The aging superstar did just enough to send his side to the quarterfinal—and reach more historic marks in a legendary career.
AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Papu Gomez’s ball back out to the corner taker wasn’t great, spinning awkwardly and given too much height so an Australian defender could get close. Fortunately for Argentina, the corner taker was Lionel Messi. He trapped it instantly, pushed the ball to Alexis Mac Allister then accelerated—as much as he ever does these days—into the box so that as Nicolas Otamendi touched Mac Allister’s pass into his path, he could arc the ball low into the far corner—his first ever goal in a World Cup knockout game.