World Cup Last 16 kicks off; South Korea makes it

Australia takes on Lionel Messi’s Argentina in a David vs Goliath World Cup showdown while the United States look to ambush the Netherlands as the World Cup knockout rounds get under way on Saturday.

After a group stage full of twists and turns, the business end of the tournament kicks off with 16 teams dreaming of plotting a path to the final in Doha on Dec. 18.

The USA and the Netherlands open the second round at the Khalifa Stadium on Saturday, with the Americans aiming to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.

Coach Gregg Berhalter’s USA squad booked their spot in the Last 16 with a 1-0 win over Iran to secure second place in Group B behind England.

While the Dutch possess the greater historical pedigree, reaching three previous World Cup finals, the USA heads into the knockout rounds brimming with confidence.

“It’s a great opportunity, but it’s not something that we’re going into it thinking it’s an honor,” Berhalter said.

“We deserve to be in the position we’re in.”

The US faces a Dutch team that finished first in Group A ahead of Senegal, Ecuador and Qatar without really showing their best form.

In Saturday’s other knockout game, South American giant Argentina faces an Australia side that confounded all expectations by getting out of a Group D that included defending champions France, Denmark and Tunisia.

However, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is not ready to take anything for granted having already seen his team suffer a shock loss to Saudi Arabia earlier in the tournament.

The group phase ended in dramatic fashion on Friday when South Korea reached the knockout phase with an injury-time winning goal against Portugal to set up a meeting with mighty Brazil.

With the clock ticking down at Education City Stadium, the Koreans knew they needed one more goal against Portugal to leapfrog group rivals Uruguay, who were facing Ghana.

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min produced a brilliant assist for Hwang Hee-chan to score the goal that secured a 2-1 victory.

The Korean players then watched the final minutes of Uruguay’s match on a mobile phone as they waited for their place in the Last 16 to be confirmed.

Brazil won Group G despite dropping nine players from their starting lineup and losing 1-0 to Cameroon with Vincent Aboubakar heading in a stoppage-time winner.