Argentina continued to march on as they bid to win the FIFA World Cup for the first time since the days of Diego Maradona....CONTINUE READING
The 2-1 victory against Australia was one that showed the character of their main man as well as the defensive resilience of the entire team.
With the World Cup favourites encountering frustrations for most of the first half, Lionel Messi stepped up with the opening goal of the game in the 37th minute to give Argentina something to build on. This was followed by a goal from Manchester City attacker, Julian Alvarez, in the second half.
Australia showed why they are in the round of 16 as they threatened to take the game to extra time after halving the deficit in the 77th minute.
A vital block from Lisandro Martinez late in the game was needed to ensure that Argentina qualified without an extra 30 minutes.
Lionel Messi was once again the centre of attraction in the match. The 35-year-old, who scored the opening goal was lively throughout the game, which was the 1000 game of his professional career. At the end of the game, he was able to break two records.
He became the highest goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup for Argentina after surpassing Diego Maradona’s record of eight goals with his ninth World Cup goal.
He also won the Man of the Match award at the end of the game, becoming the player with the most Man of the Match awards since the award was inaugurated in 2002. It was the eighth World Cup Man of the Match award of his career.
