Lionel Messi’s Argentina continue on the road to the final of the 2022 World Cup when they face Australia on Saturday in the round of 16. Argentina qualified by winning Group C as they took six points from three matches, recovering from a shock opening day defeat to Saudi Arabia (2-1) to record victories over Mexico (2-0) and Poland (2-0). Argentina have won the World Cup twice in their history, in 1978 and 1986, and made it as far as the round of 16 at Russia 2018 only to lose to eventual winners France.
Australia qualified for the by finishing second in Group D. They took six points from three matches, finishing level on points with group winners France but behind them on goal difference. They lost to France on the opening day of the competition (4-1) but rallied afterwards to beat Tunisia (1-0) and then Denmark (1-0). Australia haven’t missed a World Cup since Germany 2006, when they made it to the round of 16 only to be eliminated by eventual winners Italy. Since then they’ve not even made it through the group phase.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 3 | Time: 2 pm ET
- Location: Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, — Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
- TV: FOX | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
- Odds: Argentina -510; Draw +525; Australia +1500 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Argentina vs. Australia
Team news
Argentina: Messi leads the line for Argentina. The 35-year-old Paris Saint-Germain talisman has contributed two goals and an assist in 270 minutes of football. One of those goals came from open play and the other was a penalty. Messi has taken 13 shots, hitting the target with eight of them (61.54%), and completed eight of 14 take-ons. He’s also created nine chances for his teammates. The question for this team will be who helps him in attack with Angel Di Maria expected to miss out.
Australia: Australia can’t quite live with Argentina in attack. They just don’t have the same attacking ability and come second-best in virtually every attacking metric – registering fewer shots on target (seven to 20), creating fewer chances (15 to 32), completing fewer take-ons (nine to 22 ) and, most crucially, scoring fewer goals (three to five). They need a very concrete defensive game if they want to have chances against Argentina’s strikers on Saturday.
Prediction
Argentina’s chances to win the competition are much higher than we could expect after their opening loss against Saudi Arabia. They shouldn’t have many issues against Australia. Pick: Argentina 3, Australia 1.
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