Argentina defeated Australia 2-1 in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup.
In the following round, they will face the Netherlands.
In his 1,000th professional game, Lionel Messi scored the game's first goal, and Julian Alvarez added the second.
When Craig Goodwin's shot looped in off Enzo Fernandez's arm, Australia came back, but Argentina held out to advance.
The serene early minutes to the exhilarated closing moments.
Australia's tactic had been successful for 35 minutes. They were blunting Argentina with their shape, which was so tight and orderly, and their confidence was starting to rise.
Out of possession in a 4-4-2, they crowded Messi out, blocked passing channels, and effectively interrupted play with vigor and passion. The issue is that even when you play against Messi at your absolute best, he can still make the difference.
Australia had to be more creative after one missed shot and just 0.07 predicted goals. But how and when? It made sense to leave the score where it was and then afterwards throw everything at it.
That was ended by a mistake by Mat Ryan allowing Julian Alvarez to score a second goal, but a boost in confidence and vigor came when Goodwin's shot found the back of the net after deflecting off Fernandez. A group that had before seemed toothless now constituted a threat. They opened up with Aaron Mooy attempting to exert influence from a distance since the strategy was somehow still in place.
Aziz Behich came close to scoring a goal a la Messi, but Lisandro Martinez's last-second challenge stopped him. They struggled to maintain possession and mount pressure after that, even with the 6'7" center-back Harry Souttar moving up forward, until Martinez denied Garang Kuol with a spectacular save at the very end. Too late and too little.
Not the best of games from the albicelestes but it was enough to see them advance to the quater finals of the FIFA World Cup where they face an in rhythm Dutch side who got the better of the USMNT during their own Round of 16 encounter.