CNN —Lionel Messi scored in what was the 1,000th game of his storied career as Argentina beat Australia 2-1 to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals.
In the second half, Julián Álvarez capitalized on some slack goalkeeping by Australia stopper Mat Ryan to score his second goal of the tournament and extend Argentina’s lead.
Those fans were soon crooning even more loudly when Messi curled a beautiful, left-footed effort past Australian keeper Ryan following a slick Argentina moved.
After the break, Argentina began to turn on the style, though La Albiceleste’s second goal stemmed from hard work and pressing.
With Australia pushing for a second goal, Argentina had an opportunities to catch the Socceroos on the break, with Lautaro Martínez missing numerous opportunities to seal the game.