Argentina v Australia ratings: Messi 9, Alvarez 7; Souttar 8, Leckie 5

South Americans through to last-eight showdown with Netherlands

ARGENTINA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez - 7. Hardly had to touch the ball in the first half. Almost allowed Mitchell Duke to stop his pass, then saved Nicolas Otamendi after he hit an underhit ball. Enzo Fernandez’s deflection on Craig Goodwin’s shot left him with no chance of stopping it. Rushed out to stop Garang Kuol in the final moments. Reuters

Danny Lewis

Dec 04, 2022

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Lionel Messi marked his 1,000th senior appearance with the opening goal as Argentina booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals by beating Australia 2-1 on Saturday night.

Midas touch of Lionel Messi sends Argentina into World Cup quarter-finals

Messi produced the first moment of quality to break the deadlock towards the end of the first half and Julian Alvarez pounced on a goalkeeping error to put two-time world champions Argentina in full control early in the second.

Australia went down fighting at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium and ensured an anxious finale after Craig Goodwin’s deflected shot reduced the deficit.

A last-eight clash with the Netherlands on Friday now awaits Argentina, who recovered from a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening match of the tournament to finish top of Group C.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the gallery above. To view the next image, just swipe.

Updated: December 04, 2022, 3:47 AM