Argentina vs Mexico preview: How to stream, start time, predictions and latest news ahead of World Cup Group C clash

Argentina will be looking to bounce back from their opening-game shock as they face Mexico in Group C on Saturday, November 26.

The match will be played at the Lusail Stadium in Al-Daayen.

What time is Argentina vs Mexico?

The match kicks off at 22:00 local time which means it will start at 19:00 in the UK and the coverage will be shown on ITV.

In the US, FS1 and Telemundo will be showing the match and kick off is at 14:00 EST and 11:00 PT.

Argentina works on a time zone somewhere between the UK and US so kick-off in the South American country will be at 16:00 while it be shown at 13:00 in Mexico.

Team news

The single positive from Argentina’s shock defeat by Saudi Arabia was that they came through it unscathed. Although, Lionel Scaloni will almost certainly want to make some changes from the team that were embarrassed on Tuesday.

Mexico didn’t have any injuries to worry about in their draw against Poland. Raul Jimenez — who came into the World Cup as an injury doubt — was introduced in the second half so he may be involved from the start on Saturday.

Squad guides

Argentina World Cup 2022 squad guide: Can Scaloni help Messi to the perfect ending?

Predicted line-ups

Argentina (4-4-2): (Emiliano) Martinez, Molina, Romero, (Lisandro) Martinez, Acuna; Di Maria, De Paul, Paredes, Gomez; Messi, (Lautaro) Martinez.

Mexico (4-3-3): Ochoa, Sanchez, Montes, Moreno, Gallardo; (Edson) Alvarez, Herrera, Chavez; Lozano, Jimenez, Vega.

Last time out

If you don’t know what happened in Argentina’s first match then I’m not sure where you’ve been, but I’ll explain it anyway.

After taking the lead through a penalty from Lionel Messi, Argentina dominated the first half and were unlucky to go into half-time only a goal in front. Four second-half minutes then turned the game on its head as two excellent finishes from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari inflicted perhaps the greatest World Cup upset of all time.

Mexico had Guillermo Ochoa to thank at a major tournament once again. It was his save from Robert Lewandowski’s penalty that ensured they shared the points. However, Gerardo Martino’s side were much the better team throughout the game so it would have felt really unfair had they come away empty handed.

Ochoa made himself the hero for Mexico once again against Poland (Photo: James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)

Players carrying yellow cards

Argentina: None.

Mexico: Sanchez, Moreno.

What’s at stake?

In a turn of events that not many would have predicted, Argentina could be out of the World Cup if they are beaten by Mexico on Saturday. A win for either Saudi Arabia or Poland in the other match and a win for Mexico here would see Scaloni’s side dumped out while also giving the Mexicans a huge chance of making the last 16.

However, Messi and Co will be desperate to get their World Cup back on track and a win would put them right back in the mix for the knockouts.

A draw wouldn’t really benefit either team, although Mexico would be much happier with a share of the points than their South American opponents.

Prediction

Argentina to beat Mexico.

Argentina to win: 63%. Mexico to win: 15%. Draw: 22%.

All of our predictions for the 2022 World Cup are powered by Nielsen’s Gracenote, who have used a proprietary football ranking system to estimate the chances of different results for every possible match through extensive simulations, to assess the chances for each team to reach different stages of the tournament.