Lionel Messi’s milestone day—1000th professional game, 16th World Cup game and first knockout stage goal—made it possible for Argentina to keep its hopes of a dream run to winning the World Cup alive
AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Papu Gomez’s ball back out to the corner taker wasn’t great, spinning awkwardly and given too much height so an Australian defender could get close. Fortunately for Argentina, the corner taker was Lionel Messi.
This was Messi’s 1000th professional appearance for club and country. It was his 16th appearance in a World Cup match, and probably his best, equalling the Argentinian record held by Diego Maradona. He will claim the record for himself in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands, the country against whom, in 2006, he made his first World Cup start. At 35, he is physically diminished, a sprite who flits into games only when he feels it necessary.
Only just enough, though, as a Craig Goodwin shot deflected off Enzo Fernandez and beat Emi Martinez. Then came almost the most implausible of equalizers as Behich, a 31-year-old left-back, suddenly jinked through three challenges and was denied in his shooting stride only by a desperate, but perfectly timed challenge by Lisandro Martinez. And then, in the final seconds, the 18-year-old substitute Garang Kuol forced goalkeeper Emi Martinez into a sharp reflex save with a shot on the turn.
Argentina’s win over Australia was not without some nervy moments in the last 15 minutes plus stoppage time.In the end, it was tense, but it hadn’t really been close. Messi had set up chance after chance for team-mates only for them to be missed. In that there were real echoes of Diego Maradona in 1986, particularly in the way he seemed so understanding of their fallibility, something that hasn’t always been the case. “We had played very recently,” he said, “and didn’t have much time to rest up.
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