Argentina faces Australia within the FIFA World Cup spherical of 16 conflict on Saturday evening on the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar. The game will kick off at 12:30 AM Indian Standard Time (IST).
Argentina, who suffered a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia within the opening match, topped Group C after it beat Mexico and Poland.
Equally, Australia additionally began with a loss when France defeated it 4-1. Within the remaining two group matches, it beat Tunisia and Denmark to complete second in Group D and arrange the pre-quarterfinal conflict in opposition to Argentina.
The 2 sides have met seven occasions up to now. Argentina gained on 5 events, and Australia emerged victorious as soon as because the remaining match led to a draw.
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak will likely be accountable for the proceedings tonight.
Who’s Marciniak?
The 41-year-old is a Polish referee. He has expertise officiating the Euro Cup, UEFA Champions League, Ekstraklasa – Poland’s high division – and FIFA World Cup matches.
Marciniak joined the FIFA panel on the age of 30 in 2011 when he officiated Europa League matches. He officiated his first Champions League match in 2012 and made his worldwide debut on the Euro 2016.
That is Marciniak’s second World Cup, and he’s recognized to be operating matches with an iron fist. Within the 2018 World Cup, he officiated two video games. Within the Qatar World Cup, this will likely be his second match. He oversaw the Group D match between France and Denmark. In that match, he booked three gamers.
Within the Champions League this yr, he officiated three matches – Dinamo Zagreb vs AC Milan, Barcelona vs Inter Milan and Marseille vs Tottenham Hotspur – and booked 11 gamers.
Additionally Learn | A confident Australia stands in path of Messi’s Argentina in the Round of 16
Up to now, he was criticised by former Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel after the Premier League facet misplaced to Actual Madrid within the Champions League final season. Tuchel accused Marciniak of ‘having time’ with the Actual Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Marciniak will likely be assisted by his Polish compatriots Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz, whereas Mario Escobar of Guatemala would be the fourth official. The VAR official for this match Tomasz Kwiatkowski can be a Polish nationwide.
Match officers for Argentina vs Australia FIFA World Cup spherical of 16 conflict
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Pawel Sokolnicki (Poland) and Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland)
Fourth Official: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)
VAR official: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland)
