Sky Sports’ writers reflect on Saturday’s action as the knockout phase of the World Cup gets under way…

Messi magic lights up this Argentina team

The legs do not move as quickly as before and everyone knows we are in the endgame now but is there a more thrilling sight in football than Lionel Messi with the ball at his feet? Through to another quarter-final after beating Australia, his World Cup dream is alive.

This was Messi’s best game of the tournament. He had the most shots and created the most chances. It needed his magic to unlock the opposition and once he had done so he was really able to enjoy himself. The hope for Argentina is that it is a sign of what is to come.

Argentina have been strong favourites in every game so far and a feature of these matches has been Messi’s attempts to find space when opponents are set on stifling him. But if Argentina do go all the way in Qatar there will be different types of tests ahead.

His performance once his team were ahead might be a hint of how dangerous he could become in the latter stages of this World Cup. If opponents pursue a more open game against Argentina then that could be a big mistake because Messi is still on it.
Adam Bate

Scaloni’s Argentina are still improving

“With Leo playing this beautifully,” said Lionel Scaloni afterwards, “these are very exciting moments.” The Argentina manager deserves huge credit too. He has got this World Cup campaign back on track after that alarming start against Saudi Arabia.

There have been more free-flowing Argentina sides than this one but at each of the last eight World Cups, they have fallen short. This one at least seems likely to maximise its chances. The winning football they delivered at the Copa America is still in them.

The team is clearly built around Messi but Scaloni continues to tweak things, making adjustments both subtle and straightforward. The emergence of Julian Alvarez helps. He brings the energy that is needed given Messi’s relatively limited off-the-ball movement.

Scaloni is able to rotate the full-backs and, tactically, it is interesting that he can comfortably switch to three at the back if the situation demands it. With Angel Di Maria likely to be available again for the quarter-final, there are options. And with Messi, there is always hope.
Adam Bate

Australia exceeded all expectations

Though Argentina were deserved winners, they created little before Messi’s goal and needed some fortune not to concede an equaliser late on. That is testament to the work of Graham Arnold in turning his team into such dangerous opponents at this World Cup.

Scaloni praised Arnold’s team for “pressing very smartly” and in that opening half an hour, in particular, they caused plenty of problems for Argentina. Had Aziz Behich or Garang Kuol snatched a late goal then who knows what might have happened in extra-time.

Expectations had not been high and the coach faced criticism coming into the tournament. But a modest side has made memories in Qatar, winning as many matches at this World Cup as they had won at every other World Cup combined. There should be only pride.
Adam Bate

Van Gaal’s Netherlands show why he favours caution over chaos in win over USA

At the end of the group phase, Louis van Gaal snapped at suggestions from the Dutch media that his side were boring and they needed to open up. His side’s first-half performance against USA in the last 16 seemed like a direct message to the press: I know how to progress at major tournaments.

From the first whistle, the Netherlands allowed USA to have the ball and backed off into a mid-block. The Americans, who had thrived on the energy and enthusiasm of their youthful midfield in their previous matches in Qatar, suddenly found themselves required to pass their way through a well-structured defence. They struggled.

And when they slipped up the Netherlands broke with pace, accelerating up the field with excellence to expose their opponents’ sluggish central defence. It was a ploy which required humility from the favourites – but had the Dutch 2-0 up and comfortable at the break.

In the second half, calmness turned to chaos. Whether it was caused by the Dutch getting over-confident or USA’s decision to throw everything they had at the problem, the game opened up.

Twice the Netherlands had to clear the ball off their goal-line before Haji Wright’s unusual goal halved the deficit for USA. There were chances at both ends – although USA’s ambition was ultimately their downfall, with Denzel Dumfries’ goal, soon after Wright’s strike, ending the chance of a dramatic turnaround.

It was an exciting second half – but unpredictable. And that’s not how Van Gaal wants it to be. He’s never lost a match in charge of them at a World Cup. The Netherlands’ supporters must trust his judgement.
Peter Smith

Lionel Messi starred as Argentina progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Australia.

Messi marked the 1,000th senior game of his career with a measured finish for the breakthrough goal late in the first half, and Mat Ryan’s error allowed Julian Alvarez to double the advantage early in the second.

There were late scares for Argentina after Craig Goodwin’s shot deflected in off Enzo Fernandez, and it needed a dramatic tackle from Lisandro Martinez and a fine save from Emiliano Martinez for them to hold on.

It was a spirited effort from Graham Arnold’s side, who can be proud of their tournament, but it is Messi and Argentina who will face the Netherlands in the last eight. This is not always a fluent Argentina side but with the little genius in the team they can dream.

How Argentina won the game

Aziz Behich may regret his decision to confront Messi. With the game surprisingly sterile, a rare bit of pressing from the Argentina captain prompted the left-back to square up to him and then give away a foolish free-kick soon after. The game changed. The goal followed.

Once ahead, Argentina introduced Lisandro Martinez and reverted to three at the back just as they had when leading Mexico. It was a cautious move but Lionel Scaloni appears determined to learn the lesson of that defeat to Saudi Arabia in the opening game.

There seemed little threat of a repeat once Ryan had erred. Closed down by Alvarez and Rodrigo de Paul, his misguided attempt to dribble between them proved costly. Alvarez dispossessed him and the Manchester City striker then finished neatly.

But when Goodwin’s wild effort deflected in off Fernandez there was a twist. The game opened up and Messi took it up a level, twice setting up Lautaro Martinez only for the striker to waste the opportunities. Incredibly, that almost proved costly because Australia had chances, too.

Behich went on a mazy run that almost brought the equaliser only for Lisandro Martinez to block his shot at the last. And with the final kick of the game Newcastle United teenager Garang Kuol had a shot well saved by the Argentina goalkeeper.

What drama. But it was Messi smiling at the end.

Analysis: Messi magic lights up this team

This was Messi’s best game of the tournament. He had the most shots and created the most chances. It needed his magic to unlock Australia and once the game opened up he was really able to enjoy himself. The hope for Argentina is that it is a sign of what is to come.

Argentina have been strong favourites in every game so far and a feature of these matches has been Messi’s attempts to find space when the opposition is set on stifling him. But if Argentina go all the way in Qatar there will be different types of tests ahead.

His performance once his team were ahead might be a hint of how dangerous he could become in the latter stages of this World Cup. If opponents pursue a more open game against Argentina then that could be a big mistake because Messi is still on it.

Scaloni satisfied | Di Maria back soon

“We are very satisfied,” said Scaloni afterwards. “It was a very challenging game and very useful to understand how difficult this competition is. They pressed us. They were fresher than us. The first half was tough but Messi scored the opening goal and we improved.

“We adapted a few things, bringing on Lisandro Martinez. I thought we needed to look for something different and I think that we improved with this substitution. I don’t think we deserved to suffer as we did in the last minutes because we had chances before that.

“Angel Di Maria was unfit today. Hopefully he will be able to play in the next game. It is always tempting to bring him on when he is on the bench but I don’t think we would have been helping anyone to bring him. We hope that he keeps evolving and will be ready soon.”

Opta stats – Messi’s numbers and more

• Argentina have progressed from five of their last six round of 16 matches at the World Cup, the only exception during this run coming in 2018 against eventual champions France.
• The round of 16 remains the furthest stage that Australia have ever reached at the World Cup, also eliminated at this point of the competition in 2006 against Italy, who went on to lift the trophy.
• Julian Alvarez became the sixth player to score in each of their first two World Cup starts for Argentina, and the first to do so since Hernan Crespo in 2006.
• Lionel Messi scored in the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time for Argentina, with his previous eight goals in the competition all coming during the group stage. Only Gabriel Batistuta (10) has scored more World Cup goals for Argentina than Messi (9).
• Messi made his 1000th career appearance in this match for Argentina (169), Barcelona (778) and Paris Saint-Germain (53). He has 789 goals and 338 assists. Australia were the 129th team he has scored against in his career.

Lionel Messi missed a penalty but Argentina still clinched top spot in Group C with a 2-0 win over Poland, who squeezed into the last 16 on goal difference ahead of Mexico on a night of high drama.

Argentina went into the game a point behind Poland knowing a second-placed finish would pit them against France in the last 16, but goals from Alexis Mac Allister (46) and Julian Alvarez (67) after Wojciech Szczesny had saved a contentious Messi penalty secured a deserved win which means they will face Australia instead.

For Poland, qualification was hanging in the balance right until the end, Czeslaw Michniewicz’s side sensationally set to advance on fair play points before Saudi Arabia’s stoppage-time goal in their 2-1 loss to Mexico put the Poles through on goal difference.

Poland played out the final stages of their game knowing another goal for either Argentina or Mexico would knock them out of the competition, and needed a goalline clearance from Jakub Kiwior in stoppage time to keep the deficit at only two.

With Mexico ultimately only winning by a single goal, however, and despite a poor Poland performance in which Robert Lewandowski did not even register a shot, the Poles did just enough to set up a meeting with reigning champions France on Sunday in what will be their first World Cup knockout game since 1986.

How Argentina dominated Poland

Argentina totally dominated the game from the outset, with Messi, clearly determined to build on his match-winning display against Mexico following the shock loss to Saudi Arabia, forcing a smart save from Szczesny with a powerful early effort.

The 35-year-old was Argentina’s main creative outlet too, popping up in midfield areas and repeatedly picking out team-mates in dangerous positions, only for the finish to be lacking.

Julian Alvarez, selected up front in place of Lautaro Martinez, spurned a fine opportunity from a Molina cut-back, his low effort blocked by a Poland defender when he should have scored, with Marcos Acuna then firing narrowly wide from the follow up.

Acuna wasted two other chances from Messi passes and Alvarez was denied twice more in the first half too, the Manchester City striker seeing a one-on-one effort blocked by Szczesny, then having another effort parried.

It was Messi, though, who missed Argentina’s biggest opportunity, his spot kick brilliantly saved by Szczesny following a VAR check which saw the Poland ‘keeper harshly deemed to have fouled the Paris Saint-Germain striker as he headed a cross wide.

Poland boss Michniewicz made a double substitution at the break in an attempt to change the course of the game, throwing on Michal Skoras and Jakub Kaminski to support the isolated Lewandowksi, but Argentina’s opener arrived within a minute.

Brighton’s Mac Allister scored it, finding the bottom corner with a scuffed finish from Nahuel Molina’s precise cut-back for his first international goal.

Kamil Glik headed a rare Poland chance wide from a free-kick soon afterwards, but it was all Argentina otherwise, with Mac Allister threatening a second before Alvarez finally got his goal, collecting an Enzo Fernandez pass and curling home brilliantly.

Poland were hugely fortunate not to concede again, with Sczesny denying the brilliant Messi, who put on a passing masterclass as he continued his chase for the one trophy that has eluded him.

There were further opportunities for Alvarez and substitutes Martinez and Nicolas Tagliafico, too, with the latter’s effort requiring a dramatic goalline clearance from Kiwior in the third minute of stoppage time.

In the end, though, Poland held on, claiming a place in the last 16 that their performance hardly merited. They will need to be much better against France.

What does the result mean?

Argentina go through as Group C winners with six points from their three games, while Poland go through as runners-up with four points, advancing ahead of Mexico, who join Saudi Arabia in crashing out of the competition on goal difference.

Argentina will now face Group D runners-up Australia in their last 16 game on Saturday, kicking off at 7pm, while Poland come up against Group D winners France on Sunday, kicking off at 3pm.

Analysis: Messi fuelled by destiny

There was no goal for Lionel Messi. That despite a total of seven shots, one of which was a penalty brilliantly saved by Wojciech Szczesny. But this was a performance to suggest he may yet be destined to carry Argentina to the biggest prize of them all.

The 35-year-old, fresh from scoring the sensational long-range strike which helped Lionel Scaloni’s side overcome Mexico in their last game, produced his best display yet at the tournament, the missed spot kick a blot that ultimately did not matter.

That was largely because of everything else he did.

The records will show Messi had no hand in the goals, with Enzo Fernandez and Nahuel Molina the men to claim the assists for Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez. But even if the last pass wasn’t always his, Messi was involved at some point in almost every attack.

He had struggled to exert his usual influence against Saudi Arabia and Mexico but not this time. Messi had 98 touches, around 50 per cent more than in either of Argentina’s previous games, and that total included 13 in the Poland box.

It was further back, though, in between the lines, that Messi produced most of his best work, producing a masterclass in distribution as Poland’s discombobulated defenders found themselves completely unable to keep up with him.

Some of his passes were sublime and, in addition to his seven shots, the statistics showed he was directly responsible for creating five scoring chances – two more than anyone else on the pitch.

There were even five dribbles – more than twice as many as any other player on either side. At times, the feints, shimmies and sudden bursts of acceleration harked back to his glorious peak.

The question now is whether, at 35, the climax of his extraordinary career is still to come. This Argentina side are flawed in many ways. But they also have Messi. With him in this kind of mood, fuelled by an irresistible sense of destiny, they are serious contenders.

Michniewicz: My heart stopped

Poland head coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said his “heart stopped” during the anxious closing stages of the 2-0 defeat as his side’s qualification hopes went to the wire and midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak’s yellow card lessened their fair play advantage.

“We had an agreement that only me and the technical staff would be across what was happening in the Mexico match, at one point in time I did pass on some information to Robert [Lewandowski],” he said.

“My heart stopped a bit when Grzegorz Krychowiak was booked, we knew it was minus three points and fair play was already taken into consideration.

“So Piotr Zielinski was supposed to leave but we substituted Krychowiak because for five minutes we didn’t have control of the game and couldn’t make the substitution, while he was endangered by the second yellow card.

“My technical staff told me there was only a difference of two or three yellow cards so it was very close, we were at a difficult time when it was 2-0.

“The mistake of Krychowiak could have made us go back to the hotel and pack but now I hear we are going to play France.

“I told them to avoid stupid cards, we were doing anything to avoid any provocation, avoid talking to referees.”

He added: “We lost the game, it is very important but sometimes those defeats are bittersweet – or bitter and sweet – this was our case, we lost but we went through.

“After many, many years we went through to the next stage, I would like to congratulate my whole team and staff.

“We are very happy about it, we have worked hard, we have gained four points, the rules have been clear from the very beginning, we knew what was counted was the goals but also the yellow cards.”

Mac Allister: This gives us confidence

Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister described his goalscoring performance, as Argentina booked their place in the last 16, as a “dream come true” after the game.

“We wanted to compensate for that defeat [against Saudi Arabia],” he said. “In the second group game, we found the calm we needed.

“Today, it was a great team game, the best of the group, it gives us great confidence to have played well. We were always positive, we were calm. Leo’s penalty didn’t get us down, neither the team nor Leo.

“It’s so emotional for me [to score], and for the whole squad. We achieved the first goal, of coming top in the first round. It’s a dream come true. Debuting with this team was such a pride for me, so imagine scoring a goal in a World Cup.

“I’m so happy, now we just have to rest and prepare for the next match.”

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni added: “Maybe we didn’t play that well against Saudi Arabia but we had the chances to win.

“We ended up losing, so all matches are tough and if you think that the match against Australia is going to be easy you are wrong.

“When you are defeated you have to move on, you can’t keep thinking about that defeat – we had two more games to play and we have gone through now. We knew we had to win the remaining games.”

Argentina’s dominance – Opta stats

• Argentina completed 800 passes and had a pass completion rate of 92 per cent in this match – both of which were their highest in a World Cup game on record (since 1966).
• Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez both scored their first goals at the World Cup, with only Brazil (83) and Germany (77) now having more different scorers in the competition than Argentina (62, excluding own goals).
• Poland’s Wojciech Szczesny became just the third goalkeeper on record (since 1966) to save two penalties in a single World Cup tournament (excluding shootouts), after Brad Friedel in 2002 and Jan Tomaszewski in 1974.
• Lionel Messi made his 22nd appearance at the World Cup in this game, which saw him overtake Diego Maradona (21) to become the player with the outright most appearances in the tournament for Argentina.
• Despite their defeat in this game, Poland qualified from the group stage of a World Cup tournament for the first time since 1986. They had failed to do so in each of their previous three appearances at the tournament prior to this year (2002, 2006 and 2018).
• Argentina have qualified from the group stage at the World Cup for the fifth consecutive tournament (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022), while they have now progressed from the first round group stage for the 13th time in their last 14 World Cup appearances.

Masterful Messi fuelled by destiny

There was no goal for Lionel Messi against Poland. That despite a total of seven shots, one of which was a penalty brilliantly saved by Wojciech Szczesny. But this was a performance to suggest he may yet be destined to carry Argentina to the biggest prize of them all.

The 35-year-old, fresh from scoring the sensational long-range strike which helped Lionel Scaloni’s side overcome Mexico in their last game, produced his best display yet at the tournament, the missed spot kick a blot that ultimately did not matter.

That was largely because of everything else he did.

The records will show Messi had no hand in the goals, with Enzo Fernandez and Nahuel Molina the men to claim the assists for Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez. But even if the last pass wasn’t always his, Messi was involved at some point in almost every attack.

He had struggled to exert his usual influence against Saudi Arabia and Mexico but not this time. Messi had 98 touches, around 50 per cent more than in either of Argentina’s previous games, and that total included 13 in the Poland box.

It was further back, though, in between the lines, that Messi produced most of his best work, putting on a masterclass in distribution as Poland’s discombobulated defenders found themselves completely unable to keep up with him.

Some of his passes were sublime and, in addition to his seven shots, the statistics showed he was directly responsible for creating five scoring chances – two more than anyone else on the pitch.

There were even five dribbles – twice as many as any other player on either side. At times, the feints, shimmies and sudden bursts of acceleration harked back to his glorious peak.

The question now is whether, at 35, the climax of his extraordinary career is still to come. This Argentina side are flawed in many ways. But they also have Messi. With him in this kind of mood, fuelled by an irresistible sense of destiny, they are serious contenders.
Nick Wright

Has Deschamps disrupted France’s momentum?

Winning your first two group games in a major tournament can actually cause more headaches than people realise.

Didier Deschamps found that out against Tunisia. Do you keep on rolling by playing the same players that got you into such a dominant position or rest the legs of your star men? You can of course do a bit of both. That is usually how managers approach such a situation.

Yet, Deschamps took a sledgehammer to his team, making nine changes with the hope of his fringe players sending him a message much like the way Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden did for England on Tuesday evening. Well, France did the opposite. They froze which resulted in a lethargic and wholly imbalanced performance that didn’t come to life until Kylian Mbappe arrived on the scene with 25 minutes to go.

France are fancied to go very close in this tournament but if you look at their key rivals Brazil and England, both those teams have benches with the X-factor. France, on this showing, are going to have to rely on a key core of four or five players in order to double up in this World Cup.
Lewis Jones

Why Poland task will not worry France

The margins could not have been finer. It came down to one Saudi Arabia goal in the end, but Poland and Mexico fans alike were hastily googling yellow cards for a 20-minute spell in the final games of Group C.

Although it ended up being a happy evening for Poland in one respect, in many others it was incredibly worrying.

They had just under 27 per cent of possession against Argentina and no shots on target. Poland only registered four shots overall and just one corner, showing how little they ventured into the opposition half.

In their opener against Mexico, they failed to find the net. However, against Saudi Arabia, they had just nine shots, but scored twice. The Middle East nation racked up 16 shots, but were kept at bay by a Poland defence that did not concede until they faced Argentina.

In fact, it has been goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny who has driven them to a last-gasp last-16 spot. His save from Lionel Messi’s spot kick – which shouldn’t have been a penalty to begin with – epitomised the form he is in.

But Wednesday’s game drastically exposed Poland’s lack of attacking bite with no service to one of the world’s best forwards in Robert Lewandowski. While Szczesny was superb in goal, Poland gave the ball away far too cheaply and too often, overran by an Argentina side who knew what their goal was and where it was, for that matter.

Poland face France in their last-16 match on Sunday and nothing the World Cup holders have seen so far will worry them. Didier Deschamps was afforded the luxury of rotating his squad against Tunisia earlier on Wednesday, giving his starting players a vital extra rest ahead of the knockout rounds.

Simply put, in just three days, Poland need to find a way of subduing a talented France frontline and also getting service into their most talented player. It’s not an easy task, but the only way you can see Poland having a chance of reaching the quarter-finals based on their performance against Argentina.
Charlotte Marsh

Saudi Arabia exit World Cup as heroes

Saudi Arabia will always have that remarkable victory over Argentina. Those incredible five second-half minutes when Herve Renard’s side turned the game on its head to stun Lionel Messi and the world.

Who scored the winning goal for Saudi Arabia in their shock win against Argentina? Salem Al-Dawsari will be a pub quiz answer for decades to come.

It was always going to be the toughest act to follow. We never saw Saudi Arabia reach those heights again in Qatar.

Al-Dawsari was the focal point of their World Cup hopes yet he will forever wonder what might have been had his penalty not been saved in their defeat to Poland – but he had the last laugh against Mexico.

Saudi Arabia looked tired in the Group C finale, stifled by a Mexico side whose objective was clear: must-win. They still showed hallmarks of their famous Argentina success, though, defending with everything they had to repel wave after wave of attacks.

Saudi Arabia’s spirit was never broken. Al-Dawsari ran the ball back to the centre circle after scoring his late goal even though their qualification hopes had ended long before.

Renard’s team will return to their country as heroes – and that is the real victory of their memorable World Cup.
David Richardson

Leckie punishes Denmark and avoids unwanted record

The manner of Australia’s win over Denmark, sealing their progression to the knockout stages of the World Cup for just the second time in their history, just about summed up both teams.

Despite heading into this World Cup with the best qualifying record of all European nations, all the discussion around Denmark in the build-up to their Group D decider centred on whether they were able to finish their chances off.

The answer ended up being a resounding no, with former Middlesbrough and Barcelona striker Martin Braithwaite – who was one of three players brought into the starting line-up – cutting a particularly anonymous figure up front.

By contrast, Australia, who looked on the ropes early on as they soaked up wave after wave of Denmark pressure, made the most of their opportunities, registering more shots on target than the Danes, despite mustering barely 30 per cent of the possession.

Mathew Leckie’s goal epitomised the belief, togetherness and the tenacity of this Australian side, who struggled in the second half of their World Cup qualifcation campaign, needing to play and win two rounds of play-offs just to reach Qatar.

Leckie’s first apearance at a World Cup was back in 2014, and his expertly taken goal to round off a precision Australia counter-attack saw him avoid claiming an unwanted record – he had taken the joint most shots on goal for a player never to have scored at a World Cup (16) before his winner against Denmark.

Australia had lost eight of their 11 matches against European opposition heading into the game, but they won this one, and will prove tricky opposition in their last-16 tie with Argentina on Sunday if they can replicate the disciplined performance they put in against Denmark.
Dev Trehan

Tunisia learn their lesson too late

When Antoine Griezmann’s 98th-minute equaliser was ruled out after the latest of VAR calls at the Education City Stadium, there were a swell of mixed emotions for Tunisia.

It was a bittersweet moment.

The North African nation had, at the fifth attempt, registered their first-ever win against France – the reigning world champions – and deservedly so. But it also did not matter one bit in the context of the 2022 World Cup.

Jalel Kadri’s men did as much as they could on the day, but progression to the last 16 was dependent on Australia failing to beat Denmark in the other Group D clash. Matthew Leckie’s strike ensured that would not be the case.

Truthfully, had they been more potent in attack in their previous two matches, Tunisia might not have found themselves in such a precarious position. They defended admirably against Denmark, yet had just one shot on target, and lost out to Australia by a single goal in a game they, arguably, had the better of.

They got nearly everything right against France and even kept just their third clean sheet in World Cup history. Perhaps they had a spring in their step when they discovered Didier Deschamps made an incredible nine changes to the team that beat the Danes on Saturday.

Drama in the dying embers almost robbed them of a famous win, but though they did eventually get it, it was not enough to see them crash out at the group stage for the sixth time in six appearances on the world stage.
Dan Long

Former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has told Sky Sports News he is “open” to a managerial return with a national team.

The 50-year-old has been out of work since the summer after being sacked by PSG in July and was linked with the Aston Villa job last month, before Unai Emery was appointed as Steven Gerrard’s replacement.

But the Argentine’s next managerial step could come internationally with the former Southampton boss revealing he would be interested in taking charge of a national team.

He exclusively told Sky Sports News in Qatar: “It wasn’t under my consideration to go [into international management] but now, yes I am open. Why not?

“Yes, of course we are still young, full of energy, and day-by-day I like the adrenaline to train, to be involved. Maybe the national team is a different job, but why not.

“If it’s not the next job, then maybe in the future.

“It’s not specific that all I want is Argentina. If another country, why not? For sure, that would be good also.”

‘England’s quality means they’ll be feared’

England qualified for the knockout stages of the World Cup on Tuesday night with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Wales to set up a last-16 clash against Senegal on Sunday.

Pochettino has been following the World Cup in Qatar and believes England have a great chance of winning their first major tournament since 1966.

He said: “France or different national teams could be in trouble when they face England.

“England have the quality to be one of the teams with an opportunity to win the World Cup.

“I saw a very good performance against Wales, and I believe the quality is there. It’s all about believing and performing in a way which can grant you the possibility to be there.

“But I really, really believe this year England can fight to try to lift the World Cup.

“[Gareth] Southgate is doing a fantastic job. He was a little bit unlucky in the final of the Euros against Italy, but he’s doing a fantastic job and deserves a lot of credit.”

Poch: I’ve always liked Rashford

Marcus Rashford starred for England on Tuesday night as he scored twice against Wales in a player-of-the-match performance.

The Manchester United forward was reportedly a target for PSG in the summer and Pochettino revealed he is a huge admirer of the 25-year-old.

“I’ve always liked [Rashford],” he said. “I knew of his process because I was in England, but I think he’s a great player.

“He just needs the confidence and for himself to believe, to put him at the top level. The quality is there for him.”

‘Messi doesn’t need to win World Cup to be one of the greatest’

Former Argentina midfielder Pochettino has also backed his home nation to improve at the tournament after a rocky start saw them suffer a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia before recovering with a 2-0 win over Mexico.

He said: “Argentina’s performances are going up. It was tough for the big names like Argentina and Germany in the first games, but I think the performances are getting better and better.

“I think we saw many games where the principle thing was fight. We didn’t see great quality, only in a few games. But I think it’s going to improve, and Argentina are most certainly in that place.

“Because of the preparation, only having one week to organise things, we are going to see better performances from teams as it goes on.”

Pochettino managed fellow countryman Lionel Messi at PSG but feels it is not imperative for the 35-year-old to lift the World Cup to cement his legacy.

“Messi doesn’t need to win the World Cup to be one of the greatest, in my point of view,” he said. “He’s won the Ballon d’Or seven times.

“Of course, there’s a big debate about this but for me, he is on the same level as [Diego] Maradona.

“For sure, all the players want to win the World Cup, it’s the dream when you are a child. He has the same idea in his mind, and I hope it happens because he has given so much to football.

“Now there is a possibility for football to reward Messi.”