Wales v Argentina LIVE: Rugby World Cup final result and reaction as Nicolas Sanchez late try sinks Wales

Moments after his side produced an outstanding showing against France last week, Uruguay captain Andres Vilaseca wanted to make a point. “The first comment that comes to my mind is the number of journalists I see here, compared to the press conference for our team announcement where we only saw two people,” Vilaseca sounded off to a packed press room. “I just wanted to highlight how few journalists were there.”

Welcome to the Rugby World Cup away from the elite. Uruguay take on Italy in their second pool fixture on Wednesday evening, the third tournament match in five days in Nice. After the fervour brought by the travelling fans at the weekend, when Wales took on Portugal and England met Japan, the city feels strangely subdued; the big tournament buzz, mostly, gone.

Vilaseca would have been slightly happier at Monday’s Los Teros team announcement for the Italy game – the number of journalists in attendance had trebled. Not that many more could have come: the media session was held in a space the size of a broom cupboard, leaving the players waiting to speak, squashed into chairs up against the wall like truant children called in to see the head teacher.

A World Cup semi-final place is on the line as Wales take on Argentina in Marseille.

Warren Gatland’s side arrive at this stage unbeaten, topping Pool C to set up this encounter with the Pumas, who have bounced back well from a disappointing defeat to England in their tournament opener.

Both sides have suffered significant injury blows ahead of the last eight fixture, with key back rowers Taulupe Faletau and Pablo Matera ruled out.

The battle between the remodelled units at the base of the scrum shapes as just one key battleground in an intriguing tactical encounter.

Here are three key areas that could prove decisive on Saturday.

A relatively even split of Wales and Argentina fans outside the Stade Velodrome, making their way off the metro and into this wonderful arena. The Welsh contingent are struggling rather more with the heat than the South Americans, who are bringing all sorts of passion and energy, dancing to the brass band on the steps up to the gates. It should be lively today - the atmosphere here on the opening weekend was electric and the arrival of the knockout stages should only heighten the intensity.

By now, the hoodoo is well known. It follows the team around every four years. As a Rugby World Cup comes into view, the whispers start: ‘is this the time that they finally do it?’ The confidence builds during the group stage, fans dare to dream but then the quarter-final arrives and the result is always the same.

Seven Rugby World Cup quarter-finals for Ireland’s men’s team, seven defeats. Throw in a quarter-final play-off defeat in 1999 and their record reads: eight knockout games, eight losses. For a team that has won Six Nations grand slams, secured autumn and summer tour wins over all the southern hemisphere giants and been ranked No 1 in the world, it’s an inexplicable jinx.

But this year feels different (where have we heard that before…) They head into Saturday’s last-eight clash with New Zealand, the mighty All Blacks, as deserved favourites. They’re the undisputed best team in the world, on a 17-Test winning streak and have a ruthless winning mentality honed under head coach Andy Farrell.

Those eight previous losses don’t matter, even the 46-14 humbling to these very same All Blacks at this very stage in Japan four years. This is Ireland’s time, right?

Eddie Jones is set to seal a return to Japan, a report has claimed, as speculation intensifies over the Wallabies coach’s future.

The veteran coach returned to Australia at the start of 2023 but has endured a difficult start to his second stint in charge, culminating in a first-ever pool stage exit from a men’s Rugby World Cup.

A young Wallabies squad were beaten by Fiji and Wales in Pool D, with the Pacific Islanders’ losing bonus point against Portugal on Sunday sufficient to seal an early departure for Jones’s side.

The squad was unsettled by a report in the Sydney Morning Herald alleging that Jones had held a secret meeting with the Japanese Rugby Football Union (JRFU) just a fortnight before the tournament began.

Japan coach Jamie Joseph has left his role, leaving a vacancy in a position Jones previously filled between 2012 and the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The Rugby World Cup has reached the quarter-final stage, with the last eight decided on a thrilling final pool stage weekend.

Ireland dashed Scotland’s dreams in Paris as Andy Farrell’s side produced another statement of tournament candidacy, while France and New Zealand took care of business to progress from Pool A.

In the bottom half of the draw, Argentina outlasted Japan to set up a quarter-final against Wales, and Portugal produced the performance of the round to stun Fiji in Toulouse for a first ever World Cup win.

The defeat did not prevent the Pacific Island side progressing, though, with a losing bonus point enough to knock Australia out of the tournament.

How do the eight remaining nations stack up in our power rankings? Here, The Independent assesses how every country is looking as we reach the knockout phase.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has hit out at critics of the lopsided Rugby World Cup draw, suggesting that nations unhappy about facing tough opposition have “just got to deal with it”.

A draw made based on rankings from almost four years before the tournament determined the pools for this year’s event in France, and has a left the four top-ranked nations in the world vying for only two semi-final spots.

Scotland, meanwhile, entered the World Cup ranked fifth in the world but are already out of the tournament after suffering a bruising loss to South Africa, before being humbled by Ireland to exit in the pool stages.

Jac Morgan has received a ringing endorsement of his all-round quality as he prepares for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final appointment with Argentina.

Wales co-captain Morgan is expected to skipper the side, as he did for critical pool-stage victories over Fiji and Australia, against the Pumas in Marseille.

The Ospreys forward has arguably been Wales’ outstanding player of the tournament and it has earned him acclaim after displaying similar attributes to former back-row stars Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric.

Warburton was 22 – a year younger than Morgan – when he captained Wales to the 2011 World Cup semi-finals and similarities have often been made between the two.

After spending so much of the first half of this year searching for a sense of direction and calm, the feeling of contentment and confidence around Wales this week has been clear.

Warren Gatland’s side are right where they want to be. It helps, of course, that the squad have spent their days leading up to a quarter-final meeting with Argentina at a beachside idyll in charming Toulon, away from the intensity of Marseille along the French south coast.

But having begun the summer looking something of a rabble, this tournament could hardly have gone much better. Wales have settled on a starting side, are playing well and boast a four-from-four record so far in France.

Warren Gatland says it would be “a huge achievement” if Wales reach their third Rugby World Cup semi-final in the last four tournaments by beating Argentina on Saturday.

Gatland’s team face the Pumas in Marseille after dominating a pool that some thought they might not qualify from following a dismal Six Nations campaign last season.

Four successive wins and 19 points collected saw them leave sides like Fiji and Australia in their slipstream to set up the Pumas clash at Stade Velodrome.