Argentina and Australia are set to go head-to-head in the second World Cup last 16 fixture set to be played at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan on Saturday evening.
La Albiceleste will come into this fixture after finishing top of Group C after they secured two wins following their opening shock defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Australia, meanwhile, made their way into the knockout stages after finishing in second place in Group D after they clinched two wins.
“The match against Australia is going to be very difficult,” Argentina legend Lionel Messi said.
“Anyone can beat anyone, everything is very even. We have to prepare the game in the best way as we always do.
“We must be calm and go game by game. Now another World Cup begins and hopefully, we can continue to maintain what we did today.”
Argentina has been dominant over Australia in the last five fixtures between the two sides after they claimed four wins in their last five matches, while one game has ended in a stalemate.
Lionel Scaloni and Graham Arnold will have their entire squads at their disposal with no new injury concerns to report of their encounter.
Brighton’ Alexis MacAllister slowly began to find his form for Argentina and scored his first World Cup goal in their victory over Poland on Wednesday.
Mathew Leckie will be confident heading into this fixture after he scored the winning goal against Denmark to send his side into the knockout stages of the tournament.
Argentina’s World Cup Form:
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Australia’s World Cup Form:
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