With Group A and Group B in the books, it was Group C and D’s turn to sort out who would be advancing to the World Cup knockout round on Wednesday. For Mexico, their 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia wasn’t enough to overcome their goal differential deficit against Poland. Lionel Messi and Argentina downed Robert Lewandowski’s Poland 2-0 meaning that Argentina wins Group C and Poland advance in second place For much of the match it looked like the fair play tiebreaker would be the deciding factor with Mexico and Poland equal on points, goal differential and goals scored, but a late Saudi Arabia goal sealed the deal and dropped Mexico behind Poland. Mexico failed to reach the knockout rounds for the first time since 1978. Poland are through to the final 16 on better goal differential.
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Before that, in Group D Tunisia won 1-0 against France while Australia won 1-0 against Denmark. France, despite losing the match, will advance after winning the group stage while Australia managed to win and will play again in the Round of 16 of the World Cup for the first time since 2006, and only the second time in their history. Denmark ended up last in the group after a very disappointing campaign.
Group C standings
| GROUP C | MP | W-D-L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina (group winners) | 3 | 2-1-0 | +3 | 6 |
| Poland (group runners-up) | 3 | 1-1-1 | 0 | 4 |
| Mexico (eliminated) | 3 | 1-1-1 | -1 | 4 |
| Saudi Arabia (eliminated) | 3 | 1-0-2 | -2 | 3 |
Group D standings
| GROUP D | MP | W-D-L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France (group winners) | 3 | 2-0-1 | +3 | 6 |
| Australia (group runners-up) | 3 | 2-0-1 | -1 | 6 |
| Tunisia (eliminated) | 3 | 1-1-1 | 0 | 4 |
| Denmark (eliminated) | 3 | 0-1-2 | -2 | 1 |
World Cup scores, results
Wednesday, Nov. 30
Tunisia 1, France 0
Australia 1, Denmark 0
Poland 0 vs. Argentina 2
Saudi Arabia 1, Mexico 2
