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.
