After stumbling in the first round, Argentina once again established itself as a favorite with clear victories over Mexico and Poland. Now, Scaloni's team will face Australia in the second round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The Albiceleste will face a team that they haven't fallen to in 34 years. Precisely, that defeat occurred in the first Argentina vs. Australia match in history. In a friendly played in Sydney on July 14, 1988, the Socceroos defeated the Albiceleste 4-1.
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Since then, six more matches have been played, with five victories for the South Americans and only one draw. However, in official matches, the Oceania team has managed to complicate the existence of the Argentine national team. It is enough to remember the close scoreline of the playoffs for the 1994 United States World Cup.
In that playoff, it was a 1-1 draw on Australian soil, while in the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, the Albiceleste managed to secure passage thanks to a solitary goal from Gabriel Batistuta. The last official clash between the two teams was in the 2005 Confederations Cup.
Lionel Messi has scored two goals in the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Photo: Argentine national team Twitter
This match ended 4-2 in favor of the Argentine team. The goals for the then team led by José Pekerman were scored by Luciano Figueroa —with a hat trick— and Juan Román Riquelme. Australia's goals came from Jhon Aloisi.