Argentina 2-1 Australia
Argentina advances to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar, after narrowly defeating Australia, 2-1, Dec. 3, 2022.
Lionel Messi scored his first goal in a World Cup knockout match on his 1,000th career appearance as twice champions Argentina fended off a late fightback by Australia to win 2-1 on Saturday and reach the quarterfinals.
Messi put Argentina ahead after 35 minutes with a strike low into the corner for his 94th international goal to pass the great Diego Maradona's tally of eight World Cup goals for the South Americans.
Julian Alvarez added a second close to the hour mark after a howler by keeper Mat Ryan that put the game beyond Australia and set up a last-eight clash with the Netherlands, who beat the United States 3-1 earlier on Saturday.
Argentina took a while to get into a match that started off scrappy, with Alejandro Gomez, Enzo Fernandez and Alvarez combining well but unable to break down a resolute defense. (Reuters)