Lionel Messi said Argentina had lifted “a weight off our shoulders” with the 2-0 win against Mexico on Saturday night that breathed life back into their Fifa World Cup campaign.
Argentina, two-time champions, went into the Group C encounter knowing defeat at Lusail Stadium would eliminate the current Copa America holders.
Argentina began their bid for a third global title in hugely disappointing fashion on Tuesday, losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history. Riding a 36-match unbeaten streak, Argentina were considered one of the favourites in Qatar.
On Saturday, Messi struck a 64th-minute opener to break the deadlock against Mexico, before Enzo Fernandez made safe the result three minutes from time.
“Today, Argentina's World Cup begins,” Messi said. “We lived with discomfort given the defeat in the opening match was something we didn’t expect.
“The days felt very long and we were eager to have the chance to turn it around. We knew it was a critical game. Luckily, we had the option to win and it was a weight off our shoulders, a reason for joy and peace of mind because it is all down to us again.”
Argentina will be guaranteed progression to the knockout stages if they defeat Poland on Wednesday. Earlier on Saturday, the Europeans registered a 2-0 win against Saudi Arabia.
Against Mexico, Messi tied Argentine World Cup winner Diego Maradona on both 21 matches and eight goals at a global finals. Friday marked two years since Maradona’s death, aged 60.
"I tell people the same thing, that they continue to believe.” Messi said. “Today we did what we had to do. We had no other choice. We had to win so that we depended only on ourselves.
Argentina v Mexico player ratings
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ARGENTINA PLAYER RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez – 7. Saved a Vega free-kick on 44 and kept a clean sheet, but while Argentina won, they’ve looked lacklustre in the World Cup so far. AFP -
Gonzalo Montiel – 5. Right-back who plays for Sevilla, disappointing. Booked. AFP -
Nicolas Otamendi – 7. The 34-year-old kept Mexico’s forwards quiet as he won everything in the air and on the ground. AP -
Lisandro Martinez – 7. A first World Cup start for the Man United player, he wasn’t as involved as Otamendi to his side, but he won every tackle he went in for. EPA -
Marcos Acuna – 6. Argentina’s other full-back who plays for Sevilla, he – and Argentina’s defence – looked much better when they moved to five at the back. PA -
Angel Di Maria – 6. Mediocre game in which he was peripheral, though he did set up Messi for the crucial opening goal. AP -
Rodrigo De Paul – 6. Played too deep and ran into Mexican midfielders too often. Not creative enough. AFP -
Guido Rodriguez – 6. Started with four at the back and switched to five for the second half, which worked for him. Getty -
Alexis Mac Allister – 6. Struggled to get the ball to Messi. Surprised that Paredes was dropped from the midfield as five changes were made to the side lost to Saudi Arabia. AFP -
Lionel Messi – 7. Insisted all was well with his fitness. Runs into a well organised Mexican defence were a limited threat. Nowhere near the levels he could reach. Body language as off as his free-kicks…then he got the breakthrough. Brilliant first touch and strike from 25 yards on 64. Set up the second. And that was enough. PA -
Lautaro Martinez – 5. Headed a Messi cross over after 40 but was offside in front of the huge 88,966 crowd. Little service, little threat. AFP -
SUBS: Enzo Fernandez (Rodriguez 57’) – 8. Brought energy. Scored the second, curling in a shot after cutting in from the right with beautiful technique after 87. AFP -
Nahuel Molina (Montiel 63’) – 7. The Atletico Madrid right back sliced a shot well wide after 70. EPA -
Julian Alvarez (Martinez 63’) – 7. Was through on 76 and passed into the box but the move broke down as Mexico became more stretched. AFP -
Cristian Romero (Mac Allister 68’) – 7. Helped see the game out for the Argentina win and while they still have to beat Poland to be sure of qualification, it’s a far better situation than before the game. Reuters -
Exequiel Palacios (Di Maria 68’) – 7. Another correctly called sub who made a difference to the game. Getty -
MEXICO PLAYER RATINGS: Guillermo Ochoa – 5. Commanded his box well for the most part but seemed to see Messi’s strike late. A similar story with Fernandez’s strike that put the game out of sight. AP -
Kevin Alvarez – 5. Didn’t do enough as part of a disjointed display by Mexico. Replaced in the 66th minute by Raul Jimenez. AP -
Nestor Araujo – 6. Played the ball out from the back well but couldn’t get close to attackers for the most part, exemplified early-on when he picked up a booking for a poor challenge. Getty -
Cesar Montes – 7. Dominant in the air and positioned himself astutely to deal with incoming crosses into the box. Looked comfortable in the heart of Mexico’s defence. AFP -
Hector Moreno – 6. Assured for the majority of the game with most of Argentina’s best efforts coming from outside of the box. Made the switch to left-back later on in the game. AFP -
Jesus Gallardo – 7. Often stood up well to the task when challenged by Argentina’s attacking players. Could have done more in terms of his play going forward. AFP -
Luis Chavez – 5. Tried to get things moving in the right direction for Mexico, but there didn’t seem to be much fluidity or structure in their attacks. Frustrating overall. Getty -
Hector Herrera – 6. Read the play well and established control for Mexico in some of their best attacking moves. Herrera was also aggressive when challenging for possession but switched off in the build-up to Messi’s opener. AFP -
Andres Guardado – 7. A strong midfield display as the experienced player was quick to apply pressure and won the ball on a number of occasions, though his match was cut short as he was substituted with an injury just before half-time. AFP -
Hirving Lozano – 4. Struggled to find space up front with play breaking down in the times that it did get to him. Eventually replaced in the 72nd minute by Alvarado. EPA -
Alexis Vega – 4. Tested the goalkeeper from range with a free-kick that was easy enough to deal with. An overall difficult performance against a tough battle with Argentina’s central defenders. Replaced after Messi’s goal by Antuna. AFP -
SUBS: Erick Gutierrez (Guardado 42’) – 5. Had to apply more pressure to Fernandez before the second goal, with the Benfica man known for his threatening shots from range. AFP -
Raul Jimenez (Alvarez 66’) – 5. Showed intensity to attack spaces but faced similar struggles as Argentina’s centre-backs dealt comfortably with the danger. Getty -
Uriel Antuna (Vega 66’) – 5. Did little to change Mexico’s fortunes, with another anonymous display from the attacker. Getty -
Roberto Alvarado (Lozano 73’) – N/R. Didn’t get going when introduced. Wasteful in possession. AFP
"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.”
Meanwhile, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni urged his compatriots not to get carried away with the victory. Emotions were high at a packed Lusail Stadium – the official attendance was just shy of 89,000 – with assistant manager Pablo Aimar seen in tears when Messi broke the deadlock.
"You have to have some common sense, it's just a football match," Scaloni said. "I received a message from my brother saying he was crying and it can't be like that. It's as if it were more than a football match.
"I don't share that. The players must understand it's a football match. If not, it will be like this in every match.
"It's hard to make people understand that the sun will rise tomorrow, win or lose. What matters is how you do things."
On celebrating the triumph, Scaloni said: "People will think I'm crazy but fine, we won, we're celebrating, it happens. Tomorrow we have to prepare the game.
“It's like when we won the Copa [America] final and we had to think about what came next. The joy doesn't last long; you have to maintain balance.
“Poland are very difficult, everyone plays differently [against Argentina]. And they don't just change for Leo, but for all the other players and for the respect for Argentina."
