With a new goal Lionel Messi was in charge of opening the scoring of the match Argentina vs. Australia this Saturday for the round of 16 World Cup Qatar 2022. Watch the conquest of the ‘Flea’ here.
The ‘Albiceleste’ star scored 35 minutes into the match played in Doha, thus achieving his first goal in a direct elimination round of the World Cup.
Nicolás Otamendi assisted from the front so that Messi, in the area, found the gap between three rivals to put a crossed shot close to the post, which served to open the scoring in the first great occasion of a game until then without great danger.
It was Messi’s ninth goal in the total of the five World Cups he has played, but the previous eight came in group stage matches, before the tournament entered the round of 16 matches.
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The first Messi’s goal in a World Cup was in his debut game, in Germany 2006, when he sealed the 6-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro in the 88th minute, on the second date of his group.
After failing to score in South Africa 2010, Messi stood out with four goals in Brazil-2014, an edition in which Argentina was runner-up.
Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gómez took the place of the injured Ángel Di María in Argentina’s duel once morest Australia. The Sevilla player, who started the Albiceleste’s first game, disappeared from Lionel Scaloni’s lineups. He returns in place of Di María, who has not recovered from the quadriceps injury in his left leg.
Argentina, therefore, faced the round of 16 with Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Nicolás Otamendi, Cristian Romero, Marcos Acuña; Enzo Fernández, Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis Mac Allister; Papu Gomez, Leo Messi and Julián Álvarez.
In Australia, manager Graham Arnold introduced Keanu Baccus for the first time as a starter. This was the starting eleven for the Oceanic team: Matthew Ryan, Milos Degenek, Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles, Aziz Behich; Matthew Leckie, Mooy, Jackson Irvine, Keanu Baccus; Mitchell Duke and McGree.