Lionel Messi and Argentina will continue their 2022 World Cup quest when they face Australia, arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament thus far, in the round of 16 on Saturday.
STREAM ARGENTINA vs AUSTRALIA LIVE
Argentina rebounded from their opening defeat to Saudi Arabia with back-to-back 2-0 victories over Mexico and Poland to finish top of Group C and reach the knockout rounds in 14 straight World Cup appearances.
Australia, on the other hand, are in the knockout stage for just the second time ever (2006 - round of 16). The Socceroos were also beaten, and battered, by defending champions France in their opener, but a pair of back-to-back 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark were enough to see them through on a dramatic final day of Group D play.
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Here is everything you need for Argentina vs Australia.
Latest World Cup news
How to watch Argentina vs Australia live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2pm ET, Saturday (December 3)
Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
TV channels en Español: Telemundo
Streaming en Español: Peacock (all 64 matches)
Key storylines, players to watch closely
Without looking ahead and past Australia, Argentina will know that their half of the bracket is shaping up rather nicely for a run to at least the semifinals, where they could potentially meet bitter rivals Brazil. Messi has been in fine form thus far in Qatar, scoring twice and assisting once more during the group stage, even if he was denied from the penalty spot by Poland's Wojciech Szczesny in the finale. The main question regarding Lionel Scaloni's selection revolves around Lautaro Martinez (2 starts in the group stage - 0 goals, 0 assists) and Julian Alvarez (1 start - 1 goal, 0 assists) at center forward.
Australia head into Saturday's showdown having not conceded a goal in 199 minutes, going back to France's fourth in the opener. The Socceroos have had success since switching to a 4-4-2 in both of their victories, keeping eight, nine and sometimes 10 men behind the ball while averaging just 36.7 percent of possession over the three games. Australia are one of four sides (Morocco, Poland and Japan being the others) to have held less than 40 percent of possession and make it through to the knockout rounds.
Argentina quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 3
World Cup titles: 2 (1978, 1986)
World Cup appearances: 17
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from CONMEBOL (2nd place)
Coach: Lionel Scaloni
Key players: Lionel Messi, Angel de Maria, Lautaro Martinez
Australia quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 38
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 5
How they qualified: Qualified from AFC via the intercontinental playoffs
Coach: Graham Arnold
Key players: Mathew Ryan, Aaron Mooy, Mathew Leckie
Argentina vs Australia: How to watch live, stream link, team news originally appeared on NBCSports.com
