Argentina too strong for hard-working Australia | Qatar World Cup 2022 News

Australia put up a decent challenge, but Argentina showed their class.

Argentina have beaten Australia 2-1 in the round of 16 of the football World Cup in Qatar, setting up a quarter-final against the Netherlands.

Lionel Messi, playing in his 1000th game, opened the score in the 35th minute, one of few highlights of the first half at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Satirdau, to reach nine World Cup career goals and best Argentina legend’s Diego Maradona’s World Cup tally.

A second followed just before the hour mark, courtesy of Julian Alvarez following a major lapse by Australia’s defence/.

The Socceroos played a compact game, and some periods of possession worked well for them in the second half. Goodwin tried to find a receiver inside of the box from distance in the 77th minute, but the ball ricocheted off Federico Fernandez and into the Argentina goal.

Futher efforts in both goal-mouths ramped up the tension in the dying minutes, but the widely predicted result keeps Messi’s Argentina World Cup hopes alive.

More to follow…