Argentina will face Australia in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup after finishing top of Group C with their victory against Poland on Wednesday night.
La Albiceleste had to get a result in their final group stage fixture to be sure of a place in the last 16. A shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening game was followed by a 2-0 victory over Mexico to ensure they still kept their World Cup hopes alive.
However, that meant that not even a draw against Poland would guarantee them a place in the next round, with both Saudi Arabia and Mexico still able to qualify for the last 16 ahead of their final games.
Nonetheless, the 2021 Copa America winners got the job done thanks to second half goals from Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez - despite Lionel Messi's first half penalty miss.
At the start of the day, there was no guarantee as to who they would play in the last 16, with only France having secured their place in the next round ahead of Group D’s final fixtures earlier in the day.
However, Les Bleus still needed to avoid defeat to be absolutely certain of topping the group. As it happened, France lost 1-0 to Tunisia as Didier Deschamps made nine changes to his starting lineup.
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Australia couldn't pip them to top spot after their own surprising 1-0 victory over Denmark thanks to Mathew Leckie's winner. France therefore emerged as Group D winners, with Australia finishing as runners-up.
All combined, it now means Argentina will take on Australia in the last 16 after topping Group C. Lionel Scaloni's side will be heavy favourites and will no doubt fancy their chances of making it into the quarter-finals when they face Graham Arnold’s side this weekend.
Their last 16 tie against Australia will take place at 7pm (GMT) on Saturday, December 3 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, where the winner will face either the Netherlands or USA in the quarter-finals.
