Argentina play their final Group C match this afternoon against Poland, knowing that a victory would guarantee their passage to the 2022 World Cup last 16. A defeat, on the other hand, would see them suffer an embarrassing first-round elimination.
The Albiceleste were highly favored to win Group C at a canter, but a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening game left them in immediate trouble. A 2-0 win over Mexico on Saturday kept them in the tournament, but they still need to do the business against group leaders Poland in order to progress.
Were Argentina to draw this final group match, they still have a chance of progressing, relying on Mexico to avoid defeat in their game against Saudi Arabia, which will take place at the same time.
Between matches against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made a total of five changes to his starting lineup.
Today, he is expected to make another three, with Nahuel Molina returning to right-back in place of Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero stepping into center-back ahead of Lisandro Martínez, and midfielder Guido Rodríguez set to make way for either Leandro Paredes or 21-year-old Enzo Fernández — who scored the crucial second goal against Mexico.
Argentina have only been eliminated in the first round once in their last 13 World Cup appearances.
And suffering a similar fate this time around would be a crushing blow for the country, as this tournament will be the last of seven-time Ballon d’Or winning forward Lionel Messi, who has only managed to win one senior trophy for Argentina during an otherwise glittering career.
If Argentina make it out of the group as winners, they will face the second-placed team from Group D, which will be decided earlier this afternoon.
Denmark and Australia face off in a match that could well determine second spot in the group, though Tunisia also have an outside chance of progressing if they pull off a shock against leaders France.
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