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

Nahuel Molina - 6. Held Jackson Irvine off well when a corner came in and was largely strong in his defending. Didn’t get forward much as well as he will have expected. EPA

Cristian Romero - 7. Spooned the ball out of play to concede a cheap throw but was strong most of the time, blocking Harry Souttar’s header and putting in a big tackle on Duke. Stopped Mathew Leckie in a potentially dangerous position. AFP

Nicolas Otamendi - 6. Showed inventiveness with some of his passing and authoritatively headed away Aaron Mooy’s corner delivery. His touch fell at Lionel Messi’s feet for the opener. Got away with an underhit backpass in the second half and his attempt at tackling Aziz Behich was a weak one, while it was his unconvincing clearance that fell at Goodwin’s feet. Reuters

Marcos Acuna - 7. Blocked a possibly dangerous cross from Leckie and had a few interesting duels with Milos Degenek. Came agonisingly close to finding Julian Alvarez with a wonderful cross. Reuters

Rodrigo De Paul - 8. Did well to marshal Behich out of play when he’d broken into the box and often kept the ball moving, even if his passing could have been quicker in the first half. Was brilliant in the second period, making a great burst up the pitch to start a move that resulted in a Messi shot. Reuters

Enzo Fernandez - 6. Moved the ball well in the middle of the pitch and sprayed some nice passes to widen the play. Was unlucky that Craig Goodwin’s shot went off him and into the net. Getty

Alexis Mac Allister - 6. Picked up some nice spaces and wasn’t afraid to get on the ball, although there were times when he could have moved it quicker. Pressed well and got involved in some lovely link-up play in the second half, including a nice lay-off for Messi. EPA

Alejandro Gomez - 6. Cut inside Degenek but hit a horrible shot. Continued taking up nice spaces and bought a foul from Behich before Lionel Messi scored the opener. AFP

Lionel Messi - 9. In his 100th match as Argentina captain and the 1,000th game of his career, he brought some life to a stagnant match when he closed down Behich, then opened the scoring with a lovely finish moments later. Went on some magical ones, finishing one by sliding the ball to Lautaro Martinez for what should have been an easy goal. Came close with a curling effort in the final stages. EPA

Julian Alvarez - 7. A poor touch let him down after a nice run, but he pressed the Australian defence well when some others around him were not. Took the ball from Ryan and punished the goalkeeper for his mistake by sliding the ball into the net. PA

SUBS: Lisandro Martinez (Gomez, 50’) - 7. Put Otamendi in an awkward position with a poor clearance but made a lot of his work look routine before putting in a superb block to deny Behich’s shot. AFP

Lautaro Martinez (Alvarez 71’) – N/R. Made a good burst forward before being stopped by Fran Karacic. Did well to get a toe on the ball to set up Nicolas Tagliafico despite being caught by Jackson Irvine. Missed the target with a horrible shot and will be wondering how he didn’t score with Ryan denying him twice. Getty

Nicolas Tagliafico (Acuna 72’) – N/R. Dragged his shot across goal and was beaten too easily by Kuol in the final stages before being saved by his goalkeeper. AP

Exequiel Palacios (Mac Allister 80’) – N/R. Won possession back well to allow Messi to go on one of his big runs and competed well in midfield. AFP

Gonzalo Montiel (Molina 80’) – N/R. Had some nice touches and helped to run down the clock. Made a great defensive header in the final minute. AP

AUSTRALIA RATINGS: Mat Ryan - 5. Wasn’t given too much to do before being beaten by Messi. Came out well to head away Martinez’s long ball but then overplayed with the ball in his own box to gift Argentina their second. AFP

Milos Degenek - 7. Was unlucky to be booked following an aerial duel with Acuna but battled well throughout. Did brilliantly to stop Messi after he’d embarked on a superb run. AP

Harry Souttar - 8. Played some lovely passes and also defended well, notably heading away Messi’s free-kick delivery. Was unlucky to see Messi’s shot go through his legs and wasn’t fazed as he put in a strong challenge on the forward. Conjured a good flick in the opposition box and was used as a makeshift forward towards the end. Getty

Kye Rowles - 7. Showed great concentration in his defending to maintain the team’s shape and was calm on the ball. Wasn’t afraid to follow Messi out when he drifted into awkward areas. AP

Aziz Behich - 6. Battled well and also made some good ventures forward. Shortly after having a disagreement with Messi, he conceded a cheap free-kick with a challenge on Gomez with Messi scoring in the aftermath. Was desperately unlucky that Martinez blocked his shot after a brilliant run. Getty

Mathew Leckie - 5. Helped out defensively but struggled to have much of an attacking impact with some unconvincing touches. Getty

Keanu Baccus - 7. Put in a lot of great defensive work to ensure that Messi and his Argentine attacking colleagues were nullified for large periods in the first half. Some of his passing was a little bit sloppy. EPA

Aaron Mooy - 6. Took up great positions to help his defence and was comfortable in possession in the first half, breaking the lines with a brilliant pass to Irvine. Overhit some of his set-piece deliveries and wasn’t quite as effective in the second period. Reuters

Jackson Irvine - 6. Booked for a late tackle on Acuna in the 15th minute, and he did have some good moments despite his play not always being pretty. Won a corner from a tight position and worked hard throughout. Reuters

Riley McGree - 6. Put De Paul under pressure with a great early press and delivered a quality corner for Souttar’s header. Showed intelligence and did well to win a free-kick but was quiet in the second half before being taken off. EPA

Mitchell Duke - 6. Caught Fernandez with an early challenge in a sign that he was willing to put himself about. Got a foot to Martinez’s pass, then rushed him when Otamendi played an underhit backpass. AFP

SUBS: Ajdin Hrustic (Baccas 58’) - 6. Got on the ball and switched the play and kept trying to make things happen, although he curled a disappointing shot off target. Getty

Craig Goodwin (McGree 58’) - 6. Delivered some disappointing crosses after getting into good positions, but hit a shot that deflected off Fernandez and went in to give Australia hope. AP

Garang Kuol (Leckie 72’) – N/R. Rose well to beat Romero to a header and linked play nicely while letting Argentine defenders know he was there. Turned brilliantly in the box but couldn’t beat Martinez. AP

Fran Karacic (Degenek 72’) – N/R. Got across well to stop Martinez running through on goal, then stuck with him to force the forward to concede a throw, and also got a toe to one of his shots. Getty

Jamie Maclaren (Duke 72’) – N/R. Chased down a lost cause well and was unlucky that his late flick didn’t find a fellow Australian in the box. AP

Danny Lewis

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.

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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