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There's only one Lionel Messi.

And while the Socceroos are gobsmacked by his unique football ability, they're reminding themselves he's only one player - and he's only human.

"It's going to be a difficult game, probably against the best footballer ever to grace the game," Australian defender Milos Degenek said of their World Cup knockout bout with Messi's Argentina.

"Apart from that, it's 11 against 11. There's not 11 Messis, there's one.

"We know their squad is full of stars ... it's a squad that's immaculate.

"I always love Messi and I think he's the greatest to ever play the game.

"It's not an honour to play against him because he is just a human as we all are.

"It's an honour to be in the round of 16 at a World Cup, that's the honour in itself."

The 35-year-old Messi, in likely his last World Cup, is hailed as the best player of his generation ahead of Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.

If Socceroos linchpin Mathew Leckie had to pick one, his choice is clear.

"I am a Messi man," Leckie told reporters.

"He's naturally is the most talented player I have ever seen with the ball at his feet.

"He just does things that no-one else can do.

"In saying that, we have come across great players in this tournament.

"As long as we're a collective group, as we have been until now, we can stop their strengths, stop them from being dangerous and that is what we will try and do."

Argentina's cup in Qatar began with a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia before Messi and his colleagues downed Mexico and Poland, both 2-0 triumphs.

"Argentina, after their first loss, they have just turned up another level and decided to play to the best of their abilities and to come into every game with a determination to win," Degenek said.

"They are obviously driven by the motivation that it could be Messi's last World Cup and he wants to win ... and end it on a high.

"For us, it's stop that.

"Unfortunately, I am a big fan of his but I would love to win the World Cup more than him to win the World Cup."

The Socceroos, through to the knockout phase of a cup for just the second time, meet Messi and Argentina in Doha on Saturday night (0600 AEDT Sunday).

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Almost 40 years after killing his wife Lynette and disposing of her body, Sydney schoolteacher Chris Dawson will be sentenced to what could be decades in jail.

Justice Ian Harrison is set to conclude a four-decade long wait for Mrs Dawson's family on Friday, handing down his sentence on the convicted wife killer in the NSW Supreme Court.

The decision comes more than 13-weeks after the judge found the 74-year-old guilty of murder and three-weeks after his brother-in-law called him a "conniving monster" during a sentence hearing.

Dawson was found guilty of murdering his wife in January 1982 to have an unfettered relationship with a high school student who was also his babysitter, known as JC.

During the sentence hearing, crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC said Dawson had planned a "deliberate and conscious act" of domestic violence with an intention to kill.

He said a crime of "very great heinousness" required a term of life imprisonment.

Dawson's lawyer Greg Walsh disputed claims the crime was at the high end in terms of objective seriousness.

Mr Walsh said the former Newtown Jets rugby league player had already suffered under the "most constant and egregious publicity" for four decades.

His health was also deteriorating, the court heard, with Dawson showing signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain condition often experienced by those who play contact sports.

Dawson has filed an appeal of his conviction.

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Washing machine repairman Bill Spedding will receive almost $1.5 million in compensation after being maliciously pursued by NSW Police in their investigation into William Tyrrell's disappearance.

On Thursday, Justice Ian Harrison ordered the State of NSW pay $1.48 million plus interest after police charged the 71-year old with historical child sex allegations while searching for the three-year-old after he vanished in September 2014.

The judge found the accusations brought against Mr Spedding in 2015 were "concocted and false and could not be supported" and were brought against him for the collateral purpose of furthering the investigation into William's location.

"I am satisfied that the institution and maintenance of the criminal prosecution was malicious. It was borne of malice directed to Mr Spedding and unrelated to the proper pursuit of the criminal law," Justice Harrison said.

As former detective inspector Gary Jubelin later said in his book I Catch Killers, he hoped the pressure of the additional charges would be "enough to crack (Mr Spedding) open".

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Spedding said he hoped the case would deter the police from taking such steps again.

"No sum of money will restore the life I enjoyed before this terrible nightmare," he said.

"I brought this case to show that police decisions to prosecute must not be taken lightly and, more importantly, must not be taken to achieve some ulterior purpose."

The tradesman was an early high-profile suspect in William's disappearance from a home on the NSW mid-north coast.

Police searched Mr Spedding's Bonny Hills home and drained his septic tank in January 2015, but found no evidence linking him to William.

Before being categorically ruled out in the investigations, he was charged in April 2015 over child abuse claims alleged to have taken place in the 1980s, spending 56 days in custody and then being released on strict bail conditions.

Clear evidence emerged that the complainants had been coached by another person to make the allegations and another person's evidence undermined the case.

In March 2018, Mr Spedding was found not guilty.

Mr Spedding said he was charged for crimes he did not commit, all to further the police prosecution of him as a suspect in William's disappearance.

"The criminal charges brought maliciously against me by police destroyed me and publicly portrayed me as a pedophile," Mr Spedding said on Thursday.

"My reputation was severely and permanently damaged. My family life was torn apart. Our grandkids were taken from us, and their lives have also changed forever."

Justice Harrison awarded Mr Spedding $550,000 for non-economic loss, $300,000 for reputational damage, $200,000 for aggravated damages as further compensation, $300,000 in exemplary damages to punish the NSW government, and $25,000 in future treatment expenses.

"Mr Spedding was subjected to a long and painful ordeal. It never should have occurred. The allegations for which he was prosecuted were old and discredited. They were frail and notoriously so," the judge said.

"Notwithstanding those facts, Mr Spedding's experience left him distressed, confused, wrongly imprisoned and separated from his family.

"His release from custody, which I find to have been extremely distressing and painful, did not restore to him the family from which he had been so improperly removed. Nor has it recovered even now."

The judge also ordered NSW to pay almost $110,000 in Mr Spedding's legal costs.

On Thursday, solicitor Peter O'Brien said his client had to deal with wrongful imprisonment as well as the "febrile condemnation" of the community, which included harassment, intimidation and threats.

"The impact on Mr Spedding and his family is enormous. Mr Spedding faced charges of the most serious nature which caused him tremendous humiliation, embarrassment, and anxiety," he said.

A spokesperson from NSW Police said it would be reviewing the judgment.

"As that review is underway, it would be inappropriate to comment further," they said.

AAP has contacted Police Minister Paul Toole for comment.

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