Having started the tournament with a dismal 2-1 loss at the hands of Saudi Arabia, two-time world champions Argentina came back strongly to win two back-to-back games against Mexico and Poland in must-win situations, and eventually topped the group to face Australia at Ahmed bi Ali Stadium Saturday
Their talismanic captain Lionel Messi, who came to Qatar for his final shot at World Cup glory, has already had a wonderful tournament where he converted from the spot in the first match, then scored and assisted against Mexico.
Despite missing the penalty against Poland, the Paris Saint Germain star mesmerized the Stadium 974 crowd with his continuous defense breaking and chance making.
One of the major concerns for the Albiceleste is the recovery of their veteran winger Angel di Maria who has the reputation of being a big match performer for Argentina, and had scored the deciding goal in the Copa America 2021 final in Brazil, ending a 28-year trophy drought for his country.
Just two days have elapsed since Argentina's last group stage match against Poland, and this knockout fight with Australia will make life difficult for the players to get proper recovery time.
“Yesterday was recovery day for the majority. We will get a clearer picture in the training this afternoon. After that we will decide the team, according to the evolution of Angel and other players,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.
Scaloni also refused to buy into the hype that his team got a comparatively easy opponent.
Australia also started the World Cup poorly, succumbing to a 4-1 loss to France, but later progressed to the last-16 with 1-0 wins against Tunisia and Denmark respectively.
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"It didn't surprise me because they are a good team. With a World Cup history, which makes them difficult. Whether or not they are inferior to us remains to be seen. I don't agree that they are. This is football – 11 against 11. Forget who is theoretically favorites and let's play football," said the Argentine.
Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, who has played every minute for Argentina in this World Cup, also pointed out the threat that Australia's height and speed can produce, and admitted that his colleagues are aware of the danger.
"They are a very fast team that places a lot of emphasis on the flank players," said De Paul in the same press conference.
"Tall guys, tall center-backs, we'll have to avoid giving away free-kicks around the box. We'll have to be careful (of their) very fast wingers, that's their strength, counter-attacking," he added.
Australia coach Graham Arnold on the other hand insisted that the South Americans side will bring out the best in them.
Arnold highlighted his previous experience of playing against Argentina as a player and referred to a 4-1 win in the Bicentennial Gold Cup in 1988, along with their recent 2-0 Olympic win against the Men in Blue last year.
"When I think back to my playing career it is one of the highlights of my life, being able to play against Argentina," Arnold said.
"I just think that Argentina bring the best out of Australia. Our performances every time against Argentina have been very strong and very good,” he added.
