Lionel Messi’s superb long-range strike helped revive Argentina’s flagging World Cup hopes as they claimed a crucial 2-0 win over Mexico at the Lusail Stadium.
Argentina came into the game knowing defeat would mean elimination after their shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia and they laboured again until Messi’s 65th-minute intervention.
The 35-year-old, playing at what is expected to be his last World Cup, picked up Angel Di Maria’s pass outside the box and arrowed a precise shot into the bottom corner to break the deadlock in a scrappy and ill-tempered encounter.
Messi then turned provider as Argentina made the game safe three minutes from time, his pass finding substitute Enzo Fernandez who cut inside and curled a sumptuous finish past Guillermo Ochoa.
The victory looked unlikely at times during a game disrupted by constant fouls and featuring little in the way of quality, but it takes Argentina up to second in Group C, a point behind Poland, who they face in their final game as they bid to clinch their place in the last 16.
“Today another World Cup starts for Argentina,” Messi said after the game. “I tell people the same thing, that they continue to believe. Today we did what we had to do.
“We had no other choice. We had to win so we depended only on ourselves.
“The first half we didn’t play as we should and in the second when we calmed down, we started to play the ball better and after the goal, we went back to being what we are.”
How Argentina emerged victorious
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni had sought to shake things up following the Saudi Arabia defeat, making five changes to his team, with Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez and Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister among those included.
But there was no sign of improvement in a dire first half, with Messi unable to influence proceedings and Lautaro Martinez cutting an isolated figure ahead of him as Argentina, flat and disjointed, picked up where they left off in Tuesday’s game.
Mexico looked more threatening in the first period, but, like Argentina, they struggled to produce any real moments of quality, with an Alexis Vega free-kick, comfortably saved by Emi Martinez, the only effort on target from either side before the interval.
There was more of the same after the break despite the crackling atmosphere inside the ground, with a wayward Messi free kick seemingly summing up his evening as he struggled to spark.
It all changed, though, when he finally found himself in a pocket of space around 25 yards from goal, taking a touch to control Di Maria’s pass before rifling an unstoppable shot into the far corner.
The goal sparked wild celebrations among Argentina’s players and fans and there was another outpouring of relief when substitute Fernandez ran onto Messi’s pass following a corner and dispatched a sublime finish from the left-hand side of the box.
Mexico offered little in response, registering only four shots over the course of the game, leaving Argentina to celebrate a victory that maintains their hopes of qualifying for the last 16.
Analysis: Messi still a game-changer
Cometh the hour, cometh the man.
Lionel Messi had endured a deeply frustrating evening at the Lusail Stadium, his struggles mirroring those of the Argentina team as a whole, but his sensational opening goal was a reminder he can still change a game in an instant.
Messi had floated on the periphery of a poor-quality encounter for the preceding hour, a wayward free kick early in the second half his only attempt on goal. But when his opportunity finally came, in a pocket of space just outside the box, he seized it.
Messi’s goal set the stadium alight in perfect tribute to Maradona, reports Sky Sports News’ Melissa Reddy
The goal, guided into the bottom corner, was his 93rd for his country and his eighth at the World Cup, putting him on the level with Diego Maradona. It may prove to be one of his most significant too.
Argentina had been awful until that moment but their belief gradually returned after it and when the second goal came it was no surprise to see Messi involved, the 35-year-old feeding Enzo Fernandez, whose stunning finish made the game safe.
Argentina’s work is not done. A difficult final group game against Poland awaits. They will need to show considerable improvement on this performance if they are to navigate it successfully and plot a route into the latter stages of the tournament.
But in Messi, they know they have a trump card, a player who, even at 35, is still capable of elevating them when they need it most. With the Saudi Arabia debacle now behind them, and with Messi chasing his World Cup destiny, Argentina can dream again.
Messi level with Maradona – Opta stats
- Lionel Messi has scored in six successive appearances for Argentina, his joint-longest-ever scoring run in international football (also 6 between November 2011 – September 2012).
- Lionel Messi has now scored as many World Cup goals as Diego Maradona (8), with only Gabriel Batistuta (10) netting more for Argentina at the tournament overall.
- Since 1966, only Rivellino (5) has scored more World Cup goals from outside the box than Messi (4).
- Andres Guardado became just the sixth player to feature at five different World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022) and the third different Mexican to do so after Rafael Márquez and Antonio Carbajal.
- Argentina are unbeaten in their last 11 meetings with Mexico in all competitions (W8 D3) since a 1-0 loss in the 2004 Copa America.