Lionel Andrés Messi grabbed goal number 9 at the World Cup during his 1,000th senior game in his career to help Argentina secure a spot in the quarter final of the competition over Australia.
Although there was not much of a gap between Argentina and Australia, Argentina took a 1-0 lead into halftime at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Graham Arnold’s team played with precision and discipline off the ball, but they were unable to do much offensively to test Emiliano Martinez, the goalkeeper for Argentina.
Even though they had a lopsided majority of the possession, Lionel Scaloni’s team struggled to produce chances.
LIONEL MESSI SCORES HIS FIRST-EVER WORLD CUP KNOCKOUT STAGE GOAL!! 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/zdgak9Q6Gi
— ESPN (@espn) December 3, 2022
Ten minutes from interval, Messi’s goal handed the Albiceleste the lead after a cleared free-kick was capitalized on by Mac Allister, who then started the crucial passing sequence that resulted in the PSG star’s low finish past a sprawling Ryan.
His first goal for Argentina in a World Cup knockout round. 12 minutes into second half, Alvarez doubles the lead for Argentina.
Following Ryan’s throw, the Argentina’s midfield jumped up right away to try and get the ball back as a result of their effective pressing.
Rowles’ errant pass back puts the goalkeeper under duress within his area, allowing Alvarez to take it back and slam it into an open goal.
77 minutes on, Australia changed the dynamic of the game as they pulled one goal back into the game.
The goal unexpectedly occurred when Goodwin’s 25-yard shot took a touch off Fernandez’s face and caught the goalkeeper off guard.
With just 13 minutes remaining, no doubt it was an own goal for the Benfica midfielder, giving the Socceroos a chance.
Australia attempted to score an equalizer and came close twice, but Argentina managed to maintain a slender advantage until the final whistle.
Leave a comment