Argentina vs Australia: 2022 World Cup, Round of 16, Match Preview and Predictions

Argentina vs Australia is next as Argentina are up against a spirited Australia side in the World Cup round of 16 on Saturday evening.

Match Details:

• Location: Al-Rayyan, Qatar
• Stadium: Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
• Date: Saturday 4 December
• Kick-off time: 12:30 PM IST
• Watch: Sports 18/HD, Jio Cinema App

Argentina vs Australia: Match Preview:

Argentina have shaken off the opening round shocker to Saudi Arabia and are now ready to push through the knockout stage, hoping to provide Lionel Messi with an elusive World Cup title in what is expected to be his swansong tournament.

#SeleccionMayor Hasta ahí la palabra del entrenador @lioscaloni a un día del choque ante Australia por los Octavos de Final. pic.twitter.com/JlmvAZNcaA

— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) December 2, 2022

Still, they'll have to get past a plucky Australia side that shocked Denmark in the group stage finale to secure progression to just their second-ever World Cup knockout game.

The Socceroos will hope it goes better than last time they were here, as they were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion back in 2006 by eventual champions Italy. The Italians were a man down after Marco Materazi was sent off just after halftime, but they hung on until Francesco Totti scored a 96th minute penalty to send them through to the quarterfinals.

.@JamTarts fans have been asking for "Cammy Content" so here he is with club teammate Kye Rowles, and Keanu Baccus in our latest @subwayaustralia Social!

Watch in full: https://t.co/hPQbSQ6Ysf pic.twitter.com/Mip8F2bGkd

— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) December 2, 2022

With Aussie fans still on a high from the scenes against Denmark, they'll have to regroup and push forward hoping lightning can indeed strike twice against Argentina to follow in Saudi Arabia's footsteps and ruin Messi's going away party.

Team News:

Argentina:

As ever, the fitness focus for Argentina has revolved around Lionel Messi. On multiple occasions during the group stage reports emerged that Messi had been training on his own. Argentina's manager and the skipper himself have been quick to dispel any doubts lingering over Messi's fitness.

#SelecciónMayor ¡Vamos que vamos!#TodosJuntos más que nunca 😉🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/906pQmaPrL

— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) December 1, 2022

Angel Di Maria was taken off against Poland as a precaution after feeling discomfort in his quadriceps. However, Scaloni stressed post-game: "Di Maria is fine."

Australia:

Arnold is expected to have a full squad at his disposal for the historic matchup with Argentina this weekend. Martin Boyle was named in the initial 26-man contingent but had to pull out with a knee injury. However, the Hibernian winger has remained in Qatar – on crutches – as the team's "vibes manager".

Argentina awaits ⏳🔜💪

🇦🇷 v 🇦🇺 4.12.22, 6am AEDT
📺💻📱: SBS, SBS On Demand#Socceroos #GiveIt100 #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/UrWURSetii

— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) December 2, 2022

Argentina vs Australia: Head to Head:

Argentina have a predictably excellent record against Australia and have won five out of the seven matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Australia's one victory.

The previous meeting between the two teams took place in a friendly in 2007 and ended in a narrow 1-0 victory for Argentina, with Martin Demichelis scoring the winning goal.

#Qatar2022 Cuerpo arbitral para @Argentina – #Australia 🇦🇺

Árbitro: Szymon Marciniak 🇵🇱
Asistente 1: Pawel Sokolnicki 🇵🇱
Asistente 2: Tomasz Listkiewicz 🇵🇱
Cuarto árbitro: Mario Escobar 🇬🇹 pic.twitter.com/h6cWgrEn78

— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) December 1, 2022

Australia have secured only one victory against Argentina in their history, defeating the Albiceleste 4-1 at home in 1988.

Australia are winless in four matches against South American opponents in the FIFA World Cup and have lost three of these games.

Argentina crashed out of the round of 16 after a defeat against France in 2018 and have never been eliminated before the quarterfinals in consecutive editions of the World Cup.

Predicted Line-ups:

Argentina Starting 11 (4-3-3): E Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Di Maria, Messi, Alvarez.
Bench: Armani, Rulli, Li Martinez, Pezzella, Tagliafico, Foyth, Montiel, Paredes, Rodriguez, Palacios, Almada, Gomez, Correa, Dybala, La Martinez.

Australia Starting 11 (4-4-2): Ryan; Degenek, Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Leckie, Irvine, Mooy, Goodwin; Duke, McGree.
Bench: Vukovic, Wright, Devlin, Cummings, King, Redmayne, Tilio, Deng, Kuol, Baccus, Hrustic, Karacic, Maclaren, Mabil, Atkinson.

ARG vs AUS: Dream11 Predictions:

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