On to quarterfinals!

As we have come to expect through the WC, Kun stopped by ESPN studios at Doha to talk about Argentina's Round of 16 game against Australia. The victory secured their ticket to quarterfinals, where they'll face off against The Netherlands. Sergio highlighted Lionel Messi's superb performance – while making special mention of many other players of "The Scaloneta", as the national team has been dubbed. He praised Julian Alvarez as a "different breed of player", and applauded Nicolas Otamendi, Enzo Fernandez and Rodrigo De Paul. Sergio summarised his thoughts: "They played great, just like "Huevo" Acuña, and Tagliafico when he jumped into the pitch (during the second half). MacAllister is a smart player with a skill to position himself well. It could have been a 3-0 win, but it's important to maintain composure."

Regarding the next phase of the World Cup, Kun sentenced that "quarterfinals are the key. If we make it through, let me get hyped up. ¿So what if we have to face, say, Brazil next? ¿Do you think they'd be thrilled to see us make it there? They just lost the Copa America finals. We're the last team Brazil wants to see. Quarterfinals are so much more important because of the momentum they generate."

Likewise, he defended the performance of Lautaro Martinez: "He'll be key to this World Cup – he reminds me of myself during the Olympics, when I just couldn't find the net. I was just unable to score. Then in the semifinals against Brazil, I scored twice out of nowhere. I'd stop and think, 'how did I do that?' The more you want to score, the worse it is for you. I became obsessed with scoring and that was that."