Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni says his team are now “on the right path” as they look to cement their place in the World Cup knockouts via their Group C decider against Poland on Wednesday night.
The Copa America champions, one of the favourites for the tournament, suffered a shock 2-1 defeat in last week's opener against Saudi Arabia, but rebounded on Saturday by beating Mexico 2-0. The loss to Saudi represented Argentina’s first defeat in 36 matches.
The two-time world champions now take on Poland to book a spot in the last 16. The Poles currently lead the group on four points, one ahead of Argentina, while Saudi sit third also on three points, and Mexico have one.
On Wednesday, Argentina will be hoping for another crucial contribution from Lionel Messi after the captain opened the scoring against Mexico to relieve the pressure on the world’s No 3-ranked side.
On Tuesday, Scaloni said: “Obviously after a victory against Mexico, we are feeling better emotionally. We are on the right path now.
“Have we recovered our identity after the [Messi] goal? It depends on how you see it, because then we had to defend the result, whatever it took. That’s football. It’s tough.
“We had a couple of chances after the goal to get a bigger result; at the end of the match we managed to do that, and that’s what counts.
“That’s our identity – we fight for every single ball and try to be strong. That’s what we asked our players ahead of the match, and that really reassured us – that’s what we saw on the pitch. Yes, the first half wasn’t great, but we saw our players fighting.”
Argentina 2 Mexico 0: player ratings
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
If they are to secure a second successive win, Argentina will most likely have to keep quiet Poland captain Robert Lewandowski. The Barcelona striker, rated one of the best strikers in the game, got his first World Cup goal in the 2-0 victory against Saudi on Saturday.
Asked on Tuesday if he regarded Lewandowski as being on the same level as Messi, Scaloni said: “He’s a top player. It’s a privilege and a pleasure to see him from up close, as a football fan. He’s a great player.
“The question is a bit tricky – is he at the same level of Messi? You just have to enjoy watching such a good player. Why compare one player with the other one? It’s not helpful.”
Scaloni's opposite number, Czeslaw Michniewicz, said only that Messi and Lewandowski were “fabulous” players, adding that the match should not be distilled to simply the two captains.
“It’s not tennis, Michniewicz said. “It’s not one-on-one”.
On how he would try to prevent Messi from affecting the game, Michniewicz compared the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner to Italian Olympic champion skier Alberto Tomba.
“It’s a great question, how to stop Lionel Messi,” the Poland manager said. “I think all the world has been thinking about it for years, and I don’t think we’re ever going to find out the final answer.
“Today at the briefing we said that Messi behaves on the pitch like Alberto Tomba on the slope. He is able to avoid everyone like Tomba, get around everyone.
“So I need to put our players to make it difficult for Messi, because if he is able to ride through easily, he will score easily. We need to do it with teamwork.”
Should Poland qualify, they will become the first team from their country to make the last 16 in 36 years.
“We should all be excited to play Argentina, that we play for something, it’s high stakes,” Michniewicz said. “We will do everything to win because we can do it.”