By Rich Freeman,
Argentina head into their crunch Pool D game with Japan on Oct. 8 at the Rugby World Cup knowing that a draw could be enough to see them qualify for the quarterfinals.
The Pumas' 59-5 win over Chile on Saturday in Nantes saw them rise to second place in the pool, equal with Japan on nine points, but ahead of the Brave Blossoms on points difference.
If things end all square in Nantes in terms of the final score and number of bonus points, awarded for scoring four tries, then Argentina would advance to play the winners of Pool C, most likely Wales.
Samoa are currently fourth and could technically still qualify as group runners-up if they beat England by at least 29, while earning a bonus point, with the Argentina-Japan game also ending in a draw, and neither side getting a bonus point.
Current World Cup rules make points difference the deciding factor when three teams are level.
"If all three teams are tied, it would come down to points difference, so theoretically, yes," Samoa could advance, a World Rugby spokesman confirmed in an email to Kyodo News.
A win for either Japan or Argentina would ensure the calculators are not needed, and the South Americans are aware of what they are up against.
"They (Japan) are a team that has qualified for the quarterfinals in the last Rugby World Cup, a team that we know is going to be very tough. It is a round-of-16 game with them," assistant coach Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe said Sunday.
Argentina's win over Los Condores saw them finally break free of the shackles that held them back, not just in their opening-round loss to England, but also in their narrow win over Samoa.
And Lobbe knows there is room for even more improvement.
"The first line on which everything is built is our set-pieces, the breakdown and our defense. These are things that have been working well but they have to work even better," he said.
"Then, on that first base, the game is built with the foot, the attack. That first baseline of your game is equivalent to almost all of rugby. It is important that it is oiled."
Japan showed plenty of improvement in their win last week against Samoa and Lobbe said the Pumas are taking nothing for granted.
"It is a dynamic team, with a clear idea of what they want, a very, very difficult opponent," he said.
"They are a very well-prepared team, with a very good coach (Jamie Joseph). It will be a tough game."
Asked which players had impressed him, Lobbe said "Their No. 10 (Rikiya Matsuda), their forwards, former captain Michael Leitch, their hooker (Shota Horie). They are a team that was in the quarterfinals at the World Cup in 2019 and we couldn't."
"We know that they will want to be among the top eight and so are we. It's going to be a great battle."
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