Lionel Messi delivers masterclass performance

Agency :
There was never going to be anything else other than a goal from Lionel Messi in his 1,000th match. The Argentina captain struck goal number 789 of his glittering career against Australia to keep his country’s World Cup dream alive.
This is the little magicians fifth World Cup and he finally scored his first ever knockout goal. He caressed a nerveless finish into the far corner to set Argentina on their way. They won 2-1 and took another step to end their 36-year wait to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy.
It was a nervy first 30 minutes at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium but when Messi opened the scoring it was plain sailing for Argentina from there. They doubled their lead in the second half after a howler from Aussie keeper Mat Ryan to present Julian Alvarez with an empty net. A late goal from the Socceroos made it a nervous finish but Argentina held on and now face a mouth-watering quarter-final against the Netherlands.
They will again pin their hopes on their iconic number 10 who now becomes the joint-top scorer at the World Cup with three goals. Messi is now 35 and he doesn’t nearly do as much on the ball as he once used to. Those meandering runs are a rare sight these days but he rolled back the years against the Aussies and was up to his old tricks, beating three or four men, much to the delight of the Albiceleste faithful who were bouncing in the stands. It was vintage Messi. Sharp intakes of breath echoed around the stadium every time the little left-footer got his famous boot on the ball. He was embarrassing players. He was taking them on and was able to see the whole pitch and picking out intricate passes at will. It was a phenomenal display and clearly he is up for the fight to win the only remaining trophy to evade him.