After a thrilling Match 39 between Argentina and Poland saw Messi’s men pull off a much needed 2-0 victory, the Group C standings see Argentina finish at the top spot and Poland take a lead over Mexico to finish second. As a result, both the teams see themselves qualified for the Round of 16, Mexico narrowly losing out to Poland on goal difference.
Argentina had entered the match a point behind their opponents, who were then the table toppers. However, goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez saw Argentina beat Poland 2-0 to switch places and take the top spot, pushing Poland to the second spot. Argentina could have taken a 3-0 win here but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny made a memorable save of a Messi penalty in the first half to deny that huge lead. So, now a second-placed finish for Poland puts them against defending champions France in the top 16, meaning Argentina will take on Australia.
Argentina totally dominated the game from the outset, with Messi, clearly determined to build on his match-winning display against Mexico following the shock loss to Saudi Arabia in their World Cup opener. Poland were in for a very certain disaster when goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny tackled Messi in the box in the first half, which was adjudged a foul following a VAR check and a penalty for the Argentines. However, Szczesny rectified his mistake by making a fantastic save diving to the left, blocking a bullet fired strike by Lionel Messi that would’ve gone crashing into the top right corner of the goal.
Poland made a double substitution just after the second half began, getting in Michal Skoras and Jakub Kaminski to support captain Lewandowksi, hoping that the trio would lead upfront and change the course of the game, but Mac Allester’s opening goal in the 46th minute weighed the bar in favor of Argentina. It was his first international goal following a fine cut-back by Nahuel Molina that allowed Allister to push the ball into the bottom corner. A much needed lead for Messi’s men boost their morale and prompted the 11 to keep moving forward.
Poland did try to fight back as Kamil Glik attempted to head in a potential scoring chance wide off the goal from a Polish free-kick. However, Argentina soon took back control as Mac Allister played the ball brilliantly around the Polish box threatening a second goal got Argentina. 68 minutes into the match, Julian Alvarez doubled Argentina’s lead over Poland after a fine pass by Enzo Fernandez and curled it brilliantly into the nets. Argentina have now taken a comfortable 2-0 lead over their opponents.
The match finally ended with the referee’s whistle, giving Argentina the win and a top-of-the-table finish, sending them through to the Round of 16. The end whistle also saw Poland celebrating as despite their loss, they surprisingly have whisked past Mexico on goal difference to take the second spot in Group C to qualify for the top 16.
Although Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister scored the vital breakthrough goal for Lionel Scaloni’s side, it was Messi’s dedication, in equal measure, to bewitching his adoring public and bewildering Poland that really made the difference.
If you love football and want to keep up with the most recent events and post-match updates of the FIFA World Cup 2022, just stay tuned to 90agency for everything!