It’s fair to say that Lionel Messi and Argentina have had a mixed World Cup.
The two-time champions recovered from a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in Round 1 with a convincing 2-0 victory against Mexico last week.
Argentina is now in second place in Group C as a result of these victories, and tonight’s encounter against Poland, the group’s top team, will determine whether they advance or not.
Messi’s team would advance to the round of 16 with a victory in Doha, moving ahead of their rivals.
That victory, though, might not be sufficient to guarantee them the top spot in Group C.
This is due to the fact that Saudi Arabia still has a chance to win their group.
In addition, a win for Hervé Renard’s team would bring them to six points, meaning goal differential would determine the Group C champion.
Things will become quite tense in that region of South America if Argentina loses. All eyes will be on Saudi Arabia’s match against Mexico if The White and Sky Blue and Poland draw; a Saudi Arabian victory would eliminate Argentina, while a draw would advance the latter.
If Mexico wins, we’ll be back in goal differential territory.
If Argentina loses to the Robert Lewandowski-led Poles, as you might have guessed by now, they will exit the tournament at the group stage for the first time since the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. This could also put an end to Lionel Messi’s chances of adding the Jules Rimet to his trophy collection.
In his pre-game press conference, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said, “Obviously after a victory against Mexico, we are feeling better emotionally.”
“Our current course is correct.
“Having achieved the (Messi) goal, have we reclaimed our identity? Depending on how you look at it, we had to do whatever it needed to defend the outcome at that point. Football is that. It’s hard.
“At the end of the game, we were able to do that, and that’s what counts. We had a few opportunities after the goal to have a better result.
We strive to be powerful and fight for every ball; that is who we are.
Both games will start at the same time tonight at 7 p.m. (GMT), as Messi and Argentina attempt to avoid failing at the opening hurdle.
