World

Messi helps Argentina beat Mexico at the World Cup

LUSAIL, QATAR –

Lionel Messi scored another key goal for Argentina in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Mexico, opening the team’s World Cup chances.

Messi touched the ball from Angel Di Maria’s cross in the box and hit a low shot from 25 yards into the bottom corner of the goal in the 64th minute.

He ran towards the Argentinian fans with his arms outstretched before being surrounded by his jubilant teammates. He looked emotional as he grabbed and shook his jersey, then blew a kiss in front of the crowd before twirling his arms around.

Substitute Enzo Fernandez added a second goal in the 87th minute.

Argentina came back from the shock 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia in the opening match. The team are in second place in Group C ahead of their final game against Poland on Wednesday and may need a win to progress.

The 35-year-old Messi is likely to play in his final World Cup, which is the only major trophy missing from his collection.

It was Messi’s eighth World Cup goal – equal to the number of goals scored by rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona, the Argentine great to whom he is often compared in the tournament.

For some, Messi needs to win the World Cup to be compared with Pele and Maradona as the greatest players in football history. Thanks to this win, it’s still possible.

Before scoring, Messi had to endure a frustrating game, each time receiving the ball was accompanied by two defenders.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made five changes from the game against Saudi Arabia to energize the team but they didn’t make much of a difference at first.

The course of the game changed completely after Messi’s goal, his 93rd goal in international matches and the second of the tournament after a penalty against Saudi Arabia.



Source by [author_name]

news7h

News7h: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button