Did Argentina have the easiest route to World Cup semi-finals?
Even before Argentina booked their place in the World Cup semi-finals, one statistic had begun attracting attention: Lionel Scaloni's side could reach the last four without facing a single team ranked inside FIFA's top 15.
By defeating Switzerland 3-1 in the quarter-finals, Argentina did exactly that.
The obvious question is: Has any other team in World Cup history enjoyed such a favourable path to the semi-finals?
According to the numbers, the answer is no.
Since the introduction of the FIFA World Ranking system in 1992, and considering every World Cup from 1994 onwards, Argentina are the only semi-finalist to reach the last four without facing a single top-15-ranked nation.
Among Argentina's opponents in this tournament, Switzerland, ranked 19th before the World Cup, were the highest-ranked team they have faced. Before that, the defending champions played Egypt (29), Cape Verde (67), Jordan (63), Austria (24) and Algeria (28).
The average FIFA ranking of those six opponents is 38.
No other World Cup semi-finalist since 1994 has reached the last four after facing opponents with such a low average ranking.
The comparison begins with the 1994 World Cup because the current FIFA World Ranking system was introduced in 1992.
Since 1994, a total of 36 teams have reached the World Cup semi-finals.
Argentina are the only one that did so without meeting at least one team ranked inside FIFA's top 15 before the semi-finals. The rankings used are each nation's final FIFA ranking immediately before the start of the tournament.
France, for example, faced Senegal (15th) in the group stage of this World Cup and Morocco (7th) in the quarter-finals.
Spain had an even tougher knockout route, eliminating Portugal (5th) and Belgium (9th) to reach the semi-finals.
Apart from Argentina, England arguably enjoyed the second-easiest route. Their only top-15 opponents before the semi-finals were Croatia (11th) in the group stage and Mexico (14th) in the Round of 16. Their other four opponents all came from outside the world's top 15.
If the benchmark is narrowed to the world's top 10, neither England nor Argentina faced a top-10-ranked opponent before reaching the semi-finals.
Before Argentina's run, the most favourable routes belonged to a handful of teams.
At the 2018 World Cup, England encountered only one top-15 opponent before the semi-finals—Belgium (3rd) in the group stage.
Uruguay's run to the 2010 semi-finals was similarly kind, with France (9th) the only top-15 side they faced before the last four.
Turkey, surprise semi-finalists in 2002, also met just one top-15 team before the semi-finals—Brazil in the group stage.
Germany, runners-up in the same tournament, faced only two top-15 opponents before the semi-finals: the Republic of Ireland (15th) and the United States (13th).
At the other end of the spectrum, few teams have had to survive a more demanding journey than Morocco at the 2022 World Cup.
Before reaching the semi-finals, Morocco faced four teams ranked inside FIFA's top 15: Croatia (12th) and Belgium (2nd) in the group stage, followed by Spain (7th) and Portugal (9th) in the knockout rounds.
World champions France also endured a difficult route in 2018, taking on Peru (11th), Denmark (12th), Argentina (5th) and Uruguay (14th) before reaching the semi-finals.
Co-hosts South Korea faced an equally formidable challenge at the 2002 World Cup, eliminating or playing against four top-15 teams before the last four: the United States (13th), Portugal (5th), Italy (6th) and Spain (8th).