Messi inspires Argentina to crucial Mexico victory

Argentina 2-0 Mexico Goals: Messi (64) Fernandez (87) Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to a crucial victory over Mexico in Lusail Stadium to position the South Americans’ World Cup quest firmly back on track. An edgy game featured next to no goalmouth action until Messi lit a match under the contest after 64 minutes. When the 35-year-old genius sent a 22-yard free-kick over the bar six minutes after half-time Argentina’s World Cup life was hanging in the balance. Lionel Scaloni’s team knew defeat would spell the end of the road in Qatar following a shock opening loss to Saudi Arabia. But Messi gathered Angel Di Maria’s pass to fire unerringly into the bottom corner from outside the area. Enzo Fernandez, on as a second-half substitute, quashed any lingering anxiety when he strode into the box following a short corner to curl beyond goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and start an Argentinian party at the scene of their Saudi-inflicted desolation only four days ago. Key moment Argentina appeared lethargic and short on invention for the opening hour of a game they didn’t dare lose. Even the incomparable Messi was labouring, trundling on the periphery and comprehensively clearing the bar with his one dead-ball opportunity soon after the restart. It’s the quiet ones you have to watch, goes the saying. And it never pays to take your eyes off Messi, regardless. Sure enough, the Paris Saint-Germain player evoked memories of his tremendous last-ditch strike to defeat IR Iran in Argentina’s second group game of Brazil 2014 when he took charge of his team’s destiny at this competition. The assist was supplied by another Argentina stalwart in the 126-cap Di Maria. Messi controlled the pass from his long-time oppo, roughly 22 yards from goal. Mexico, perhaps not fully switched on to the danger, were slow to close the seven-times FIFA Ballon d’Or winner and how they will regret their hesitation. Ochoa was hitherto unbeaten in Qatar. The strike, then, needed to be true and accurate – and Messi’s crisp shot met both criteria, scooting inside Ochoa’s left post. The unthinkable prospect of Messi’s attempt to win a first World Cup going south after two matches was banished with one swipe of the most famous left foot on the planet. Key stat The combined total of four efforts on goal in the first half was the lowest in a World Cup game since Netherlands v Argentina in 2014 (three). That match went to penalties. Messi drew level with Diego Maradona on eight World Cup goals and moved two behind national team record holder Gabriel Batistuta's haul of 10. Quotes Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni: "You know what happened The number 10 scored the goal. He did what he does best, scoring goals, supported by the whole squad and it was thrilling in every aspect." Mexico coach Gerardo Martino, whose team need victory over Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for any chance of a last-16 spot: "As long as there is a chance we will try. Saudi Arabia need to win. So do we. They need to score. We need to score. Footballers are used to bouncing back and using all our chances. Is it difficult? Yes, the second goal of Poland against Saudi Arabia was harmful. So was Argentina's second goal against us. "It's difficult but there is a chance. We need a winner in the other match. And the more they score the better. That would be helpful." Player of the match Lionel Messi

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The group stage in stats

-Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo made five-edition history -Landmark achievements by Kalidou Koulibaly, Marcus Rashford and Wojciech Szczesny -Quick-fire goals rewrote the FIFA World Cup™ record books 67 Kalidou Koulibaly took 67 caps to score his first Senegal goal – and what a time he picked to score it. His volley snatched the Lions of Teranga a 2-1 win over Ecuador and a last-16 tie against England. The only outfield players at Qatar 2022 to have played more internationals without scoring are Koke (70) and Chris Gunter (109). Senegal’s victory ended a 21-game winless run for African sides against South American opposition in the World Cup (17 losses, four draws), with the last being Cameroon’s dramatic defeat of Colombia at Italia ’90. 44 Forty-four years had passed since Mexico went out at the group stage of a World Cup until Tata Martino’s team fell at the first hurdle in Qatar. El Tri had suffered last-16 elimination at seven successive global finals, while in 1986 they lost on penalties to West Germany in the quarter-finals. The exit came despite the fact that Luis Chavez became the first Mexican to score a direct free-kick at the World Cup. 39 Canada’s Atiba Hutchinson, at 39 years and 296 days against Morocco, is the second-oldest outfield player to appear in the World Cup. The distinction had belonged to Argentina’s Angel Labruna, due to his run-out against Czechoslovakia in 1958, going into this tournament. Roger Milla played as a 42-year-old at USA 1994. 36 Marcus Rashford scored three times in just 109 minutes – one every 36 minutes of action. There were just 96 seconds between Rashford’s opener and Phil Foden’s lead-doubler in the victory over Wales. It meant that the 145 seconds between the Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling efforts against IR Iran reigned for only eight days as the shortest gap between England goals in World Cup history. 8 Cameroon had lost eight consecutive matches across eight cities over three World Cups until they dramatically snatched a draw in Al Wakrah. Three-one down to Serbia, quick-fire goals from Vincent Aboubakar and Maxim Choupo-Moting ensured the Indomitable Lions avoided tieing the World Cup record of nine straight defeats Mexico set between 1930 and ’58. Those Cameroonian goals came within 151 seconds of one another. It was the fastest time a team had recovered a two-goal deficit to restore parity in the competition since Austria did it against Switzerland in the highest-scoring match in World Cup history in 1954. 7 Spain astonishingly scored seven goals with their first seven shots on target against Costa Rica. The match finished 7-0, giving La Roja their biggest-ever World Cup win and meaning their goal difference from that game was, unbelievably, greater than their goal difference from all seven games during their triumphant South Africa 2010 campaign. Spain completed exactly 1,000 passes against Costa Rica, becoming the first team in World Cup history to reach that figure in a 90-minute game, while Alejandro Balde, Gavi, Pedri and Nico Williams ensured four players under the age of 21 represented a European country in a World Cup match for the first time since Yugoslavia fielded several teenagers 92 years ago. 5 Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cups when he found the net against Ghana. Uwe Seeler, Pele, Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi have netted in four global finals. Grzegorz Lato, Andrzej Szarmach, Michel Platini, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Diego Maradona, Lothar Matthaus, Rudi Voller, Roberto Baggio, Jurgen Klinsmann, Gabriel Batistuta, Fernando Hierro, Henrik Larsson, Raul, Ronaldo, Tim Cahill, Arjen Robben, David Villa, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez have scored in three. 5 Lionel Messi became the first player to register an assist in five World Cups when he set up Enzo Fernandez to seal a 2-0 win over Mexico. ‘La Pulga Atomica’ had previously laid on goals for Hernan Crespo in 2006, Carlos Tevez in 2010, Angel Di Maria v Switzerland in 2014, and Gabriel Mercado and Di Maria in 2018. No other player has recorded an assist in more than three World Cups. Grzegorz Lato, Diego Maradona and David Beckham and the only other players to have set up goals in three editions. 3 Harry Kane surprisingly leads the assists’ chart on three. The England forward won the adidas Golden Boot at Russia 2018 but failed to register an assist in almost 10 hours of action. Kane has become only the second Englishman to set up three goals in a World Cup after David Beckham at Korea/Japan 2002. Jordi Alba, Bruno Fernandes, Theo Hernandez, Davy Klaassen, Ivan Perisic and Andrija Zivkovic all have two assists apiece. 3 Wahbi Khazri became the first African player to score in three successive World Cup starts after he followed up goals against Belgium and Panama at Russia 2018 with the winner against France. The 31-year-old has now been directly involved in Tunisia’s last five goals in the competition, having assisted Dylan Bronn and Fakhreddine Ben Youssef four years ago. 2 Wojciech Szczesny became just the fourth man at the World Cup to save multiple penalties outside of shoot-outs. The Poland goalkeeper kept out spot-kicks from Salem Aldawsari and Messi, who became just the second player, after Asamoah Gyan, to fail to score two penalties outside of shoot-outs at this tournament tournament. Jan Tomaszewski, Brad Friedel and Iker Casillas are the other goalkeepers to have saved two penalties in normal or extra-time at the World Cup.

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World Cup permutations: Who is into the last 16 and who could join them?

Nov 30: The Three Lions will play Senegal in their second-round knockout game at 19:00 GMT on Sunday, 4 December, while the United States will play the Netherlands at 15:00 GMT on Saturday, 3 December. France's 2-1 win over Denmark saw them become the first team to book their place in the last 16, before Brazil joined them by beating Switzerland 1-0. Portugal also secured their qualification after beating Uruguay 2-0 on Monday, while Groups A and B finished on Tuesday. Meanwhile, hosts Qatar, Canada and Ecuador have been knocked out. As we run through the business end of the group stage, we take a look at how it stands. Group A Three-time finalists the Netherlands advanced to the last 16 as Group A winners with a comfortable 2-0 win over hosts Qatar, who had already been eliminated from the tournament before kick-off. Meanwhile, Senegal claimed a 2-1 victory over Ecuador as they progressed to the knockout stage for just the second time, having reached the quarter-finals on their debut in 2002. Group B England cruised into the last 16 with a 3-0 victory over Wales, who finished bottom of the group and were eliminated. The USA went through in second spot behind England with a 1-0 victory over Iran, who had only needed a point to go through. Group C Poland and Argentina are the top two in the group following 2-0 wins over Saudi Arabia and Mexico respectively on Saturday. But those two meet in Wednesday's group decider, meaning there is a decent chance either Lionel Messi or Robert Lewandowski go out. Poland would be guaranteed progression with a draw, while Argentina will go through if they win. Both sides will go through if both games are drawn. Saudi Arabia will secure their shock entry to the knockout stage if they beat Mexico. Mexico need to beat the Saudis to have any hope of going through. They would be through if both they and Poland win. Any other result in the other game would probably mean the Mexicans would need to win by a few. Group D Kylian Mbappe scored twice to see France beat Denmark 2-1 and seal their place in the knockout stage. A draw in their final qualifying game against Tunisia on Wednesday will also seal top spot. Any of the other three teams could qualify along with Les Bleus. Australia will be through if they beat Denmark, but a draw would allow Tunisia to claim second spot if they upset France. Denmark have to win to have any chance of going through. If Denmark and Tunisia both win their games, the team to progress will be decided by goal difference or the other criteria mentioned below. Group E All four teams in Group E can still progress after Germany fought back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Spain on Sunday. The last matches in this section take place at 19:00 GMT on Thursday with Costa Rica playing Germany and Japan facing Spain. Spain will win the group with a victory or a draw - as long as the other match also ends in a draw or a Germany win. If Spain were to lose, Japan would win the group and the Spanish could still be eliminated. For that to happen, Luis Enrique's side would need to lose and Costa Rica beat Germany, or for Germany to win and overturn a goal difference currently eight worse than Spain's. Japan will also finish in the top two if both matches end in a draw. Costa Rica will be through if they beat Germany and will be group winners if Spain also draw with Japan. A draw for Costa Rica will only be enough to qualify if Spain beat Japan. Germany are bottom but will qualify as runners-up if they win and Japan lose. If Japan draw, Germany may need to win by two goals as their goal difference is currently one worse than Japan's. Group F Canada scored their first-ever World Cup goal on Sunday but it was only fleeting joy as Croatia hit back, scoring four times to put them out of the running for the last 16. That leaves Croatia top of Group F on goal difference, knowing they will ensure qualification if they avoid defeat to Belgium. They will also seal top spot if they match Morocco's result and maintain their superior goal difference. Morocco will be through if they win or draw their final group game against Canada. Belgium will qualify with victory against Croatia. A draw will only be enough if Morocco lose to Canada, with goal difference deciding the order in which they go through. The final games are played at 19:00 GMT on Thursday 1 December. Group G Five-time winners Brazil secured their place in the World Cup knockout stages after Casemiro struck seven minutes from time to seal a 1-0 win over Switzerland on Monday. Tite's side require one point from their final game against Cameroon to clinch top spot when the final two Group G matches take place at 19:00 on Friday, 2 December. Any of the other three teams could join Brazil in the last 16. Second-placed Switzerland must beat Serbia to guarantee their progress, while a point would be enough if Cameroon fail to beat Brazil. Serbia and Cameroon both need to win their respective games to keep alive their qualification hopes. Should both sides manage to get the win they need, Cameroon have a slight advantage with a marginally better goal difference. Group H Portugal have joined France and Brazil in booking their place in the knockout stages with a game to spare thanks to a 2-0 victory over Uruguay on Monday. They need just a point when they take on South Korea on Friday at 15:00 GMT to guarantee top spot in the group. Second-placed Ghana will progress to the last 16 by beating Uruguay. A draw will also suffice as long as South Korea do not beat Portugal by two goals or more. In the event that Portugal lose and Ghana win, top spot will be decided on goal difference and goals scored. South Korea's have two routes to making it to the next round in Qatar, which both rely on them beating Portugal. If Ghana and Uruguay draw, South Korea will need to beat Portugal by two clear goals to advance. If Uruguay and South Korea both win then it come down to goal difference - and possibly goals scored - with the Asian side holding a one-goal advantage. Uruguay's simplest path to the last 16 is to defeat Ghana in their final match and hope that South Korea fail to beat Portugal. How is qualification decided? If teams are level on points after the three group games, progress is decided by goal difference. The full tie-breaker criteria is: -Points accrued -Goal difference -Goals scored -Head-to-head results -Fair play: the team that has accumulated the fewest indiscipline points wins (a yellow card equals one point, a red card shown for two yellows equals three points, a direct red card equals four points and a direct red card shown to a player who was already on a yellow equals five points) -Lots drawn (with inputs from BBC)

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Messi can be very harmful within 30 seconds of getting the ball: Gerardo Martino

LUSAIL, QATAR: Following his side’s loss to Argentina in their FIFA World Cup match, Mexico coach Gerardo Martino remarked that when star Argentina striker Lionel Messi gets the ball, he can be very harmful within 30 seconds. Lionel Messi’s superb long-range strike and Enzo Fernandez’s stunning goal guided Argentina to a dominating victory over Mexico […]

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Messi keeps World Cup dream alive with magic strike against Mexico

Argentina, on three points, can guarantee progress with a win over Poland, top on four, in their final game on Wednesday.

The Kathmandu Post कार्तिक २०७९

Argentina look to Messi to salvage World Cup bid

DOHA, Nov 26: Argentina will seek to save their World Cup skins in Qatar on Saturday when Lionel Messi and his teammates face Mexico in a match they cannot afford to lose.

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World Cup: Argentina vs Mexico game, Messi under pressure

A chant has been doing the rounds among Saudi Arabia supporters, and even some from Brazil in the fan parks and streets of Doha at the World Cup.

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Messi’s Argentina seek rapid redemption against Mexico

The Argentines suffered one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, with a 2-1 reverse to low-ranked Saudi Arabia, as captain and top scorer Lionel Messi embarked on his fifth and final attempt to win the only prize that has eluded him.

The Kathmandu Post कार्तिक २०७९

Saudi Arabia stun Argentina in huge World Cup upset

Nov 22: Ranked 51st in the world, Saudi Arabia could have been done and dusted in the first half as Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Argentina had three goals ruled out for offside. But Saudi Arabia flipped the game on its head in a stunning 10-minute period after half-time, Saleh Al-Shehri levelling with a low effort and Salem Al Dawsari firing them ahead to spark pandemonium in the stands. Having shown their ruthlessness at one end, the Green Falcons demonstrated a ruggedness at the other, holding a stellar Argentina front line at bay to secure only their fourth World Cup win in history and throw the group wide open. Lionel Scaloni's Argentina came into the tournament among the favourites, on the back of a 36-game unbeaten run that included winning the 2021 Copa America. They now have it all to do to keep alive their hopes of a first global triumph since 1986 and give Messi a fitting ending to what is very likely his World Cup swansong. They face Mexico on Saturday, while Saudi Arabia take on Poland.

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Lionel Messi: Argentina forward says Qatar 2022 will 'surely' be his last World Cup

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Messi thrilled as Copa America glory draws nearer

BRASILIA, July 6 :Lionel Messi said Tuesday that he is more "thrilled than ever" at the prospect of winning an elusive international trophy after helping Argentina beat Colombia on penalties to reach the Copa America final. Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saved three spot-kicks in the shootout as the Albiceleste set up a clash with hosts Brazil in Saturday's decider at the Maracana stadium. "It was a tough game but we deserved it," Messi said in an interview with Argentine television after the match. "At times it became difficult because of the way they defended. But we have [Emiliano Martinez] who is a phenomenon. We knew he was going to make those saves. We know what he is capable of and we trusted him." Messi set up Lautaro Martinez for Argentina's only goal in the allotted 90 minutes before converting the first penalty of the shootout. The 34-year-old has been in unstoppable form in Brazil, racking up four goals and five assists in the tournament so far. "Many times it's easier to play against European teams than this type of game because there are more spaces," he said. "We tried our best and luckily we were able to win." Argentina's last major tournament triumph came at the 1993 Copa America in Ecuador, where Gabriel Batistuta led them to a 2-1 win over Mexico in the final. The Albiceleste have come frustratingly close to ending the drought during Messi's time in the national team, finishing runners up at the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Copa America. "We are very excited and happy," he said. "Irrespective of whether we win, I've really enjoyed these last 45 days with the team, despite not being able to see our families. It's been a big sacrifice for everyone to try to achieve our goal and now we are almost there." He also did not hide his enthusiasm at facing his former Barcelona teammate and close friend Neymar in the final. "We are friends and he wanted me to be there too. I'm sure it's going to be a very even and tough match. We achieved our first objective, which was to reach the final and now we are more thrilled than ever in search of a trophy," the forward added. (Xinhua)

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