FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: After Win Against Mexico, Will Argentina Miss R16 Spot?

In its second Group C match of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Saturday, Argentina managed to secure a 2-0 win over Mexico. Football star Lionel Messi’s sensational show was witnessed by all as Argentina secured its first win of this year’s World Cup.

In the 64th minute of the game, he scored the first goal and then set up a goal for Enzo Fernandez in the 87th minute. That sealed the deal for the South American giants. After defeating Mexico, Argentina has reached the number two position in the Group C points table. But they are still not sure of a place in the Round of 16.

Their final Group C game is against Poland on Thursday, and Argentina needs a win in that game to progress. The victory is important as a defeat will knock them out. If Argentina wins on Thursday, it will reach six points. This will guarantee the team a place in the Round of 16. But if it loses, the team will get only three points from three matches. Poland will have seven, and with seven points, the team will progress and finish at the number one position in Group C as well.

If there is a draw, Poland will still qualify, but things will become complex for Argentina. Then the country's fate will depend on the result of another Group C match between Saudi Arabia and Mexico. If Saudi Arabia beats Mexico in that game, they will have six points and will advance along with Poland. It will have five points, and Argentina will be eliminated with 4 points from three games.

If Mexico wins, Argentina will have to hope that it don’t beat Saudi Arabia by a margin of four goals or more.

Meanwhile, Messi and Kylian Mbappe stole the show on Saturday at the FIFA World Cup. While Argentina bounced back from the shock loss to Saudi Arabia to beat Mexico, France became the first team to qualify for the knockouts, thanks to Mbappe.

In 2022, Messi reached 13 goals for Argentina, which is his highest tally in a calendar year. He also scored his eighth career World Cup goal, tying football legend Diego Maradona for the second most by an Argentine player, reported ESPN.

As for Mbappe, he scored his sixth and seventh World Cup goal against Denmark, tying Pele's record (seven) for most World Cup goals before becoming 24 years old.