Lionel Messi used to be in talismanic shape as Argentina sealed a 2-1 win vs Australia of their FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 fixture in Qatar. The Argentina captain scored a function, in what used to be his 3rd function within the ongoing event. It used to be additionally his 9th World Cup function total and his first within the knockout phases of the contest. After Messi’s Thirty fifth-minute strike, Julian Alvarez scored the opposite Argentine function within the 57th-minute. Meanwhile, Enzo Fernandez conceded an personal function within the 77th-minute for a 2-1 victory.
Receiving a one-touch move from Nicolas Nicolas Otamendi within the house, Messi teed it up for knowledgeable end into the bottom-left nook. On the opposite hand, Alvarez doubled the lead after a deficient again move to Mathew Ryan and the attacker stole the ball into an empty internet slot. Fernandez’ personal function gave Australia some hope, however Argentina held onto their narrow lead.
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The South American nation will face Netherlands of their quarter-final fixture on the Lusail Stadium, on Saturday. Netherlands grabbed a three–1 victory in opposition to USA of their Round of 16 fixture, courtesy of objectives from Memphis Depay (10′), Daley Blind (45+1′) and Denzel Dumfries (81′). Meanwhile, Haji Wright scored a comfort function for USA within the 76th-minute.
After making sure qualification into the quarter-finals, Messi spoke to the media and picked his applicants 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 stated.
“Brazil are doing very well, despite the defeat against Cameroon. They are still one of the great favourites. 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 additional added.