These teams have punched above their world rankings over the last 15 years and this will be the fifth successive World Cup in which one of them reaches the semi-final.
Wales looked all at sea in the year leading up to this tournament but have hit their stride in France while Argentina haven’t entirely convinced since their opening defeat to 14-man England.
The teams have met 11 times in the last decade and Wales have won eight times, including the most recent meeting in November when the Welsh were at a low ebb.
- Wales to win by one to 12 points
- Under 44.5 points
- Liam Williams to score a try
Dragons Ready To Roar
Considering the turmoil Wales have been through over the last year they must be delighted with where they are now. Four convincing pool wins, including a 40-6 demolition of Australia, will have done a lot to erase memories of last year’s defeats to Italy and Georgia plus a poor Six Nations, and the Dragons are four-point favourites to reach a third semi-final in four tournaments under Warren Gatland.
Argentina have twice made it to the semis in 2007 and 2015, but went out at the pool stage four years ago in Japan. Although they have strengthened as a team since their inclusion in the Rugby Championship, their pool-stage campaign has been underwhelming.
So often Los Pumas look to their set piece for a winning platform, but Wales have been solid, more than holding their own against the famed Georgia pack and in that win over the Wallabies.
Last autumn was a low point for the Welsh, as three defeats in their November Tests led to the departure of coach Wayne Pivac, but their one win came against Argentina to keep up their strong head-to-head record.
A tournament-ending injury to Taulupe Faletau is a big blow for Wales but fly-half Dan Biggar has been passed fit and Wales should have enough to edge a win in what is likely to be a tense encounter.
Points Set To Be Scarce
Argentina were slow into their attacking stride in Pool D, managing just 10 points against England first up and then beating Samoa 19-10. They made up for it with comfortable wins against Chile and Japan, although they were pretty much on the handicap in both games, and will surely find Wales harder to break down.
After shipping four tries to Fiji in their opening game, Wales conceded just eight points to Portugal and six to Australia, and they kept Georgia to single figures for the best part of an hour in their final pool game when their progress was already assured.
Eight of the last nine games between these teams have produced fewer than 45 points - and the one exception had only 46 - so it’s worth betting that the high stakes involved ensure this is another close-fought clash with points hard to come by.
Williams Ready To Shine
Louis Rees-Zammit has led the way for Wales with five tries at this tournament including a hat-trick last time out against Georgia. Full-back Shane Williams also got on the scoresheet and is having a really good tournament.
Williams was an injury concern during the week but has been cleared to start. He also scored tries in the Six Nations against Italy and Ireland this year and is a decent price to make his mark again by crossing the whitewash.
Liam Williams in top form
Wales vs Argentina Teams
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Jac Morgan (c), 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Gareth Thomas
Bench: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Christ Tshiunza, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Rio Dyer
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Bench: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni
