In his 1000th career appearance, Lionel Messi had his best match of the World Cup so far as Argentina took down Australia 2-1 to book their place in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands next week. Despite having a two-goal lead, however, the final moments of the game were far nervier than Argentina would have anticipated.
Messi’s moment of brilliance came in the 35th minute, after the first third of the game was managed well by Australia. By far the inferior side in terms of talent, the Socceroos did well to curb Argentina’s attacks, letting them continue to dominate possession but slowing down the tempo, leaving little space in between the lines for chance creation. And then the moment came after a flash point.
While closing down the opposition defence, Messi challenged Aziz Behich down the touchline, rattling the defender and himself in the process, causing a coming together. Shortly after, out of frustration, Behich gave away a naïve wide free kick. Messi’s delivery was cleared, only for the ball to come back into his path, shuffling his way infield, playing it into Mac Allister whose pass was touched off by Otamendi back into Messi’s path again. The maestro’s first touch was brilliant and the finish even better.
#messi #lionelmessi #argentinafootballteam
5 Comments
THERE is Messi!!
Go home Australian kids
Is ronaldo from aussie ?
Happy to see those white boys out of the game
their national sports is cricket, no one should care about this