Doha, December 02 (QNA) - The Argentine national football team will meet its Australian counterpart at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium tomorrow, in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 round of 16, in search of a place in the quarterfinals.
The game is expected to be sensational, given both teams performance in the group stage.
The Argentine squad put an end during the third set of matches in the group stage, after having lost to Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the squads first match. Argentina made a great comeback in the following two matches, achieving two victories over Mexico and Poland, scoring 2-0 in both matches, and gaining the six points that granted it to qualify as the champion of the group, two points ahead of the front-runner, the Polish team.
Similarly, the Australian national football team had a similar situation in Group D, where it had to overcome its big loss of 0-4 against France, the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia defending champion, by defeating the Tunisian national football team, to then surpassed the Danish team with a goal in the last round, gaining six points and falling second to France in the group, with a single goal difference.
The Argentine squad relies on its captain and the worlds best player seven times Lionel Messi, along with a group of stars who play in major European leagues such as Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria, and Rodrigo de Paul amongst others. Coach Lionel Scaloni will have to deliver the team to the quarterfinals. According to nominations, not only can Argentina qualify by overtaking Australia, but it has the potential of winning the title.
The Australian national team however, relies on a group of experienced players such as goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, midfielder Aaron Mooy, Mathew Leckie and striker Mitchell Duke. However, team work prevails over all, given that Coach Graham Arnold adopts a collective method based on a defensive system and rapid counterattacks.
The two teams have faced each other seven times before, but never during the World Cup finals, although they met in the playoffs leading to the finals twice, back and forth. During their seven confrontations, Argentina won on five occasions, Australia won once, whilst both teams tied another one.
The first confrontation between both teams was in 1988 in a friendly match held in the Australian city of Sydney, with Australia winning 4-1, before Argentina making a comeback winning over Australia with two unanswered goals in a friendly match in Argentina in 1992. The two then met in the qualifying supplement to the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA, where the first leg was held in Sydney on October 31, 1993, ending with a 1-1 draw, whilst the second leg was held in Argentina on November 17, 1993, with Argentina winning 1-0 and reaching the finals.
Argentina hosted Australia in a new friendly match held in 1995, when Argentina won 1-0. Finally, the last confrontation between them was in the FIFA Confederation Cup Germany 2005, with Argentina winning by four goals to two. (QNA)