Lionel Messi said the World Cup will only get more difficult from now after Argentina survived a “complicated” finish to their match against Australia to book a place in the quarter-finals.
The two-time world champions prevailed 2-1 at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Saturday night, but had to withstand a few nervy moments towards the end as poor finishing from their side and then some sturdy defending saw off Australia.
Argentina had been 2-0 up on the night, with Messi scoring in his 1000th career match and Julian Alvarez doubling the advantage to seemingly send the team through.
However, Craig Goodwin’s deflected shot gave Australia a lifeline, and it needed a last-gasp save from Emiliano Martinez to prevent the match from going into extra-time.
Argentina now take on the Netherlands, three-time runners-up, on Friday for a place in the semi-finals. The Dutch defeated USA 3-1 earlier on Saturday.
Speaking immediately after Australia, and having picked up another man-of-the-match award, Messi said: "Things got complicated in the end with their goal, but it's a World Cup and it's never easy.
"Now we have a really tough clash with Holland, who play very well. They have great players and a great coach. It's going to be hard fought.
“If a World Cup has been tough from the start, it gets even tougher at this stage."
Argentina, the South American champions, were superior for much of the match against Australia in Al Rayyan, but were pegged back with 13 minutes of normal time remaining.
Argentina v Australia player ratings
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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
From there, Lionel Scaloni's side missed a number of chances, chiefly through substitute Lautaro Martinez, while namesake Lisandro Martinez was forced into making a last-ditch challenge after a superb solo run by Aziz Behich.
It was then left to Emiliano Martinez, the Argentine goalkeeper, to keep out 18-year-old substitute Garang Kuol deep into injury time.
“I’m very happy for taking another step forward, achieving another objective,” Messi said. “It was a very difficult match; we knew it was going to be this way.
“We knew it was going to be a very physical match and they were very strong. Matches are always difficult and what’s important is that you win.”
Argentina manager Scaloni paid tribute to his players, who have reeled off three successive wins in Qatar after their shock opening defeat by Saudi Arabia.
"We are satisfied,” Scaloni said. “Today's match was very difficult - they put a suffocating pressure on us. We shouldn't have suffered in the final minutes because we had chances to go further ahead.
"But my players were born to play in these sorts of games."
On the Netherlands test, in a rerun of the 1978 World Cup final that Argentina won, Scaloni said: "It's going to be a very beautiful game, with two historic teams. Sadly one team has to lose. And we hope it's us who go through.”
