Messi scores, Argentina beats Australia 2-1 at World Cup

By AP and published by US News & World Report

Al Rayyan, Qatar – Lionel Messi was pushed into the middle of a joyous post-match huddle as Argentina’s players jumped up and down to celebrate reaching the World Cup quarterfinals.

Messi delivered again for his country, marking the 1,000th game of his era-defining career with his first goal in the knockout stage of a World Cup to lead Argentina to a 2-1 win over Australia on Saturday.

This was not the walkover most were expecting, though.

At the final whistle, Argentina was just as grateful for the goalkeeper as the No. 10 with magic in his boots.

Emi Martinez came up with a sprawling save in the last seconds of an increasingly anxious match for Argentina to prevent the need for extra time and the potential of another shock in a World Cup that has been full of them.

“We gave it everything,” Australia striker Jackson Irvine said through tears, “but it wasn’t enough.”

With a flourish of his famous left foot in the 34th minute, Messi put Argentina ahead with his third goal at this year’s tournament and ninth in total at the World Cup — one more than Diego Maradona.

Julián Álvarez pounced on a heavy touch by Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan to tap into an empty net for the second goal as Argentina set up a meeting with the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

Australia scored a 77th-minute consolation goal when Craig Goodwin’s shot deflected into the net off Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez. Amid late pressure from the Australians, there was a chance for Garang Kuol to send the game to extra time but his shot was smothered by Martinez.

For Australia’s squad of unheralded players, it proved to be a match too far at a tournament in which the team has exceeded expectations by reaching the knockout stage for only the second time. Australia also lost in the last 16 in 2006, to eventual champion Italy.

Maybe it’s an omen for Argentina, which has fully recovered from its shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in its opening group match and won three straight games.

As for Messi, he now has 789 goals in a career that might yet reach a crescendo on Dec. 18 by winning the soccer’s biggest trophy in his fifth and likely last World Cup.

The dream is still alive for the seven-time world player of the year and the tens of thousands of Argentina fans who dominated the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, massively outnumbering the small pockets of green-and-gold-clad Australia supporters and making it feel like a match in Buenos Aires or Rosario.

After Messi’s goal, the Argentina fans bounced, swayed and twirled their scarves in joyous celebration of their favourite player’s latest piece of ingenuity.

He had been quiet until that point, crowded out by a compact and defensively solid Australia team. He’s never quiet for long, though.

Messi sent a pass inside to the edge of the area and kept running, eventually receiving a lay-off from Nicolas Otamendi to take one touch and stroke his finish through the long legs of Australia defender Harry Souttar — the tallest outfield player at the World Cup.

And when Alvarez added the second, it looked like Argentina was going to cruise to victory. Messi started putting on a show and one 40-metre dribble wowed the crowd as he slalomed past three defenders and was tackled just as he was about to shoot.

“MESSI! MESSI!” came the chant.

This was no walkover, though, with Australia mounting a stirring fightback in the final 20 minutes, even putting Souttar up front in stoppage time for his aerial threat.

A late bombardment of high balls nearly paid off, with two Argentina players falling on top of Martinez after his dramatic late save.

US knocked out of World Cup, loses to the Netherlands 3-1

Christian Pulisic covered his face as he walked off. Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Kellyn Acosta gathered for a group hug. Tim Weah, DeAndre Yedlin and Sean Johnson sat on the field in a small circle with their cleats off.

“It hurts after a tough loss like that when we feel like we could have had more,” Pulisic said, managing a voice only just above a whisper. “We don’t want to feel like this again.”

The United States’ return to the World Cup ended with a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday in the round of 16. While the Oranje extended their unbeaten streak to 19 games and advanced to a quarterfinal with Argentina, the Americans contemplated how far they came and how short they fell.

Defensive lapses gave the Dutch a treat as Memphis Depay scored in the 10th minute and Daley Blind in first-half stoppage time.

US hope revived when Pulisic’s cross hit the trailing foot of second-half substitute Haji Wright and popped over goalkeeper Andries Noppert and into the net in the 76th. But Denzel Dumfries, named after actor Denzel Washington, scored on a volley in the 81st after assisting on the first two goals.

“The American public should be optimistic,” said Gregg Berhalter, the first person to play for and coach the US team at a World Cup. “When you look at the way we wanted to play and did play, it should be positive.”

The US hasn’t reached the quarterfinals since 2002 and was eliminated in the first knockout round, just like in 2010 and 2014.

After the American failure to qualify for the 2018, Yedlin was the only holdover on a roster that was the tournament’s second-youngest, averaging just over 25 years.

“Now they know that feeling of what it’s like to lose after putting so much into it,” the 29-year-old defender said, “and the feeling of defeat from the past can only fuel success in the future.”

The US is winless in 12 games against European opponents at the World Cup since 2002 and has won once and lost seven in knockout rounds since the championship launched in 1930.

“This tournament has really restored a lot of belief, restored a lot of respect to US soccer and to soccer in our country,” McKennie said. “I think we’ve shown that we can be giants eventually. Maybe we may not be there yet, but I think we’re definitely on our way.”

Before a crowd of 44,846 at the renovated Khalifa International Stadium, Pulisic had a chance to put the US ahead in the third minute. McKennie knocked a poor clearance back into the penalty area, but Noppert blocked his point-blank shot with his left thigh.

“I thought I was way offside when it happened, but I still hit it and he made a good save,” Pulisic said.

The Dutch went ahead when Cody Gakpo played the ball to Dumfries on the right flank. Depay sprinted into the penalty area as Adams failed to track him, and Dumfries one-timed a cross that Depay redirected inside Matt Turner’s far post for the first goal against the US during the run of play in the tournament.

Blind scored in the first minute of stoppage time. Following a throw-in, Dumfries got a cross around Adams and Blind beat a late-arriving Sergiño Dest to the ball at the penalty spot for his first international goal in eight years.

Wright entered in the 67th and scored his second international goal on the unusual touch from three yards out, sparking US hopes. But Dumfries was left unmarked by Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson and scored off Blind’s cross from six yards for his sixth goal.

“When you play a team with so much quality like that and you give them three, four chances, they’re going to put three or four away,” Adams said. “We can show that we can hang with some of the best teams in the world, some of the best players in the world, and that’s a lot of progress for US soccer.”

Players didn’t want to leave the field at first, wanting more time together.

“Just putting perspective and reflecting on the journey,” Yedlin said. “Just giving thanks to the Earth. After every training and game we try to do a thing called grounding. It just helps put in perspective to come, good or bad.”

Others absorbed the defeat without words.

“Just looking around that locker room, the silence is deafening,” Turner said. “We all want to create moments for people back at home to fall in love with the game and tonight was not one of those nights, unfortunately.”

Moving up

Depay took sole possession of second in the Dutch career scoring list with 43 goals, trailing only Robin van Persie’s 50.

Up next

The Americans begin the 2026 cycle with a match against Serbia on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles.

CAPTIONS:

Top: Argentina’s Julian Alvarez, right, and Lionel Messi, left, celebrate their side’s second goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Australia at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. Photo: AP /Frank Augstein and published by US News & World Report

Insert: Christian Pulisic of the United States is dejected after the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the Netherlands and the United States, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. The Netherlands won 3-1. Photo: AP /Ebrahim Noroozi and published by US News & World Report

Front Page: Argentina goal-scorers Lionel Messi, top, and Julian Alvarez embrace during Saturday’s round of 16 match against Australia at the men’s World Cup in Doha, Qatar. Argentina won 2-1 and will face the Netherlands on Friday. Photo: Alex Grimm/Getty Images and published by CBC

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