World Cup 2022: Reasons for Argentina to be confident of beating the Netherlands

La Albiceleste held out to secure a nervy 2-1 win over Australia in the last 16, as Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez struck before an Enzo Fernandez own goal gave the Socceroos a glimmer of hope.

However, Lionel Scaloni's side - who are still regarded as the favourites by many - held out to advance to the last eight and may be slight favourites to set up a semi-final encounter with Croatia or Brazil.

Here, Sports Mole looks at three reasons for Argentina to be confident of sending the Netherlands home and progressing to the final four.

Goalscoring streak

Argentina will forever be celebrated for their ability to produce a consistent array of world-class attackers, and the current Albiceleste crop need no help in finding the back of the net.

Indeed, the Copa America winners have not been shut out since playing out a goalless draw with Brazil in a World Cup qualifying match in November 2021, and Scaloni's men have scored in each of their last 13 fixtures in all competitions.

Scaloni has been handed a slight injury concern to work around with Alejandro Gomez and his sprained ankle, but the fit-again Angel Di Maria has recovered from an adductor issue should be a straight swap for the Sevilla man alongside the prolific Messi and Alvarez.

Being able to bring the likes of Lautaro Martinez and Paulo Dybala off the bench is a luxury that Scaloni should not take for granted, and Netherlands fans should not anticipate their side keeping a clean sheet over the course of 90 or 120 minutes.

Rearguard resilience

Much of the talk surrounding the Argentina defence at the World Cup has centred around the absence of Lisandro Martinez, who has consistently struggled to oust Nicolas Otamendi and Cristian Romero from the XI, but Scaloni has seen no need to fix what is not broken.

Indeed, La Albiceleste have proven extremely difficult to break down on the defensive front recently, and the only goal that they have conceded in their last three World Cup games was that Fernandez own goal against Australia, and even then the Benfica starlet could do nothing about Craig Goodwin's strike which deflected into the back of the net.

Saudi Arabia put two past Emiliano Martinez in the group stage, but that 2-1 loss represents the only time in Argentina's last 27 matches that they have conceded more than one goal in a game since a 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw with Colombia in June 2021.

In total, Argentina have only conceded two goals to opposition players in their last nine matches, but coming up against the deadly duo of Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay will be a true test of La Albiceleste's defensive solidity.

Records on the line

Finally adding an elusive World Cup success to his CV is the only motivation that Messi needs to lead Argentina to glory, but the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is one of two players out to write their name into the history books for Argentina here.

By producing a trademark low finish for his first World Cup knockout stage goal, Messi made it nine strikes at the World Cup for Argentina, whose current record holder in the category is Gabriel Batistuta with 10.

Messi therefore needs just one more effort to equal the legendary forward - although he may not even be aware of individual slices of history as he focuses on the team performance - while Alvarez could also achieve a personal accolade.

After netting against Poland, the Manchester City man made it two goals in two World Cup starts in the meeting with Australia, robbing Mathew Ryan of the ball and finishing calmly to double his side's lead.

Alvarez is now aiming to become the youngest player in 52 years to score in each of their first three World Cup starts - a 21-year-old Teofilo Cubillas did so for Peru in 1970 - while only three Argentina men's players have netted in each of their opening three World Cup starts, most recently Hernan Crespo in 2006.

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