Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their first goal against Mexico with Julian Alvarez and Angel Di Maria at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on November 26, 2022. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes.
Two second-half goals from Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez ensured Argentina beat Mexico at the Lusail Stadium yesterday. The Group B clash of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was a must-win for the South Americans to keep their chances of qualifying for the Round of 16 alive.
Argentina had suffered a shock loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening match, and coach Lionel Scaloni had promised his side would bounce back from the shock. Mexico, on the other hand, managed a listless draw against Poland and failed to create any attacking threat against a determined Argentina.
Jolted by the defeat, which ended their 36-match unbeaten run, the pressure was clearly on the two-time World Cup winners, and they started on the back foot as Mexico pressed La Albiceleste. Mexico’s Jesus Gallardo flashed a delicious cross into the box, but no Mexican player got close to the ball.
Argentina's forward #10 Lionel Messi smiles during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group C football match between Argentina and Mexico. Photo by Glyn Kirk / AFP
The high-octane game lived up to its hype as Mexico hounded Argentina as both teams struggled to create any clear-cut opportunity.
Nestor Araujo was lucky to remain on the pitch for El Tri after he was shown a yellow card, which could have easily been red for a rash tackle on Marcos Acuna. Mexico suffered an injury blow late in the first half as Jose Guardado was subbed off before half-time due to an injury.
Alexis Vega tested Emi Martinez from a set piece, but Emi Martinez held firmly. Vega again tried his luck from range, though his sliced effort was always rising. The first half fizzled, with both goalkeepers having little to do. Both teams set unwanted statistics as they combined for a total of four efforts on goal in the first half, the lowest in a World Cup game since the Netherlands against Argentina in 2014 (three).
The second half saw a more spirited Argentina side, but they couldn’t break the resilient Mexican defence who were otherwise poor going forward. Messi sent a freekick from a good position wide before Mexico cleared after good work from Angel Di Maria down the right.
Argentina pushed for the opener and soon got their reward just past the hour mark. The country’s all-time leading scorer Messi dragged his side from the well with a magical moment sending the packed stadium into a frenzy.
The PSG man received the ball from Di Maria, took one touch and drilled a trademark low shot into the bottom corner, beating Guillermo Ochoa.
"Today starts another World Cup for Argentina," Messi said after the match.
"The first half, we didn't play as we should and in the second, when we calmed down, we started to play the ball better and until the goal we went back to being what we are."
The goal seemed to deflate Gerardo Martino’s men, and they laboured for the rest of the match as Argentina sealed the win just three minutes from time with an Enzo Fernandez stunner.
The 21-year-old Benfica man received the ball from Messi on the edge of the box before producing a lovely step over to throw off his markers and then curled a delicious shot into the far right corner past the flailing Ochoa.
The Argentina supporters in a crowd of 88,966 celebrated with relief as their World Cup campaign got back on track.
The result leaves Poland top of Group C on four points after their win over Saudi Arabia, who are third with three points. Argentina are second with three points with a superior goal difference heading into their final group match against Poland on Wednesday, while Mexico are bottom with one point.
