(Reuters) – Argentina are bidding to win a third World Cup title at the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 tournament in Qatar. Here is what you need to know about their route to the final:
HOW DID ARGENTINA QUALIFY FOR THE ROUND OF 16?
* The top two in each World Cup group advance to the last 16. The knockout rounds, which began on Dec. 3, feature one-off matches, which can go to extra time and penalties to decide the winners.
* Argentina recovered from their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia with back-to-back wins over Mexico and Poland to finish as winners of Group C.
HOW DID ARGENTINA REACH THE QUARTER-FINALS?
* Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez scored in Argentina’s 2-1 win over Australia in their Round of 16 tie.
HOW DID ARGENTINA REACH THE SEMI-FINALS?
* Argentina beat the Netherlands 4-3 in a penalty shootout in their quarter-final tie, after Nahuel Molina and Messi’s goals were cancelled out by a brace from Dutch substitute Wout Weghorst.
HOW DID ARGENTINA REACH THE FINAL?
* Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals, with Messi coolly putting away a spot kick in the 34th minute to open the scoring before Alvarez found the net either side of halftime.
WHO WILL ARGENTINA FACE IN THE FINAL?
* Argentina will face France in the final after the 2018 champions beat Morocco 2-0 in the semi-finals.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
