Argentina vs Australia : Vintage Lionel Messi won hearts in his 1,000th career match as he helped Argentina beat Australia 2-1 in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Sunday. The Argentina captain scored the opening goal at the Ahmad bin Ali stadium, his 789th career goal, as they set up a quarter-final date with the Netherlands.
Argentina vs Australia Highlights: G.O.A.T Messi scores as Argentina beat Australia 2-1 to reach quarter-finals
The Netherlands was the first team to book a ticket for the last eight in Qatar after beating USA 3-1 in the first knockout game on Saturday.
Argentina secure their spot in the Quarter-finals! 👏@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 3, 2022
Argentina were leading 1–0 at the half-time thanks to Messi’s 35th-minute goal, but Julian Alvarez doubled the lead early in the second half. Alvarez’s 57th-minute goal gave Argentina some respite in a match dominated by the South American team. However, Australia gave the two-time champions a goal scare in the 77th minute when Craig Goodwin’s shot deflected off Enzo Fernandez and into his own goal.
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Finally, Messi and Team Argentina Maintained their Journey to move on to the next round.
Argentina vs Australia Qualifier Match Highlights
Messi put Argentina ahead after 35 minutes for his 94th international goal, surpassing World Cup great Diego Maradona’s tally of eight goals for the South Americans.
Julián Álvarez added a second near the hour mark after keeper Matt Ryan put the game ahead of Australia.Argentina took some time to get going in a match that started badly, with combinations of Alejandro Gomez, Enzo Fernandez and Alvarez unable to break down a strong defence.
Gomez had an early chance when he headed down the left and cut inside, but fired a shot just wide, while Messi struggled to make a mark in the opening exchanges.
Australia had their best chance from a corner near the half-hour mark when Harry Sutter, more than two meters tall, lofted a corner but his effort lacked power.
🇦🇷 The Quarter-finals await…#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/S7EKoQ4GVB
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 3, 2022
Australia refused to give up and went on a series of attacks and pulled a goal back after 77 minutes when substitute Craig Goodwin’s powerful and speculative shot took a huge deflection off Fernandez and into the own net.
