After being on the wrong end of one of the must stunning results in World Cup history with an opening loss to Saudi Arabia, Argentina had no choice but to rebound against Mexico in their second game of Group C play in Qatar. In a time of need, it turned to its main man.
It was clear that La Albiceleste needed a moment of magic, and who else to provide it but Lionel Messi. The 35-year-old produced a brilliant strike from outside the 18-yard box to give Argentina a much-needed lead in the 64th minute. It was followed by another moment of individual excellence from Enzo Fernandez, whose curled effort found the back of the net to put Argentina out of reach in the 87th minute.
For Argentina, this was critical—a loss and it would be just the second team to be eliminated for contention from the knockout stage. It wasn’t a pretty win—Mexico controlled much of the first half and made life difficult for Argentina’s star-studded attack. But the three points kept La Albiceleste’s hopes of advancing well in play with just a showdown with Robert Lewandowski and Poland remaining. For Mexico, things are a little more dire. A disappointing draw to Poland in their opener means El Tri sits on just one point and will need a win vs. Saudi Arabia and some help in the final day.
Mexico didn’t back down from the South American giants at the start. Chucky Lozano won a free kick after a period of pressure, and a ball whipped into the box from 36 yards nearly picked out one of several runners in the box. Nobody got on the end of it, but it was a good chance early on for El Tri.
Mexico made life uncomfortable for Argentina in the early goings. Lozano was lively, picking balls up deep and driving at the Argentinian back line. He won another free kick in the 20th minute with a charging run toward goal. A well-worked set play from Mexico forced Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez to come off his line and collect.
But the danger of Argentina was always looming. Messi picked the pocket of Néstor Araujo in the 22nd minute, and Araujo lunged into a clumsy tackle with his studs high on Argentina’s Marcos Acuña, picking up the game’s first yellow card.
With a Lusail Stadium full to the brim with fans of both teams, things got even dicier after Araujo’s clattering challenge. Mexico winger Alexis Vega gave up a silly foul in a dangerous area in the 36th minute. Messi curled a shot onto frame, but it was a routine save for Ochoa.
Argentina looked most dangerous on set pieces in the first half. Ángel Di María curled a cross onto the head of Lautaro Martínez, who sent his effort over the bar.
A physical first half saw another booking, this time Argentina’s Gonzalo Montiel, and another Mexico free kick in a dangerous area in the 45th minute. Vega fired a strong shot on frame, but Emi Martínez timed his dive perfectly to make a beautiful save look easy.
It was a cagey and choppy first 45 minutes—the two sides totaled just 0.28 combined expected goals (xG), the lowest so far of any first half in the tournament, per Opta.
Argentina finally looked threatening when Messi made one of his signature runs forward and won a free kick in the perfect area to fire one on frame. But as had been the case for much of Argentina’s World Cup performance to this point, the final product was disappointing—Messi’s free kick sailed high.
But sometimes, all it takes is one opportunity for one of the greatest players of all time to make a difference. It finally came in 64th minute. Messi took one touch on a ball well outside the 18-yard box and sent a low driven shot past Ochoa into that rippled the net.
It was a moment of brilliance that in truth came somewhat against the run of play. Mexico had had little problems absorbing pressure from Argentina to that point, but all Messi needed was a half-yard of space to produce another signature moment in a career full of them.
The pressure continued to build and in the 87th minute, Argentina broke through once more on another beautiful strike. Enzo Fernández played the role of super sub, coming on in the 57th minute then curling a perfect shot past Ochoa to put Argentina out of reach.
Here were the lineups for both teams:
