Argentina vs. Australia: How do both squads compare ahead of World Cup clash?

The knockout stages of the 2022 FIFA World World Cup are underway in Qatar as Argentina and Australia go head to head at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Saturday for a place in the quarter-finals.

The reigning Copa America champions overcame an opening-day 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia as they picked up two wins from their final two outings to secure top spot in Group C.

Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez scored second-half goals to see off continental rivals Mexico 2-0 in their second group fixture on November 26 before claiming a 2-0 win over Poland in Wednesday's group finale.

While Lionel Scaloni's men will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling, next up is a spirited Australia side who also head into the weekend on a run of two successive victors after beating the odds in the group stages.

Having kicked off their campaign with a 4-1 loss against current world champions France on November 22, the Socceroos secured successive 1-0 victories over Tunisia and Denmark in their subsequent outings to clinch second place in Group D.

Ahead of Saturday's highly-anticipated matchup between Argentina and Australia, Sports Mole takes a look at how the squads of both nations stack up against each other.

ARGENTINA

Most valuable player: Lautaro Martinez (Â£65m)

Overall squad value: Â£558.9m

Most capped player: Lionel Messi (168)

Leading goalscorer: Lionel Messi (93)

Total caps: 934

Total goals: 170

Oldest player: Franco Armani (36)

Youngest player: Thiago Almada (21)

Average age: 27.8

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Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal), Franco Armani (River Plate)

Defenders: Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Juan Foyth (Villarreal)

Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, (Atletico Madrid), Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Papu Gomez (Sevilla), Enzo Fernandez (Benfica), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Angel Di Maria (Juventus), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Joaquin Correa (Inter Milan), Paulo Dybala (AS Roma), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)

AUSTRALIA

Most valuable player: Mathew Ryan (Â£4.3m)

Overall squad value: Â£32.3m

Most capped player: Mathew Ryan (78)

Leading goalscorer: Mathew Leckie (14)

Total caps: 584

Total goals: 72

Oldest player: Danny Vukovic (37)

Youngest player: Garang Kuol (18)

Average age: 27.1

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Goalkeepers: Mathew Ryan (Copenhagen), Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners), Andrew Redmayne (Sydney FC)

Defenders: Aziz Behich (Dundee United), Milos Degenek (Columbus Crew), Bailey Wright (Sunderland), Fran Karacic (Brescia), Harry Souttar (Stoke City), Nathaniel Atkinson (Hearts), Joel King (Odense), Kyle Rowles (Hearts), Thomas Deng (Albirex Niigata)

Midfielders: Aaron Mooy (Celtic), Jackson Irvine (St Pauli), Ajdin Hrustic (Hellas Verona), Riley McGree (Middlesbrough), Keanu Baccus (St Mirren), Cameron Devlin (Hearts)

Forwards: Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City), Awer Mabil (Cadiz), Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City), Mitchell Duke (Fagiano Okayama), Martin Boyle (Hibernian), Craig Goodwin (Adelaide United), Jason Cummings (Central Coast Mariners), Garang Kuol (Central Coast Mariners)