Lionel Messi was in talismanic form as Argentina sealed a 2-1 win vs Australia in their FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 fixture in Qatar. The Argentina captain scored a goal, in what was his third goal in the ongoing tournament. It was also his ninth World Cup goal overall and his first in the knockout stages of the competition. After Messi’s 35th-minute strike, Julian Alvarez scored the other Argentine goal in the 57th-minute. Meanwhile, Enzo Fernandez conceded an own goal in the 77th-minute for a 2-1 victory.
Receiving a one-touch pass from Nicolas Nicolas Otamendi in the area, Messi teed it up for an expert finish into the bottom-left corner. On the other hand, Alvarez doubled the lead after a poor back pass to Mathew Ryan and the attacker stole the ball to slot into an empty net. Fernandez’ own goal gave Australia some hope, but Argentina held onto their slender lead.
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The South American country will face Netherlands in their quarter-final fixture at the Lusail Stadium, on Saturday. Netherlands grabbed a 3-1 victory against USA in their Round of 16 fixture, courtesy of goals from Memphis Depay (10′), Daley Blind (45+1′) and Denzel Dumfries (81′). Meanwhile, Haji Wright scored a consolation goal for USA in the 76th-minute.
After ensuring qualification into the quarter-finals, Messi spoke to the media and picked his candidates to win the World Cup trophy in Qatar. “Argentina are one of the candidates. Argentina are a powerhouse and are always among the best. We knew we were one of the candidates, but we had to prove it on the pitch and we proved it again against Australia”, he said.
“Brazil are doing very well, despite the defeat against Cameroon. They are still one of the great favorites. France are also doing well and Spain, despite losing to Japan, are a team that play very well, that are very clear about what they do and it is very difficult to take the ball away from them, as they control possession for a long time. It will be difficult to beat them”, he further added.
