The pre-tournament favorites Argentina prevailed 2-1 over Australia on Saturday night (3 December) in their last-16 matchup at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. For La Albiceleste, Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez scored goals, and Enzo Fernandez’s own goal helped Australia.
On December 9, a mouthwatering quarterfinal matchup between the Netherlands and the giants of South America will take place.
Argentina was not in that frame of mind in their 2022 FIFA World Cup last-16 match, playing slow, safe passes for the majority of the main half.
Even though skipper Messi didn’t enter the Australian box until the 35th minute, he made sure to take advantage of the opportunity. After receiving a skillful layoff from Nicolas Otamendi, Messi skillfully placed the ball in Matthew Ryan’s goal’s bottom left corner.
At the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium on Saturday night, the following three Argentine players stood out, while the following two failed to live up to their potential:
Performed: Julian Alvarez
Julian Alvarez scored a brilliant objective in his second beginning at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Manchester City player swiveled to position himself after intercepting Ryan’s ball in the 57th minute, and he successfully scored into the bottom left corner.
He also pressed well, made a few neat passes to his teammates (14 with 82.4 percent accuracy), and always tried to get around the defense. He ought to be one of the first names on Lionel Scaloni’s roster for the game against the Netherlands on December 9 in the quarterfinals.
Underperformed: Nahuel Molina
The Argentine right-back Nahuel Molina had a forgettable night against Australia. He had an assist in the 2-0 victory over Poland. Watching the game pass by, he was essentially a passenger. Molina didn’t contribute much from the forward line, and he also didn’t do anything special from the back.
We think he could have contributed more to the game against Australia given his quality.
Molina lost possession ten times on Saturday night, lost both of his duels, didn’t play any important passes, and misplaced one of his two attempts at long balls.
Performed: Rodrigo De Paul
Rodrigo De Paul was left on his own in the last 16 after failing to put forth his best effort in the group stage. He made changes, kept the ball moving in the middle of the field, and kept pressing the Aussies in an effort to get them to make a mistake or two.
In fact, Ryan was frightened by his pressing, which led to Alvarez taking possession from him in the 57th minute.
De Paul completed 73 passes (83.9% accuracy) and played three key passes against Australia, delivered three long balls accurately, and won four of five ground duels.De Paul also attempted two tackles, made two interceptions, and cleared the ball once.
Underperformed: Lautaro Martinez
During his time on the bench in place of Julian Alvarez in the 71st minute, Lautaro Martinez had numerous chances to present his case to Scaloni. The forward for Inter Milan appeared in the right place at the right time numerous times, but he was unable to apply the crucial finishing touch.
In the match against Australia, Martinez missed two big chances to score, the first of which occurred in the 88th minute and was extremely disappointing.
On the left, Messi found Martinez in acres of space. Martinez attempted a curling effort with the goal gaping in front of him, but he somehow lost his balance and missed the goal completely.
Martinez completed only eight passes in the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s last 16 with 72.7% accuracy, lost three duels, gave up possession eight times, and failed to dribble on two of three attempts.
Performed: Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi gave a performance of a lifetime when he played in his 1000th professional match. The superstar of Paris Saint-Germain outperformed every other player on the field, making numerous chances and scoring a stunning goal in the 35th minute to give his team the lead.
An Australian defender was able to keep Messi’s curling free kick out of the box after it came in from the right. Papu Gomez received the ball and squared it back to Messi. Alexis Mac Allister received the ball from the PSG player inside the box and fed Otamendi inside the box.
With his first touch, the defender set up Messi, who scored his first knockout goal at the FIFA World Cup in the bottom left corner of Ryan’s goal.
Leaving aside the stunning goal, Argentina does not.10 make two big chances, won four ground duels, played four important passes, and got two fouls.