ARGENTINA'S BIGGEST FOE IS COMPLACENCY

Defending champs seem to have an easier path than their rivals, but must stay wary

- David Lee

As the fog of uncertainty surrounding the World Cup knockout stages dissipated on June 27 when the last 32 was confirmed, world No. 1 Argentina appear to have quite a clear path to at least the semi-finals.

Unlike the other contenders, the defending champions are not projected to meet any top-10 teams until the last four.

Former Venezuela forward Alejandro Moreno said on ESPN UK: “It’s a beautiful bracket for Argentina. They are not seeing any of the big boys until they get to (world No. 13) Colombia, and Colombia are not really big boys per se, so all the way to the quarter-finals it seems very open for Argentina.”

One can argue Lionel Scaloni’s side already had the luck of the draw when they were pulled into Group J alongside Austria (2-0), Algeria (3-0) and Jordan (3-1), who were all dispatched with ease.

They were then rewarded with a last-32 meeting in the bottom half of the bracket with Cape Verde, the second-lowest ranked team remaining in the tournament at world No. 67 based on the June 11 FIFA rankings, ahead of only 73rd-ranked Ghana.

While the top four teams - Argentina, France, Spain and England - are kept apart until the semi-finals, La Albiceleste have the easiest route on paper.

The combined ranking of teams — stronger sides have a smaller numerical value - in Argentina’s quarter is 257, far higher than the one featuring world No. 3 France (197).

Fourth-ranked England’s quarter has a combined ranking of 175, while world No. 2 Spain are, on paper, in the toughest quarter with a combined ranking of 147.

A closer look shows at least one matchup between top-20 sides in every quarter, except Argentina’s.