Lionel Messi’s Argentina beat Poland 2-0 in their final World Cup Group C match at Stadium 974 in Doha on Wednesday to advance to the knockout stage where they will face Australia.
Argentina topped the standings on six points while Poland were awaiting the outcome of the other group game between Saudi Arabia and Mexico to see if they would come second and also qualify despite the loss.
Midfielder Alexis MacAllister put Argentina ahead straight after the break with a low first-time shot after a flowing passing move, while Julian Alvarez shot past Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the 67th minute to make it 2-0.
Australia ended a 16-year wait for a World Cup last-16 place as Mathew Leckie’s strike earned them a gritty 1-0 upset win over Denmark in their final Group D match on Wednesday.
After a goalless first half in which Denmark looked lively and had more possession, Australia scored on the counter in the 60th minute when Leckie got past the Danish defence and twisted into space before slotting the ball home.
Australia finished second with six points, level with group winners France after the world champions lost 1-0 to Tunisia. Denmark were bottom on one point with Tunisia third on four.
“I’m proud, exhausted, everything really. It’s hard to describe the emotions right now,” Leckie told Australian broadcaster SBS.
“We always knew we could do it as a group. We had our doubters but our spirit, our belief, our work ethic and how close we are as a group shows on the pitch.Denmark’s remarkable run in international football ended with a whimper as they exited the World Cup at the first hurdle after failing to recreate their free-scoring qualifying form, netting only one goal in three games.
A scoreless draw with Tunisia and a 2-1 loss to France followed by a 1-0 defeat by Australia was a poor return from a side tipped to be Europe’s dark horses in Qatar.
Since Christian Eriksen’s collapse from a heart attack in their opening game at last year’s European Championship, the Danes made the semi-finals of that tournament and beat France twice in the Nations League.
They rattled in 30 goals in 10 World Cup qualifiers, winning nine straight games to book their spot in Qatar, but once they got there, the wheels came off as the rest of the world found ways to blunt their attacking weapons.
Blessed with skill, vision and intelligence all over the pitch, what the Danes lacked most was a reliable goal-poaching striker, and it came back to haunt them.
Coach Kasper Hjulmand tried a different man up top to start each game, with Kasper Dolberg, Andreas Cornelius and Martin Braithwaite all given the chance, but none of them delivered.
Mexico scored twice in five second-half minutes in a thrilling last-ditch bid to stay in the World Cup on Wednesday, beating Saudi Arabia 2-1 but agonisingly missing out on the last 16 on goal difference.
In the most exciting group finale of the World Cup, goals from Henry Martin and Luis Chavez catapulted Mexico back into contention, but a string of spectacular stops by Saudi keeper Mohamed Al-Owais and two disallowed efforts denied them the elusive third goal they needed to advance.
An energetic and determined Tunisia claimed a famous victory over a France team made up mostly of back-up players on Wednesday, but their 1-0 win over the reigning champions was not enough for the North Africans to progress to the World Cup knockout stages.
They departed the tournament with “honour and pride”, coach Jalel Kadri said. But despite their defeat of one of the tournament favourites, their fate was ultimately not in their hands.
Tunisia needed not only to beat the already-qualified France but to hope for Denmark to avoid defeat against Australia in the other Group D game to advance. They roared onto the pitch to challenge a disjointed French side featuring nine changes from the side that beat the Danes.
But their win against the 2018 World Cup winners failed to see them through to the next stage after Australia defeated Denmark 1-0 and clinched second place in the group. Tunisia thus keep their unwanted record of not progressing from the group stage in six World Cup appearances.
French-born Wahbi Khazri lifted Tunisia to their third win in 18 matches at the finals, dribbling into the box in the 58th minute and slipping the ball past back-up goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, who at 37 is the oldest Frenchman to play in a World Cup match. Tunisia’s win also ended France’s six-match winning streak at the World Cup.