During the Poland vs. Argentina World Cup group C soccer match at the Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, Argentina’s Lionel Messi  congratulates teammate Alexis Mac Allister, the scorer of the opening goal.

Argentina defeated Poland 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez in the second half. Lionel Messi scored both goals. Both squads made it through, with Argentina winning their group.

The constant pressure from the Argentine attack ultimately defeated Poland’s off-game, which was too conservative and defensive. They wanted to lose by no more than two goals, so it was a tense end. They’ll need to do far better, especially given that the world winners France are the team that comes up next.

Argentina beat Poland 2-0 to win Group C on Wednesday, moving on to the World Cup knockout rounds despite Lionel Messi’s missed penalty in the opening period at Stadium 974.

With their victory, Argentina went to the top of their group and will play Australia in the round of 16, while Poland, who came in second, will face the defending champions, France.

Late drama in the group came from Mexico’s 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, which gave them and Poland complete qualification. On the basis of goal differential, a late Salem Al Dawsari goal eliminated Mexico.

In the other games that night, a rejuvenated Tunisia won a legendary encounter on Wednesday against a French squad that was primarily made up of backup players, but their 1-0 triumph against the defending champions was not enough to advance the North Africans to the World Cup knockout rounds.

After a tenacious 1-0 surprise victory against Denmark in their last Group D encounter on Wednesday thanks to a goal from Mathew Leckie, Australia advanced to the World Cup last 16 for the first time since 2006 in the next match.

Following the world champions’ 1-0 loss to Tunisia, Australia ended second with six points, level with the group’s eventual winners, France. With one point, Denmark was last, and Tunisia was third with four.