Argentina fly-half Felipe Contepomi is convinced the Pumas will qualify from the World Cup's 'Group of Death'.
A crazy seeding system - which has been abandoned for New Zealand in 2011 - has matched Marcelo Loffreda's team alongside hosts France and contenders Ireland.
All three teams are in the top six of the world rankings and would have been assured of passage into the quarter-finals, but instead one of them will be facing an early trip home.
The Pumas, who secured their place at the World Cup following a 26-0 victory over Uruguay in July last year, have qualified for the last eight just once before in 1999.
With such a significant array of talent at coach Loffreda's disposal, they are capable of reaching the semi-finals if they enjoy a successful group campaign.
They start with the World Cup curtain-raiser against hosts France on September 7 and finish their group campaign against Ireland 23 days later and Contepomi is confident Argentina will beat one of them to secure their passage into the knockout stages.
'It's the group of death and we are affected because we have to play the opening game against the hosts,' he said.
'Everybody knows the opening match is organised for the host nation. It's one more difficulty for us, leaving aside the fact that France are one of the world's best teams.
'Our last group game will be against Ireland. We know they are playing well at the moment, but in the middle we have to face Namibia, who have improved a lot, and Georgia, who have lots of players in the French league.
'We should win the two games in the middle and also win one of the two against the powerful teams of the group, so I think we will reach the quarter-finals.'
With a large section of Argentina's squad plying their trade in France, the Pumas can justifiably be bullish about their chances of upsetting the hosts thanks to their inside knowledge.
Until a 27-26 defeat in November they had won the previous four meetings between the Pool D rivals and that record is sure to play on Les Bleus' psyche.
But in Contepomi they also have a player who has spent the last four years with Leinster, gathering a valuable insight into some of Ireland's biggest names.
Provincial team-mates such as Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy are well known to him and he also understands the strengths and weaknesses of Munster and Ireland half-back pairing Ronan O'Gara and Peter Stringer.
'I always say Ireland are the team, in the last four years, that are most improved around the world, not only with their starting XV but also in terms of strength in depth,' said Contepomi.
'We saw some of their fringe players when they toured Argentina in the summer. They have some fantastic players and will be difficult to beat.'
Contepomi, who will be 30 when the World Cup begins, has become a cult hero at Leinster where his mercurial brilliance is appreciated by fans.
Aggressive in attacking the line, a solid defender and an expert kicker, he is a brilliant fly-half and possibly the world's second best in the position behind All Blacks superstar Dan Carter.
His masterclass in the stunning Heineken Cup quarter-final victory over Toulouse last year was vintage Contepomi, although he does have a suspect temperament.
Loffreda has options at fly-half with Federico Todeschini - England's destroyer at Twickenham last November - and Juan Martin Hernandez the alternatives.
Contepomi could be shifted to inside centre, but Loffreda will be reluctant to move his most experienced and dangerous playmaker away from his preferred position.
The Buenos Aires-born back, who qualified as a doctor in May, is a respected figure in Argentina where rugby is growing in popularity but he is happy for football to remain the number one sport.
'The most well-known player is Agustin Pichot. He won the sportsman of the year in Argentina once, and everyone knows his face - and his hair,' said Contepomi.
'Maybe if I grow my hair the girls will like me too, although it's going a bit thin on top unfortunately.
'Football is obviously the big sport in Argentina, but people are beginning to learn their rugby and to recognise the players.
'We're not famous like Diego Maradona, but I think that is a good thing, because in Argentina the public go absolutely mad for people like that.'
