When Argentina needed Lionel Messi during their qualifying campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™, he scored a crucial hat trick to get them to Russia.  Now, heading into a Group D showdown with Nigeria, will he be the man once again and secure his country a spot in the tournament’s last 16 on Tuesday?

With all four teams alive in Group D, things could get wild on Day 13 at the World Cup.  

Both Group D games can be seen Tuesday at 1pm et/10am pt, Nigeria and Argentina can be found across the TSN Network, while Croatia will battle Iceland on TSN2.  Both matches will be streaming on TSN.ca and available on TSN Direct.

Croatia will breathe the easiest at the start of play, they have already booked their place in the Round of 16 and need only a point against Iceland to guarantee themselves first place in Group D.  They can still top the group with a loss, provided Nigeria also fall or they don’t lose the five-goal advantage they hold over them in goal differential.

That’s where the fun begins.

Messi and Argentina are in a must-win situation, they have to get maximum points to jump over Nigeria for second spot in Group D, if they get the win and Iceland does not beat Croatia in their final game, the South American side will play on in Russia.

All of the pressure and the spotlight will be on the Argentinian superstar and TSN soccer analyst Steven Caldwell expects the captain to rise to the challenge.

“To answer the question about Messi, I think he can deliver,” said Caldwell.  “Obviously he’s proved it many times in the past and I think he will, this is the stage he loves.” 

For Argentina’s opponents Nigeria, a win is enough to get them into the knockout stage, while a draw gets the job done, provided Iceland does not beat the group leaders by at least two goals.

Iceland needs a win over Croatia to even enter the conversation.  If they are able to topple the European side, they will rely on goal differential to send them through against Nigeria if the other Group D game ends in a draw or against Argentina, if Messi’s side pulls off the victory in their final game.

It could go right down to the wire before we find out who will join Croatia in the Round of 16 from a very competitive Group D.
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France entered the tournament as one of the favourites to claim the trophy and after two games, have shown no signs of slowing down.  With six points from their opening fixtures, they can top Group C with a single point on Tuesday against Denmark. 

Both Group C games can be seen Tuesday at 9am et/6am pt, Denmark and France will be broadcast across the TSN Network while Australia and Peru can be seen on TSN2.  Both matches will be streaming on TSN.ca and available on TSN Direct.

Heading into that matchup, Denmark also controls its own destiny knowing that a win or draw will be enough to continue their run in Russia.  If they can be the first team to defeat France at the 2018 World Cup, they can steal first in the group and force Les Bleus to go through as the runner-up. 

If Denmark falls to France, they’ll open the door for Australia, who needs a victory over Peru to create a tie for second place in the group.  At that point, goal differential would decide who advances into the last 16, with Denmark starting play at +1 and Australia kicking off at -1.

Of the eight teams that will compete on Tuesday, Peru is the only one that will enter play having already been eliminated from the tournament