Argentina defeated a furious Australia comeback to win 2-1 on Saturday and go to the quarterfinals. Lionel Messi scored his first goal in a World Cup elimination game in his 1,000th match to surpass Diego Maradona’s championship total.
In a game where he played a key role in nearly every Argentine attack, Messi gave his team the lead after 35 minutes with a calmly taken low effort for his 94th international goal, passing the legendary Maradona’s eight World Cup goals.
The Netherlands, who defeated the United States 3-1 earlier in the day, will face off against Spain in the final eight next Friday. Julian Alvarez made it two towards the hour mark after capitalising on a mistake by goalie Mat Ryan.
With nothing left to lose and looking to advance to their first World Cup quarterfinal, the Socceroos scored an own goal 13 minutes from time when Craig Goodwin’s errant effort took a significant deflection off Enzo Fernandez.
Messi missed two excellent opportunities in the closing minutes, but it was the juvenile Australian replacement Garang Kuol who electrified the crowd when Emi Martinez expertly stopped his close-range effort on the turn.
Moments later, the final whistle sounded, and the Australia bench put their heads in their hands. The Argentina team erupted in jubilant celebration, and the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium was rocked by cheers.
Messi, the game’s MVP, acknowledged that things became tight in the end.
“Things got complicated in the end with their goal but it’s a World Cup and it’s never easy,” Messi said.
“Now we have a really tough clash with Holland, who play very well. They have great players and a great coach, it’s going to be hard-fought.
“If a World Cup has been tough from the start, it gets even tougher at this stage.”
