Argentina's smooth path to the semi-finals

Argentina have become the first team since FIFA rankings began in 1993 to reach a World Cup semi-final without meeting any of the current top 10, French newspaper L’Équipe reports.

They have also avoided every former World Cup winner on the way to the last four, with a run built largely against lower-ranked opponents. L’Équipe said Argentina’s average opponent ranking in the tournament was around 38.

Scaloni’s team opened with a 3-0 win over Algeria, beat Austria 2-0 and then got past Jordan 3-1 to top their group. The knockout rounds have been tighter. Cape Verde were beaten 3-2 after extra time, Egypt were edged 3-2 after Argentina came from two goals down, and Switzerland were seen off 3-1 after another period of extra time.

England are now next, and will be Argentina’s first top-10 FIFA-ranked opponent of the tournament. It is the stiffest test of their run so far.