Argentina overcame Australia 2-1 in their Round of 16 contest and sealed their place in the quarterfinals. They will meet the Netherlands in the quarterfinal on December 10 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Qatar World Cup: Argentina vs Australia match report
For the third time in a row, Argentina made changes to their starting XI, most notably Angel Di Maria, who had fitness issues. Papu Gomez started in place of Di Maria upfront alongside Messi and Alvarez. They started the game with aggression, just like they did against Poland.
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Australia, on the other hand, were mostly focusing on a counter-attacking approach whenever they got the opportunity. But the Socceroos were primarily focused on stopping Argentine attacking players and intended to stay in the game by not giving up a goal.
The way Argentina constantly pushed the opposition defense, finding the back of the net was imminent for them. No surprise, it was Lionel Messi who stepped up for the Albiceleste and opened the scoring in the 35th minute with a nice curling shot after getting into the D-box. Argentina ended the first half with a one-goal lead.
The second half started with Argentina's continuous pressure on the Australian half. Within 12 minutes, they scored the second goal thanks to a blunder by Australian goalkeeper Matthew Ryan. who failed to properly clear the ball, and from behind, Rodrigo de Paul put pressure on him. Finding the ball, Julian Alvarez sent the ball into the back of the net. It was his second goal in two successive matches.
The game took a new twist when Australia scored a surprise goal in the 77th minute. A thunderous shot by an Australian player went into the back of the net after being hugely deflected by Enzo Fernandez. It was an own goal by Enzo Fernandez.
Australia were so close to getting their second goal, but a brilliant effort by Lisandro Martinez saved Argentina. In the dying minute, Emi Martinez made a brilliant save as well. Both sides tried to create chances till the end, but eventually the match ended in a 2-1 victory for Argentina.
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The overall stats suggest how dominant Argentina was in this match. They had 61 percent ball possession (693 passes), compared to Australia's 39 percent ball possession (436 passes).
Aftermath
Argentina dominated the game from start to finish and deservedly reached the quarterfinals with a victory over Australia. On the other hand, Australia's Qatar World Cup journey ended in the Round of 16.