We’re well aware of the age-old cliché of taking it one game at a time – but looking ahead at a World Cup is just too hard to resist.
Especially when it could involve a rematch with Lionel Messi.
So even though we’re very aware that some people could view this as putting a jinx on the Socceroos, we’re going to gaze into our crystal ball and look at who the Socceroos could face next if they overcome Egypt in their Round of 32 clash on Saturday (AEST).
Who will Australia face in the Round of 16 if they beat Egypt?
The winner of the game between Australia and Egypt will take on the winner of the Argentina vs Cape Verde game, which will be played a few hours later, at 8am Saturday AEST.
Defending champions Argentina are heavy favourites to win that game against World Cup debutants Cape Verde, who have been one of the fairy tale stories of this tournament after making it out of their group at the expense of two-time world champions Uruguay.
And even though Messi has been in supreme form so far, breaking all sorts of records on his way to six goals for the tournament, and 19 at World Cups overall, Cape Verde’s defence – and in particular their goalkeeper Vozinha – has been so impressive that not many are expecting a complete blowout, as they might have a couple of weeks ago.
So if Australia beat Egypt, they will either face arguably the greatest player to ever kick a ball, or they will take on a tiny island nation who just defeated him.
FIXTURES: Click here for the full list of confirmed Round of 16 match-ups
WHO WINS IT FROM HERE: The World Cup knockout stage brackets plus printable wall chart
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Bracket by Bola 2026
Have Australia faced Argentina at a World Cup before?
They certainly have!
If the Socceroos end up playing Argentina, it will be the second World Cup in a row that the teams have faced off in the Round of 16.
In Qatar in 2022, the Aussies came within an Emi Martinez leg of pushing Argentina to extra time, with the Aston Villa goalkeeper making an incredible save off a shot from Garang Kuol that, if it went in, would have levelled the scores at 2-2 in stoppage time.
In the end Argentina won 2-1, with Argentina’s goals scored by Messi and Julian Alvarez, while Craig Goodwin’s deflected strike was how the Socceroos found the back of the net that day.
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