World Cup last 16 preview: England battle for a quarter-final against Poland or France

France, England, and Argentina are in last 16 action at the World Cup and favoured to progress to the next round. Can the heavyweights make it through and set up some exciting quarter-finals in Qatar?

We preview three of the last 16 ties below.

Argentina v Australia

What is potentially Lionel Messi’s final World Cup knockout campaign with Argentina begins with a match against Australia in a round-of-16 tie that many are already suggesting will be a routine Argentina victory.

Based on the performance of the South American side in their win over Poland in the final group stage match, this will be a fairly comfortable victory and set Lionel Messi and co up with a match against Netherlands or USA in the quarter-final.

Argentina are overwhelming favourites at 1/5, and if they play their possession-based and attacking football in the manner they did against Poland, they should cruise through to the next stage with two or three goals under their belt.

Not taking anything away from Australia, who have played a fantastic World Cup so far and are 16/1 to claim the victory, Argentina are a class above most nations when they play their best football, with many tipping them for another World Cup final appearance.

As we know, knockout football can be unpredictable and end in the most dramatic fashion. Argentina are 11/1 to win in extra time and 20/1 to win on penalties, with odds of 29/10 for Argentina to win and both teams to score, something that is certainly on the cards looking at Australia’s impressive scoring run in Qatar.

France v Poland

Another game that is seemingly easy to predict for some as the reigning world champions progress to the knockouts as winners of their group, and with Poland displaying very little in the way of attacking intent in their final group stage match against Argentina on Wednesday night.

The 2018 World Cup winners lost to Tunisia in their last game, but their two previous wins guaranteed them top spot, allowing the manager to rotate the squad and give some young players a chance on the biggest stage.

They are expected to swiftly bounce back and send Robert Lewandowski’s Poland packing, proud of how far they progressed. France are 1/4 to win and set up a tie with the winner of England v Senegal and look most likely to take this 2-0, at 9/2, based on the current odds.

The World Cup joint leading scorer Kylian Mbappe could have a field day if he finds his shooting boots and is 5/6 to score at any time and only 9/2 to score two or more. Scoring his first-ever World Cup goal at this tournament, Robert Lewandowski is 15/4 to net another though he will likely be the only threat Poland carries against a robust France defence and midfield.

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 England v Senegal

After a very impressive opening match beating Iran 6-2, England disappointed their home fans with a below-par performance and draw against USA before bouncing back and comfortably beating Wales in the final match.

The team considered one of the best of the generation in England, will look to progress to the quarter-finals for a date with either France or Poland but standing in their way is a very strong champion of Africa that is used to winning. Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations this year and have continued their momentum into the World Cup with wins over Qatar and Ecuador, cementing themselves as a team to be feared.

Senegal are 13/2 to halt England’s progress and, with their strength in midfield and quick wingers, haven’t seemed to struggle without their injured key man Sadio Mane. Boulaye Dia and Famara Diedhiou have stepped up in his absence and will be the Lions of Taranga’s biggest threat to the England defence. They are both priced at 11/2 to score at any time in the tie.

England however have some star men of their own. Yet to score at the tournament, Harry Kane is still the favourite of the three lions to score first at 14/5, and Marcus Rashford, in hot scoring form, is 8/5 to net at any time and get his fourth goal of the campaign.

It is likely to be a tightly fought affair, with the two teams bound to attack in numbers at some point in the match, even if there are periods of cagey possession play; England over four shots on target and Senegal over two shots on target is a good punt at 21/10.

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