Argentina survived a late fightback to advance to the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup after beating Australia 2-1 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
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Lionel Messi marked the 1000th appearance of his illustrious career with a trademark goal to keep his dream of World Cup glory alive in Qatar.
Having progressed from the group stage for the ninth time in their last 10 World Cups, Argentina had every chance of keeping their chance at glory alive against an Australia side playing in the Round of 16 for just the second time in the tournament’s history.
It wasn’t until the 35th-minute when a real moment of quality arrived – of course, it came from Messi.
The second half started in similar fashion, with an added intent from Australia handing Argentina more space than they were afforded in the first period.
There were further scares on the way, as only a last-ditch block from Lisandro Martínez denied Aziz Behich a World Cup wonder goal, after the full-back produced a Messi-esque run through the defence before being brilliantly denied by the Manchester United defender.
