Word Cup Daily: Lionel Messi keeps Argentina’s tournament hopes alive

Argentina avoided elimination on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Mexico at Lusail Stadium, while France became the first team to qualify for the knockout stage with its second win of the tournament.

Here’s everything that happened in the World Cup on Saturday and what to watch for on Sunday.

Australia 1, Tunisia 0

Australia got the result it needed against Tunisia, picking up three critical points, but it will need a win or a draw against Denmark on Wednesday (10 a.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports app) to avoid entering a tiebreaker with Denmark or, less likely, Tunisia.

Poland 2, Saudi Arabia 0

At long last, Robert Lewandowski scored his first World Cup goal. Even more importantly, it came in a win that put Poland at the top of Group C. Poland can secure its spot in the knockout stage with a win against Argentina on Wednesday (2 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) — anything less than that would result in a tiebreaker or, worst-case, elimination.

France 2, Denmark 1

France clinched its spot in the knockout stage with a 2-1 win over Denmark, which made it the first reigning World Cup champion since 2006 to not get eliminated in the group stage of the tournament. The curse — at least for the next four years — is broken.

Kylian Mbappé made a bit of history himself. With his two goals against Denmark, he joined Pelé as the only player to score seven goals at the World Cup before the age of 24. He also caught up with Ecuador striker Enner Valencia in the Golden Boot race. It was a good day for Les Bleus.

Argentina 2, Mexico 0

It wasn’t pretty, but Argentina scrapped out a much-needed win against Mexico. Now, it’s in a position to qualify for the knockout stage with a win against Poland. Given how it started its tournament, things could be a lot worse. 

Mexico’s fate will also depend on the result it gets in its final group stage match. A win would give it four points, which is more than Argentina would have if it lost to Poland and as much as Poland would have if it lost to Argentina. A loss or a draw would eliminate it from the tournament.

ENGLAND’S PLAYERS TOOK A KNEE BEFORE PLAYING WHILE THE US REMAINED STANDING – OUTRAGE ENSUED

GOAL OF THE DAY

With elimination on the line, Lionel Messi came through for Argentina.

ASSIST OF THE DAY

Robert Lewandowski had to wait until Poland’s second goal to add his name to the scoresheet, but he made its first one possible by hustling to keep the ball in play and finding Piotr Zieliński running toward the goal.

SAVE OF THE DAY

It’s hard to say which one of Wojciech Szczęsny’s was more impressive: the penalty save or the follow-up save, in which he had to lunge his body in the opposite direction of where the penalty was placed.

We’re going to go with the second.

Japan vs. Costa Rica, 5 a.m. ET on FS1

Japan upset the German giants in its group stage opener, so a win against Costa Rica — which lost to Spain 7-0 on Wednesday — should be no problem, right? Well, if that statement holds true, then Japan would be the first team in E to qualify for the knockout round. Japan also qualified for the Round of 16 in 2018.

Belgium vs. Morocco, 8 a.m. ET on FS1

Belgium not-so-convincingly got three points against Canada on Wednesday. Will it look more like the dark-horse contenders so many thought it would be against Morocco, or will the Moroccans do what Canada couldn’t and earn points?

Croatia vs. Canada, 11 a.m. ET on FS1

Croatia and Morocco held each other scoreless with its clashing defensive styles. Don’t expect the same thing on Sunday, as the Canucks are known to spread defenses out. Croatia has to respond with its own scoring opportunities.

Spain vs. Germany, 2 p.m. ET on FS1

One of the most anticipated matchups of the group stage is now more consequential, as the Germans could be facing elimination by the time the ball is kicked off. The best-case for Die Mannschaft is a draw in Japan-Costa Rica.