A relieved Javier Mascherano believes a group-stage exit would have been undeserved for Argentina, who scraped into the World Cup last 16.
An 86th-minute goal from Marcos Rojo helped Jorge Sampaoli's men to a dramatic 2-1 win over Nigeria on Tuesday, seeing them claim second spot in Group D.
Mascherano, who gave away the penalty that led to Victor Moses cancelling out Lionel Messi's opener, said his side did not deserve an early exit.
"If we had been eliminated, it was going to be undeserved. But this game does not know of merits," the 34-year-old said.