Sharjah24 - WAM: Messi's Argentina defeated Poland 2-0 on Wednesday at Stadium 974 to guarantee their spot in the round of 16. Thanks to their superior goal differential over a Mexico team that also finished with four points, Poland, a team that was soundly defeated on this occasion, will join them in the knockout stages.
With their performance tonight, the Tango Team dispelled any lingering after-effects of that opening loss to Saudi Arabia and could easily have won by more goals against opponents who did not manage an attempt on goal. They will next face Australia in the round of 16 while Poland must take on world champions France.
In the same group's other clash and after a thrilling conclusion, Mexico defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 but was both eliminated from the 2022 World Cup based on goal differential.
Mexico and Poland were tied on points, goal differential, goals scored, and head-to-head record in Group C at 2-0 each. They were still eliminated because they received more yellow cards than Poland, but they lost out on goal differential after they gave up late in the game.