Argentina Vs Austria [2–0] – FIFA World Cup 2026: The Diego Simeone Influence Behind Messi's Record-Setting Win – Tactical Analysis

Argentina and Austria faced off in a crucial game to see who would top Group J in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Holders Argentina came into this game on the back of a 3-0 victory against Algeria, courtesy of a hat-trick from Lionel Messi.

Austria had also won their first game, in their first World Cup tie in 28 years, 3-1 against Jordan.

It was Lionel Messi who made the difference once again in Arlington, Texas.

His two goals made him the all-time top goalscorer at the World Cup (surpassing Miroslav Klose's long-standing record), won the game, and all but confirmed Argentina's place at the top of their group.

Ralf Rangnick's side struggled to impose themselves on the game, creating just 0.5 expected goals (and just 0.38 from open play).

This was in part due to Argentina's excellent defensive shape.

This World Cup tactical analysis examines how Argentina tactics set up off the ball and how this benefited them in attack, as well as similarities the national team shares with Diego Simeone tactics at Atlético Madrid.

Argentina Vs Austria Lineups & Formations

Argentina Lineup Vs Austria

Lionel Scaloni went with the same shape that beat Algeria, setting up in a 4-4-2 with one personnel change.

Emiliano Martínez started in goal, and the only change was at right-back, with Nahuel Molina coming in for Gonzalo Montiel.

The central defenders, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez, and left-back Facundo Medina kept their places.

Rodrigo De Paul and Thiago Almada were the two 'wide' midfielders with Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández in the middle.

Talismanic Lionel Messi and Inter Milan's Lautaro Martínez were the front two.

Argentina used all five substitutions.

Nicolás Otamendi replaced Romero on 57' due to injury.

Scaloni then used like-for-like replacements just after the hour mark (Nicolás González and Julián Álvarez for Almada and Martínez) and with 10 minutes to go (Nicolás Tagliafico and Leandro Paredes for Medina and De Paul).

Austria Lineup Vs Argentina

Rangnick also kept the same shape as in the first game, opting for his trusted 4-2-3-1 and making no changes.

Alexander Schlager was in goals, behind a back four (from right to left) of Stefan Posch, Kevin Danso, David Alaba and Konrad Laimer.

RB Leipzig's Xaver Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald started in the double pivot, with Marcel Sabitzer, Paul Wanner and Romano Schmid ahead of them.

Michael Gregoritsch led the line.

Austria also used all five subs, too.

Marco Friedl, Alexander Prass and Marko Arnautović came on in the 67th minute, replacing Alaba, Posch and Wanner as Rangnick's side searched for an equaliser.

Patrick Wimmer replaced Schmid on 78', and Carney Chukwuemeka came on for Gregoritsch with five minutes remaining.

Out Of Possession Differences

This game started off at an incredibly fast pace, and Argentina were awarded a penalty for a challenge on Martínez within the first 10 minutes.

Austria were guilty of overcommitting, but ultimately got away with it after Messi missed.

Argentina's attacking game plan is fairly simple: get the ball to Messi.

In some ways, that made Rangnick's game plan easy: get as many people around the Inter Miami man as quickly as possible.

However, what that did on this occasion was open up the space for Argentina's other attacking talents.

Austria is an extremely Red Bull-coded side.

After all, Rangnick is the mastermind behind the energy drink conglomerate's footballing ideology.

The Austrians were extremely high-pressure off the ball early on, preventing the World Champions from settling.

Austria Position Map Vs Argentina

Their average position map (via SofaScore) shows how high they pushed up on Argentina's central defenders, attempting to force them into turning the ball over.

Argentina adopted a contrasting style off the ball.

Scaloni, as mentioned, set his team up in a mid-block.

Here are their average positions pre-substitutions.

Argentina Position Map Vs Austria