Rest easy, soccer fans. Lionel Messi will grace the World Cup stage at least one more time. (More Football News)
The Argentina great had a penalty saved but his team still beat Poland 2-0 Wednesday after second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez and advanced to the last 16.
After opening the World Cup with a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in one of biggest upsets in the tournament바카라s history, Argentina wound up finishing in first place in Group C and will next play Australia 바카라 a surprise qualifier for the knockout stage.
Messi rolls into Saturday바카라s game suddenly in a strong position in likely his final World Cup.
바카라Now another World Cup begins.바카라 Lionel Messi said, 바카라and hopefully we can continue to do what we did today.바카라
As for Poland, it was ultimately a happy night, too, because the team went through as the group바카라s second-place team 바카라 on goal difference ahead of Mexico 바카라 and will next play defending champion France.
Messi ended up relieved after failing to score a penalty for the second straight World Cup. It was awarded after he was hit in the face by the flailing hand of Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who made amends by diving to his left to block Messi바카라s kick in the 39th minute.
바카라I바카라m upset that I missed the penalty, but the team came back stronger after my error,바카라 he said.
A largely pro-Argentina crowd, waving flags and scarfs and beating drums behind both goals, had been sweeping Messi and his team along at the 44,000-seat Stadium 974 and they didn바카라t stop after the penalty. Within seconds, a chant of 바카라MESSI! MESSI!바카라 immediately reverberated around the venue in a bid to keep their idol바카라s head high.
And the roars were even louder at the start of the second half, first after Mac Allister바카라s goal 바카라 a scruffy finish from Nahuel Molina바카라s cut-back from the right 바카라 in the first minute and soon after as news filtered through that Mexico had taken the lead against Saudi Arabia, which started the day in third place.
Playing an Argentine-record 22nd World Cup game, Messi never stopped surging forward and he was a menace all game to Poland with his dribbling ability and vision. One 40-meter solo run saw him weave past three opponents, drift past another only to miskick as he took aim.
The match was billed as a head-to-head between Messi and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, perhaps the best center forward in the world, but it proved to be a mismatch.
바카라If Messi played with us and Robert played for Argentina, Robert would have scored five goals,바카라 Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said. 바카라Robert needs to be helped and the match was only played in our half.바카라
Messi wasn바카라t involved in either goal, though. For the second, Enzo Fernandez scooped a pass to Alvarez 바카라 starting ahead of regular striker Lautaro Martinez 바카라 and he took one touch before curling his shot into the top corner in the 67th minute.
Things couldn바카라t have gone better for Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who made more bold changes in bringing in Alvarez, Fernandez and Molina and seeing them play a part in the goals. Mac Allister, meanwhile, didn바카라t start against Saudi Arabia and has added energy in midfield in the two games since.
Suddenly, Argentina looks more like the team which entered the World Cup on a 36-match unbeaten run and as one of the tournament favorites, a year after winning the Copa America.
바카라We wanted to make amends for that Saudi Arabia game because we knew we could play better,바카라 Mac Allister said. 바카라We바카라ve managed to find that calm we needed ... we played well collectively and it fills us with confidence.바카라
The final whistle blew with Poland players still unsure if they were advancing, given the Mexico-Saudi Arabia game was ongoing. At one stage, Poland and Mexico were only separated by the number of yellow cards they had collected in the group stage 바카라 Poland had five compared to Mexico바카라s seven 바카라 and Michniewicz was desperately urging his team to not give away fouls in the final minutes.
A stoppage-time goal by the Saudis meant their match finished 2-1 in favor of Mexico, whose goal difference was inferior by one to Poland.
Upon confirmation they had advanced, Poland바카라s players squirted water from their bottles in the middle of the field and jumped up and down.
바카라Sometimes,바카라 Michniewicz said, 바카라losses can be bittersweet.바카라
CRAZY SCHEDULE
Scaloni criticized a schedule that will see Argentina have to play within three days of beating Poland. 바카라We don바카라t want to be euphoric because I think it바카라s crazy, these conditions,바카라 he said.
PENALTY SAVES
Szczesny has now saved penalties in back-to-back games, having kept out Saudi Arabia forward Salem Aldawsari바카라s spot kick in the 2-0 win on Friday.
