Australia reaches the round of 16 at 2022 World Cup

Mathew Leckie (Steindy, Wikimedia Commons)

Four more teams have qualified for the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and believe it or not, one of the teams happens to be Australia. On Wednesday, Australia beat Denmark 1-0 to remain in second place in Group D. The Australian goal scorer was Mathew Leckie of Melbourne, who scored in the 60th minute on a fantastic individual effort.

For Leckie it was his 14th international goal. However, it was his first goal at the World Cup. Leckie has had seven goals over the years in World Cup qualifying.

Australia actually had the same number of points in Group D as France with six. However, France was able to win the Group, due to the fact that they beat Australia 4-1 on November 22 from Al Wakrah. France actually lost 1-0 to Tunisia on Wednesday.

In Group C action, Argentina beat Poland 2-0, and Mexico beat Saudi Arabia 2-1. Argentina was able to finish in first place in the Group, despite losing their first game of the tournament, 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. Argentina got goals on Wednesday from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez. Mac Allister, who is of Irish descent, scored in the first minute of the second half, while Alvarez scored in the 67th minute. The win for Mexico did not mean anything because they did not win by enough goals. Poland and Mexico had the identical records of one win, one loss, and one draw four points. However, Poland had a for and against ratio of zero, while Mexico was a -1.

Argentina will now play Australia, and Poland will play France. The round of 16 begins Saturday.