After combining with former Manchester City star Nicolas Otamendi on the edge of the penalty box, the legendary footballer broke the scoreless tie near the conclusion of the first half with a lovely finish.
Lionel Messi scored in his 1,000th career game to help Argentina advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup by defeating Australia.
After combining with former Manchester City star Nicolas Otamendi on the edge of the penalty box, the legendary footballer broke the scoreless tie near the conclusion of the first half with a lovely finish.
It was Messi’s 789th career goal, his 94th in 169 first-team appearances for Argentina throughout the course of his remarkable career, but his first in the World Cup knockout rounds.
Australia threatened a comeback at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium as Craig Goodwin’s deflected shot to cut the score in half, but Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez denied Aziz Behich an equalizer in the 80th minute with a brilliant last-ditch tackle.
Argentina advanced to the round of eight after recovering from a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their tournament opener to finish first in Group C.
On Friday, they will face the Netherlands, whose team previously defeated the United States 3-1.
Memphis Depay scored in the 10th minute, and Daley Blind scored in the first-half stoppage time, as a result of defensive blunders by the United States. The Oranje have now gone 19 games without a loss.
Christian Pulisic’s cross in the second half met the trailing foot of second-half replacement Haji Wright and popped over goalkeeper Andries Noppert and into the net, reviving US hopes.
After assisting on the first two goals, Denzel Dumfries later scored a goal on a volley.
Today, France will play Poland at 3 p.m., while England will take on Senegal at 7 p.m.
