World Cup day 7 roundup: Argentina see off Mexico; France beat Denmark; Poland & Australia win
By 90min Staff
There were some big-hitters in action on the seventh day of the 2022 World Cup.
Saturday began with Tunisia vs Australia as the race to advance from Group D hots up, before Saudi Arabia's quest for another upset fell short against Poland.
Two of the tournament favourites concluded the day, with France booking their last 16 spot against Denmark and Argentina avoiding a humiliating group stage exit with their victory over Mexico.
Tunisia 0-1 Australia
Australia grabbed the first win of the weekend after taking three points off of Tunisia in the early kick-off.
A deflected cross from Craig Goodwin was nodded in superbly by Mitchell Duke in the first half as the Socceroos won a World Cup match for the first time since 2010.
Tunisia are now on the brink of elimination having only taken one point from two games so far and with France up next.
How did Australia do it?
The stunning performances of defender Harry Souttar - just coming off the back of an ACL injury - and midfielder Aaron Mooy set the tone.
Australia didn't give an inch to a Tunisia side who were themselves desperately in need of a win. The Eagles of Carthage were hugely disappointing and were unable to carve out a clear cut chance.
Poland 2-0 Saudi Arabia
Poland’s hopes of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup are very much alive after beating Saudi Arabia 2-0 at Education City Stadium.
The Eagles opened the scoring against the run of play with Robert Lewandowski masking a bad miss by retrieving his skewed shot and teeing up Piotr Zielinski to smash hom.
Wojciech Szczesny then saved a Salem Al-Dawsari penalty just before the break, and Saudi Arabia continued to dominate in the second half.
However, Lewandowski took advantage of some poor defending to grab his first World Cup goal and seal the three points.
What went wrong for Saudi Arabia?
Just like against Argentina, Saudi Arabia were aggressive and brave, though this time had more consistent final third quality to match their defensive resilience.
However, Herve Renard’s men were incredibly wasteful and were up against an inspired goalkeeper in Szczesny.
Poland move to the top of Group C for now ahead of Argentina vs Mexico this evening.
France 2-1 Denmark
France are the first country to mathematically book their place in the last 16 thanks to their 2-1 win over Denmark, following on from an earlier victory against Australia.
It was a goal-less first half in which neither side really took the game by the scruff of the neck. But the deadlock was eventually broken by Kylian Mbappe after an hour of play, exchanging a clever one-two with left-back Theo Hernandez to create the chance.
Andreas Christensen stabbed Denmark back into it only a few minutes later, reacting to a Joachim Andersen flick on from a corner, but Mbappe popped up near the end to win it for France.
Kylian Mbappe shows his class
Two more international goals takes Kylian Mbappe onto 31 for France. He showed clinical class and quality beyond his years to win this game for Les Bleus, raising the question of whether Didier Deschamps' side is actually better balanced without Karim Benzema.
31 goals for France moves Mbappe ahead of national legends Jean-Pierre Papin and Just Fontaine in the all-time list. He is now level with Zinedine Zidane and three behind David Trezeguet.
At the age of just 23, this is already his second World Cup, having first been a champion at 19.
Argentina 2-0 Mexico
Argentina beat Mexico 2-0 in Saturday's final game to keep their World Cup hopes alive and set up a fascinating final round of fixtures in Group C.
After suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia in their opening fixture, the pressure was on the Albiceleste to get a much-needed win.
After a thoroughly unconvincing first half, Lionel Scaloni's side improved considerably after the break and found themselves 1-0 up just after the hour mark when Lionel Messi found the bottom corner from 25 yards.
Mexico looked the better side for large portions of the game, but offered no meaningful attacking threat of their own and never looked likely to get back into the game.
Minutes from full-time, Enzo Fernandez scored a glorious goal of his own to make it 2-0 and wrap up the win for Argentina.
The result means Scaloni's side will fight another day in Group C, but know they will likely need to beat Poland in order to ensure qualification.
Doubt Messi at your peril
Before the referee had even called time on a rather drab first half, the takes were rolling in about Lionel Messi's performance.
Pundits across the world were driven into a frenzy by the 35-year-old's body language, as he strolled around the pitch looking thoroughly unbothered by the match happening around him.
But, as we've learned time and time again, you doubt Messi at your own risk. One goal and one assist later, and once again it's Messi who Argentina have to thank for their World Cup dreams remaining intact.
Whatever happens in this World Cup, Argentina will have to rely on these moments of Messi magic if they are to bring the trophy home with them.