FIFA World Cup 2022: Argentina vs Australia 2-1 Report

Argentina defeated Australia to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup

Argentina secured a place in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup thanks to a 2-1 win over Australia at Al Rayyan.

Lionel Messi’s first goal in the World Cup round of 16 put Argentina ahead in the 35th minute before Julian Alvarez doubled the South Americans’ lead just before the hour mark.

Australia took advantage of a huge offside in the 77th minute to halve the deficit, Craig Goodwin’s shot found Enzo Fernandez before going on the net but the Socceroos couldn’t find a second.

Lionel Scaloni’s side meet the Netherlands in the round of 16 on December 9, with the Netherlands beating the USA earlier in the day to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Australia finished second in Group D behind France, reaching the round of 16 for the second time in their history, but it proved a game too far for Graham Arnold’s side.

Argentina had a penalty call in the fourth minute when Papu Gomez’s shot caught Keanu Baccus in the arm, but the game went on without a penalty for the Australians.

Gomez then had Argentina’s first serious attempt in the 17th minute, but his shot from wide angle always went over Mathew Ryan’s goal as Australia seemed relatively comfortable in the early stages.

The Socceroos caused physical problems from set pieces, with Harry Souttar particularly dangerous in the penalty area.

It was a long struggle for Argentina in the first half but the South Americans took the lead in the 35th minute when Messi came to life.

When the 35-year-old hoisted the ball into Australia’s box there didn’t seem to be much danger as there were many defenders between him and the goal, but the striker managed to create some space before sending the ball over goal scored goal line . bottom corner of the net to make it 1-0.

Messi’s goal was the highlight of an otherwise quiet first half as Australia struggled to create chances against Scaloni’s side.

Ryan had to parry Messi’s shot in the 50th minute before Argentina suffered a moment’s pain at the other end when Mitchell almost defeated Duke Emiliano Martinez with a short back pass.

However, Argentina doubled their lead in the 57th minute through Alvarez, who took advantage of a mistake by Australian goalkeeper Ryan to find the back of the net.

Ryan tried to get past two Argentinian players in his own penalty area and instead lost the ball to Alvarez, who couldn’t pass up the chance to give his team a two-goal lead.

Nicolas Tagliafico fired home after 15 minutes after both managers made changes but Australia scored in the 77th minute when Goodwin’s shot massively deflected Fernandez before settling in the back of the net.

Behich had a brilliant chance to equalize in the 80th minute when he broke into Argentina’s box but Lisandro Martinez was at the other end to pull off an excellent last-minute tackle.

Lautaro Martinez should have put the game behind Australia in the 89th minute but somehow lifted the ball over the bar from a tight angle before the Inter Milan striker was thwarted by Ryan late on.

Missed chances, including a late shot from Messi, ultimately didn’t matter as Argentina secured their place in the quarter-finals of the competition thanks to a narrow win.

The South Americans suffered a late scare, however, when Emiliano Martinez came on to ward off Garang Kuol, who is due to join Newcastle United in January.

Lineups:

Argentina Replacements: Armani, Rulli, Tagliafico, Martínez, Pezzella, Foyth, Montiel, Rodríguez, Palacios, Paredes, Almada, Di María, Correa, Dybala, Martínez

Australia Replacements: Redmayne, Vukovic, King, Deng, Wright, Atkinson, Karačić, Devlin, Hrustić, Goodwin, Kuol, Mabil, Tilio, Cummings, Maclaren

Scorers:

Yellow Cards: