Lionel Messi, the legendary Argentinian star, is one of the greatest players in the history of world football. Messi, who scored a goal against Australia in the pre-quarters of the World Cup in Qatar, has given a strong answer to the constant criticism that he is under pressure in the knockout stage with his performance. On Saturday night, the blue team defeated Australia 2-1 and marched into the quarter-finals thanks to Messi’s performance. Messi, who broke the defensive lock of the kangaroos who had done homework to lock him down and challenged in front of the goal, made magical moves in the box reminiscent of the astonishing performances he showed in club football in his youth. Argentina fans all over the world are firmly hoping that the legendary player who has not lifted the World Cup trophy till now will kiss the last World Cup of his career.
The opponents of the Blue Army in the quarter-finals are the stronger Netherlands. If they win it, the strong Brazil will be Argentina’s opponents in the semi-finals. Messi shares his firm hope that he can clear all obstacles so far in his final World Cup. “I am very happy to take another step forward and achieve another goal in the World Cup. This was a very difficult match. There wasn’t much time to rest after the game against Mexico. “We were a bit worried about that,” Messi said.
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Saturday’s pre-quarter match against Australia was Messi’s 1000th career match. In the first half of the match, after receiving Otamendi’s pass, Messi cut through the Kangaroos’ defenders and fired a shot with his left foot into the left corner of the opposing goal. It was the ninth goal in 23 World Cup matches for the superstar, who has been part of Argentina’s World Cup squad since 2006.
Julian Alvarez, another striker in the team, said that not only Messi’s goal, but also his presence until the end of the game was very important in the match. Alvarez scored the second goal of the game against the Aussies. ‘It doesn’t surprise us, we know Leo. We try our best to support him. Even when Messi didn’t score, the galleries were screaming for him. The applause was loud when he won a corner against the Aussies in the 65th minute. Alvarez added, “He inspires young players a lot.” The Argentinian youngster was thrilled to play with Erling Holland in Manchester City and with Messi in the national team.
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