Argentina v Australia: Key moments as magic Messi sends Socceroos packing
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Key moments:
90+8' The match has just finished.
90+7' Garang Kuol (Australia) meets a cross inside the penalty area and unloads a good attempt towards the right side of the goal. Emiliano Martinez is prepared, though, and denies him with a fantastic save.
90+4' Lautaro Martinez (Argentina) receives a precise pass in the box and takes the shot early. The ball heads towards the bottom left corner, but Mathew Ryan shows off his skills and makes a brilliant save to deny him.
90+3' A great run from Lionel Messi (Argentina) ends with a shot inside the box that flashes just past the left post.
90+3' Mathew Ryan pulls off a great save to deny Lautaro Martinez (Argentina), who makes himself some space inside the box and unleashes a quick shot towards the middle of the goal.
89' Lionel Messi sprays a pass out to Lautaro Martinez (Argentina), but he produces a poor effort from inside the box which goes high over the bar.
81' Aziz Behich (Australia) goes on a weaving run through the defence and gets within shooting range but his effort is blocked. The referee points to the corner flag and Australia will take a corner.
80' Lionel Scaloni prepares a substitution. Nahuel Molina is replaced by Gonzalo Montiel (Argentina).
80' Today's match ends for Alexis Mac Allister who will be replaced by Exequiel Palacios (Argentina).
77' 2 - 1 It's in the back of the net! Craig Goodwin (Australia) tries his luck from the edge of the box and his shot takes a deflection and goes past the stranded Emiliano Martinez. He makes it 2:1.
72' Here is a change. Mitchell Duke is going off and Graham Arnold gives the last tactical orders to Jamie Maclaren (Australia).
72' Substitution. Milos Degenek is replaced by Fran Karacic (Australia).
72' Substitution. Garang Kuol (Australia) has come on for Mathew Leckie.
71' Marcos Acuna comes off the pitch to be replaced by Nicolas Tagliafico (Argentina).
71' Lionel Scaloni decides to make a substitution. Julian Alvarez will be replaced by Lautaro Martinez (Argentina).
65' Lionel Messi (Argentina) slaloms his way past challenges, but an opposing player does well to get the ball away. Argentina force their opponents to concede a corner.
58' Graham Arnold has decided to make a change. Craig Goodwin (Australia) replaces Riley McGree.
58' The referee stops play so that a substitution can be made and Ajdin Hrustic (Australia) comes onto the pitch for Keanu Baccus.
57' 2 - 0 Goal! Mathew Ryan makes a huge mistake and Julian Alvarez (Argentina) has an easy task to put the ball into the back of the net. 2:0.
50' The substitution has been made. Lisandro Martinez (Argentina) has replaced Papu Gomez.
46' Everything is set for the start of the second half.
45+3' Szymon Marciniak blows his whistle to signal the end of the first-half action.
38' Milos Degenek (Australia) will miss the next game.
38' Milos Degenek (Australia) can't expect anything else than a yellow card for his hard tackle. And a yellow it is. Szymon Marciniak didn't think twice about pulling it out of his pocket.
35' 1 - 0 Fantastic team goal! Lionel Messi (Argentina) was set free in the area by Nicolas Otamendi and he made no mistake with a lovely finish into the bottom left corner. 1:0.
15' Jackson Irvine (Australia) will miss the next game because of that yellow card.
15' The foul by Jackson Irvine (Australia) is worthy of a card and a yellow is duly shown by Szymon Marciniak.
1' The referee blows his whistle and we are underway.
Argentina starting XI: Martinez, Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna, De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Alvarez, Gomez, Messi
Australia starting XI: Ryan, Degenek, Souttar, Rowles, Behich, Baccus, Mooy, Irvine, Leckie, Duke, McGree
Preview
Despite a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their World Cup Group C opener casting plenty of doubt, a much-fancied Argentina came storming back to top their group thanks to clinical 2-0 wins over Mexico and Poland, respectively.
Hence the familiar line of ‘Argentina progress from the group stages of the World Cup’ sounds once again, having impressively done so in 13 of their last 14 World Cup finals appearances.
This is the stage where they fell short in 2018, losing 4-3 to eventual champions France, though having won each of their four Round of 16 ties prior to that game, you’d have to fancy them to go at least one better this term. Despite being overwhelming favourites, the two-time world champions now have to deal with the surprise package of Australia, with their superstar Lionel Messi refusing to underestimate the opposition when saying "anyone can beat anyone, everything is very even" as he hunts a World Cup winners medal in what could be his last shot at doing so.
After losing their World Cup opener 4-1 to eventual Group D winners France, Australia have caused a massive upset with 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark to progress despite being written off by many. They’ve only ever reached the Round of 16 once before, going down 1-0 to eventual champions Italy in 2006, but having now won two matches in a single World Cup finals tournament for the very first time, the Socceroos will almost certainly have their tails up!
Despite this, their backs will likely be against the wall as they deal with an Argentina side who they trail by 35 spots in the FIFA rankings. They have played the South Americans on six prior occasions, only ever winning their first ever competitive match (D1, L4 since), although they did secure a shock 2-0 win at the Tokyo Olympics in July last year, although with that not recognised by FIFA, this World Cup clash will undoubtedly represent a totally different proposition.
Players to watch: With this being widely stated as his last chance at a World Cup crown, Argentina's Messi will have to step up like he never has before, having never scored in the knockout stages of a World Cup. Meanwhile, Mathew Leckie sent Australia through to the knockouts and will want to work his magic once again, with his country winning 11 of the 12 matches he’s scored in (D1).
Hot stat: Only three teams have managed to find the net against Argentina in their last 18 matches.
World Cup trivia: There are only eight stadiums being used in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, the lowest since the six used in the 1978 edition hosted by Argentina.
