Lionel Messi came to Argentina’s rescue once again, scoring a crucial goal during their 2-1 win vs Australia in their Round of 16 fixture of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022, in Qatar. With the score level at 0-0, the Argentine captain received a pass from defender Nicolas Otamendi, and he drove it sweetly into the bottom-left corner to give his side a 1-0 lead. This was also the PSG star’s ninth World Cup goal and first in the knockout stages of the showpiece event. It was his 789th career goal in all competitions, with Australia the 129th different opponent he has scored against.
Meanwhile, Julian Alvarez made it 2-0 in the 57th-minute after taking advantage of a poor pass to Aussie goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, stealing the ball back and slotting it into an empty net. An own goal by Enzo Fernandez in the 77th-minute made the score 2-1 and gave Australia some hope. But some crucial saves by Emiliano Martinez, including one in the final minute, kept the scoreline at 2-1 in Argentina’s favour.
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After the match, Messi was shown a video of his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and children (Thiago, Mateo and Ciro) celebrating his first-half goal vs Australia. On watching the video, Messi simply smiled and looked extremely happy. During the post-match reaction, he said, “My family is always present, my children especially because they are grown up and understand everything. Today seeing them from the inside how they feel and how they live is spectacular. They are excited and happy”.
Here is Messi’s million-dollar reaction to watching his family cheer for him:
Argentina face Netherlands in their quarter-final fixture, at the Lusail Stadium. The Dutch defeated USA 3-1 in their Round of 16 fixture and will be eyeing revenge. Louis van Gaal was the Dutch manager in the 2014 World Cup, where Argentina defeated them on penalties in the semi-final.
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