Lionel Messi spearheaded Argentina‘s charge to the World Cup quarterfinals by helping to secure a 2-1 victory against Australia on Saturday.
In his 1,000th career match, Messi scored the opening goal with a sublime effort before Julian Alvarez scored in the second half to set up a quarterfinal tie against the Netherlands and knock Australia out of the tournament, as the Socceroos were unable to build upon their fortuitous late goal.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
Despite Argentina’s firepower, Australia managed to limit the early proceedings, keeping them uneventful with neither side exerting any dominance.
But the Socceroos’ defence was breached on 35 minutes as Messi showed his undeniable quality to score his first-ever goal in the World Cup knockout stage.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward started the move with a darting run inside from the right wing — a quick exchange of passes landed him inside the box before he unleashed a left-footed curling shot past Mat Ryan.
Argentina’s grip on a quarterfinal spot was tightened 12 minutes after half-time as Rodrigo De Paul pounced on a slack touch by Australia goalkeeper Ryan, allowing Alvarez to slot into a vacated net, doubling his side’s lead.
A triple substitution for Australia on 72 minutes signified a desperate last roll of the dice by manager Graham Arnold and they were handed a lifeline when an own goal by Enzo Fernandez halved their deficit 13 minutes from time.
Craig Goodwin latched onto a loose ball outside the box and struck a fierce effort first-time, which took a huge deflection off Fernandez, fooling goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and hitting the back of the net.
With renewed optimism, Aziz Behich came close to levelling the game three minutes later as he embarked on a fantastic darting run, beating four Argentina defenders before eventually being thwarted by Lisandro Martinez in the box.
Despite their desire, a comeback didn’t materialise for Australia and their impressive World Cup run ended.