By Sedara Oluwadara
Despite suffering one of the greatest World Cup shocks of all time in their opening game against Saudi Arabia, Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina side cruised to the last-16 of the tournament with a 2-0 victory over Poland.
Having scored in each of his last six Argentina appearances, Lionel Messi scuppered the chance to make it seven consecutive goals for the Albiceleste in a first half packed with drama.
With the weight of a nation on his back, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was forced to watch a poorly-struck penalty tipped around the post by Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny. Perhaps, some would suggest justice had been served, as the spot-kick itself was awarded in controversial fashion when Messi went down under a slight touch from Szczęsny inside the box.Handed a reprieve with that Messi miss on the brink of the break, Poland failed to take advantage of the lifeline and fell behind almost immediately after the restart. Sweeping home a right-footed effort from inside the area, Alexis Mac Allister’s maiden Argentina goal put Scaloni’s side on top of Group C and in pole position to finish first.
Having been put through the rigmarole in their previous two group-stage fixtures, the hoards of Argentine supporters inside Stadium 974 and across the globe were treated to a somewhat comfortable end to proceedings.
Shimmying inside onto his favoured, Julián Álvarez, who had come close in the first half, rocketed a right-footed strike into the top corner to give Argentina clear daylight.
With the three points all but secured for Argentina, attention switched to who would qualify alongside the Albiceleste.
