Lionel Messi produced a moment of magic on his 1,000th career appearance as two-time champions Argentina beat Australia to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
Messi, 35, was winning his 119th cap for his country and they needed his brilliance to take them through to the next round and a tantalising tie against the Netherlands on Friday.
Argentina had barely threatened in the first half but Paris St-Germain’s Messi stroked in a delightful low finish to spark wild celebrations from their fans.
It was his 789th career goal, 94 of those coming for Argentina, and Messi is now the joint top goalscorer in Qatar.
Australia frustrated Argentina for 35 minutes, sitting deep and compact, allowing no space in behind – Alejandro Gomez’s wild shot that flew way over was the only sniff they had.
But every time Messi got his left boot on the ball there was a buzz of excitement in the stadium, sharp intakes of breath anticipating something special.
And the little magician showcased exactly why he is considered one of the greatest of all time in his landmark game, starting and finishing a move that had blue and white shirts dancing in the stands.
BBC