Argentina are 8/1 from 12/1 to win the World Cup after a Lionel Messi hat-trick secured their spot at Russia 2018.
Jorge Sampaoli's men had endured a torrid campaign in the hard-fought South American qualifiers and went into their final match in danger of not even reaching the play-offs.
But their talisman came up with the goods to seal a 3-1 win over Ecuador and the Albiceleste are now fifth favourites for next summer's tournament.
Messi's great rival Cristiano Ronaldo was also in danger of missing the global showpiece, but a 2-0 win for Portugal over Switzerland sealed their qualification and they're now 20/1 - the same price as England - from 25/1 to complete a Euro-World Cup double after condemning the Swiss to a play-off.
Back in South America, Uruguay and Colombia secured the other two automatic spots on a dramatic night and are now 40/1 and 25/1 (from 28s) respectively.
Peru edged out Alexis Sanchez's Chile for the South American play-off spot and are 1/14 to see off Oceania top dog New Zealand over two legs for a ticket to Russia. New Zealand are 13/2 to spring a surprise.
The other inter-confederation play-off looks far tougher to call, with Honduras 4/5 and Australia 10/11 to make it to the final 32.
Germany and France are 5/1 joint favourites for glory next summer, with Brazil 6/1 and Spain 15/2. The hosts are 33/1.
