On Saturday, Argentina and Australia will battle in a World Cup Round of 16 clash with Quarter-Final berths at stake for both teams. Here, check out what would happen if Lionel Messi’s side suffers a defeat in this matchup.
Argentina bounced back from their humiliating first-leg Group C defeat to Saudi Arabia and are now set to go into the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they will battle Lionel Messi’s only shot at the world title.
After defeating Mexico and Poland to advance to the knockout stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, La Alibceleste were drawn to face the competition’s lowest-ranked team in revenge for their opening defeat to Saudi Arabia. But before they can play in their second World Cup knockout match, they must first face a brave Australia side who surprised Denmark in their final group stage game.
Australia’s national football team suffered a heartbreaking loss in their opening match against eventual Group D winners France, but came back strong to beat Tunisia and notably Denmark 1-0 to advance to the round of 16. For Argentina, this year’s World Cup has shown us that anything is possible.
What would happen if Argentina lose to Australia in the Qatar 2022 Round of 16?
Quite simply, if Argentina’s national soccer team suffer a defeat, they would be knocked out of the tournament in the last 16. For the World Cup, the Knockout Round consists of one-game playoffs.
Therefore, there is no opportunity to win the series by taking game two. There is no room for a mistake in this win-or-go-home approach. In order to go through to the Quarter-Finals, La Aliceleste must win, either in regular time, after extra time, or on penalties.
Argentina will be looking to improve upon their dismal performance in the 2018 World Cup, in which they were ousted in the round of 16. Back then, they were defeated by eventual champions France in a close 4-3 game. In 2014, however, they made it to the Quarter-Finals before losing to Germany in the Final.
