With a few more problems than expected, Argentina beat Australia in a World Cup Round of 16 matchup and won the rights to face Netherlands in what is set to be an electric Quarter Final.
Leo Messi opened the scoring for the Albiceleste as he finally found his first goal in a World Cup knockout stage, then Julian Alvarez took advantage of a goalkeeping mistake to double the South Americans’ lead.
Just when the game seemed done and dusted, however, Australia found the winning strike with a shot by Craig Goodwin that was deflected by Enzo Fernandez into his own net. The Socceroos gained courage and pushed in the last 15 minute but were denied at the last gasp by Emiliano Martinez, who pulled off an authentic miracle to save from a Garang Kuol close range shot.
It was a thrilling final for a game that didn’t seem bound to offer many emotions, at least according to what happened in the first 30 minutes. Australia parked the bus and expectedly left the initiative to the Argentine, who struggled to find any space past the Socceroos‘ tight defense.
And so, as it often happens, it took some Messi magic to break the deadlock and set the match afire. La Pulce‘s goal came at the end of a fast team effort, with Alexis Mac Allister serving Nicolas Otamendi and the Benfica center back triggering Messi’s clinical shot to the bottom right corner. It happened on 35 minutes and it was basically the only emotion in a cagey first half.
Argentina seemed happy with a single goal lead and didn’t push much after the restart. However, they were gift-wrapped the second by the Australian goalkeeper Matthew Ryan, who tried to dribble past Rodrigo De Paul as he built the play from the back but didn’t realize that Julian Alvarez was lurking around.
The Araña promptly stole him the ball and deposited into the untended goal to put Argentina with one foot in the door of the Quarter Finals.
That was when things got really interesting as Australia, rather than dropping the ball, went into full attacking mode as they had nothing left to lose. Their coach Graham Arnold made his last substitutions, reshaping his side into a 4-2-4 fashion.
They were helped by Lady Luck as a seemingly unpretentious shot from Goodwin bounced into Enzo Fernandez and left no chance to Emiliano Martinez.
That would have not been a big problem if another Martinez – Inter’s striker Lautaro, who was sent in by coach Lionel Scaloni in the second half – had done his goalscoring duties. El Toro wasted at least two clear chances to make it 3-1, confirming his bad run of form.
And so, it was up to the backline to help Argentina weather the storm as the Socceroos started to believe in miracles. Aziz Behich came up with a fantastic progression as he dribbled past several Albiceleste men, but was blocked by Lisandro Martinez with a life-saving slide-tackle right when he was about to shot from point-blank range. It would have been the goal of the tournament.
Arnold’s side continued to push until the very end and had a golden chance with Kuol, but Emiliano Martinez saved the day for Argentina with a timely exit to block his shooting attempt.
Argentina could celebrate, but the Socceroos also deserve a round of applause. Just like in their only previous appearance in a Round of 16 (at World Cup 2006 against Italy), they bowed out of the competition but gave the opposition a run for their money.
MATCH SCORECARD
December 3, 2022 – FIFA World Cup Round of 16
ARGENTINA – AUSTRALIA 2-1
SCORERS: 35′ Messi (Ar), 57′ J. Alvarez (Ar), 77′ E. Fernandez (Ar., o.g.)
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ARGENTINA (4-3-3): E. Martinez; Molina (80′ Montiel), Romero 6, Otamendi, Acuna (71′ Tagliafico); De Paul 7, Enzo Fernandez, Mac Allister (80′ Palacios); Gomez (49′ Lisandro Martinez), J. Alvarez (71′ Lautaro Martinez), Messi (Armani, Rulli, Foyth, Paredes, Pezzella, Di Maria, Correa, Almada, G. Rodriguez, Dybala) Coach: Scaloni |
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AUSTRALIA (4-4-2): Ryan; Degenek (72′ Karacic), Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Leckie (72′ Kuol), Mooy, Irvine, Baccus (58′ Hrustic); McGree (58′ Goodwin), Duke (72′ MacLaren) (Redmayne, Vukovic, Atkinson, Tilio, Wright, Mabil, Devlin, Deng, King, Cummings) Coach: Arnold |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Irvine, Degenek (Au); Added Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 7′
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