Has Mexico defeated Argentina at the World Cup?
El Tri has played against the two-time World Cup winners on three occasions at the tournament, however, they’ve never managed to walk away with the win.
The top two spots in Group C are up for grabs following the 0-0 tie between Mexico and Poland and the shocking 2-1 win of Saudi Arabia over Argentina on Tuesday. The second matchday of the group will take place on Saturday and one of the key fixtures will be the match between Argentina and Mexico at Lusail stadium.
Mexico’s history against Argentina
The games between both teams are always intense affairs and in truth never one sided, but the Argentina has always come out on top. Their first meeting was during the 1930 FIFA World Cup and on that day Argentina defeated Mexico 6-3 with Guillermo Stabile scoring a hat-trick during the first round of the group stage. It would be more than 70-years before the two sides would meet again and it would be a dramatic clash when they did.
Playing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 16, Argentina would be forced to come from behind in order to book their spot in the next round. Mexico had taken the early lead in the sixth minute with Rafael Marquez finding the back of the net. Yet, it was a lead that would not last long, as La Albiceleste reacted just four minutes later with a Hernan Crespo equalizer.
Ultimately, the game would go to extra time, where in the 98th minute, Maxi Rodríguez scored a screamer with a volley from outside the box to give Argentina the 2-1 win and with a place in the Round of 16. Where their last meeting is concerned, that was during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and this time around, it was in the Round of 16. On that day, it was relatively smooth sailing for the Argentines as they advanced on the back of two goals from Carlos Tevez and one from Gonzalo Higuaín. Though Mexico would have a late surge through Javier Chicharito Hernández who scored near the end of the match, it would not be enough and in the end, Argentina would advance to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 3-1 win.
Now facing a fourth match in their series, it goes without saying that this will be a key match in determining who advances from Group C and who doesn’t Following their aforementioned loss to Saudi Arabia, Argentina are now in desperate need of a win if they are to keep their hopes of advancing alive. Having been considered one of the major favorites to win the tournament, Leo Messi and Co. will likely go all out when they meet Mexico, knowing full well that the team that loses will most likely see their hopes of advancing to the next round snuffed out.