their sweat by taking the ‘to advance‘ market. With this one the only thing that matters is the team that moves on, not how they do it. Current odds to advance for Egypt vs Argentina include:
- 🇦🇷 Argentina to Advance: -200 (was -700)
- 🇪🇬 Egypt to Advance: +155 (was +450)
Who’s favored to win, Argentina or Egypt?
It should come as no surprise that Argentina, the defending World Cup champs, are prohibitive betting favorites in this one. If you plug their current -700 price in the ‘to advance’ market into our odds calculator it’ll tell you the implied probability of Argentina moving on is ~87%.
By contrast, at +475 Egypt are assigned roughly an 17% implied probability to continue their run in the World Cup and become the second team from Africa (Morocco) to book a place in the quarterfinals of this tournament.
Argentina vs Egypt Predictions
The Hard Rock Bet Stats Hub (available via the cluster of buttons at the top of your betting app) is a great source of data, streaks, general info, and insights into each World Cup match. I highly recommend starting there before you place your bets. Here’s where it led me for Argentina-Egypt…
Argentina vs Egypt Prediction: Tie (+375)
Ok, hear me out on this one… my initial thoughts were that this game was going to be closer than public perception might indicate and Stats Hub backed me up.
Sure, it’s Messi and Argentina against the 24th-ranked team in the World. However, both of these teams just played 120 minutes of soccer just 3 days ago and will be playing on short rest for the first time in the tournament. Neither of these teams are young, either, meaning there’s a chance the energy is lacking for this noon kickoff.
Taking it one step further there are several trends highlighted by Stats Hub that put me on to this train of thought:
- Including World Cup Qualifiers, the under 2.5 goals market has hit in 9 of Egypt’s last 11 games.
- Three of Argentina’s last four knockout round World Cup games have ended regulation as a tie.
- The Both teams to score market has hit in each of Egypt’s last six World Cup matches.
I liked BTTS (both teams to score) here as well and nearly made that the pick at +145. Egypt has kept it relatively tight at the back throughout the tournament conceding exactly one goal in every game so far. Argentina allowed goals to both Jordan and Cape Verde, but if we like a sloppier, low scoring game environment, why not take a shot at the draw at +375?
And if you’re feeling more ambitious, who says no to a 1-1 draw at +800? This is my favorite Argentina-Egypt correct score bet. Dare to dream.
Egypt vs Argentina Best Bet: Lionel Messi Anytime Goalscorer (-135)
I’m not going to overthink this one. Messi is truly one of one, and at 39 years old he’s tied in the Golden Boot race and has scored for Argentina in a remarkable eight consecutive World Cup matches going back to 2022. He’s too good, and the price isn’t high enough to chase me away. We’ll take the GOAT to score at -135 and live with the results. Plus, if the game does get out of hand and Scaloni has the luxury of dipping into his bench, we could get excellent minutes here from a Super Sub.
If you’re interested in taking on a little more risk, Messi has been the first goalscorer in five of Argentina’s last six World Cup matches. First goalscorer is available at +210.
Argentina Lineup to Face Egypt
Argentina are starting the game with the familiar 4-4-2:
- Álvarez
- Messi
- Fernández
- Parades
- Mac Allister
- De Paul
- Tagliafico
- L. Martínez
- Romero
- Molina
- E. Martínez
Egypt Lineup to Face Argentina
Egypt will begin the game against Argentina with the following lineup:
- Zico
- Salah
- Hassan
- Lashin
- Attia
- Ashour
- Hafez
- Rabia
- Ibrahim
- Hany
- Shoubir
World Cup Futures Outlook for Argentina, Egypt
The winner of this game will secure a position in the quarterfinals as one of just eight teams that can still win the 2026 World Cup. If bettors are interested in taking a shot on either team to continue their tournament all the way to MetLife and the World Cup Final, futures odds are available now.
Argentina World Cup Futures
- 🇦🇷 Argentina to Win the World Cup: +425 (4.25/1)
- 🇦🇷 Argentina to Reach the Final: +160 (1.6/1)
Egypt World Cup Futures
- 🇪🇬 Egypt to Win the World Cup: +25000 (250/1)
- 🇪🇬 Egypt to Reach the Final: +4000 (40/1)
Notably, Egypt is the biggest underdog still left in the field.
Argentina vs Egypt Match Info
- 📍 Location: Atlanta Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Atlanta, GA
- 📅 Date: Tuesday, July 7
- ⏰ Start Time: 12:00pm ET
- 📺 Where to Watch: FOX, Telemundo
- 🏆 Stage: World Cup Knockout – Round of 16
All referenced odds are subject to change.
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