Argentina beat Australia 2-1 and qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.The goals from Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez gave Lionel Scaloni's team the chance to be among the eight best teams in the tournament, facing the Netherlands next Friday, for a place in the semifinals and the chance to play all the available matches that can offer the tournament.
The match procedure was controlled by the Argentine team for 75 minutes of the match, with superlative group statistics, which maintain the thread of what has already been observed in the tournament. 88% short passes, a slight decrease in the percentage of long passes (38%), and almost the same number of aerial duels won against a team with a higher average height (14 duels for Australia against 13 for Argentina). The solidity shown by the team led by Lionel Scaloni was only eclipsed by an unusual shot and Enzo Fernández's goal against it in an absolutely fortuitous way; what triggered later in the play of Garang Kuol and that Dibu Martínez cut.
61% possession is the lowest so far in the World Cup, but it is also a prize for Australia, which, faced with the urgent need to equalize the score, tried to continue with the ball at its feet, in addition to consolidating the line out of five with the entry of Lisandro Martínez for Alejandro Gómez, who had to leave due to a slight sprain.
In individual performances, TOP performances are again seen. Among some data, Enzo Fernández completed 92% of the passes, Alexis MacAllister 90.5%, Nicolás Otamendi 91% (he was the player with the most clearances and duels won in the match, with 9 and 4 respectively). Another great performance to highlight is that of Rodrigo De Paul, who obtained 11 recoveries, being for the second consecutive game the footballer on the field with the best number of interventions of this type.
Lionel Messi once again reaffirmed why he is the best player in the world. With six shots, he led this stat on the pitch, scoring for the first time in the knockout stages of the World Cup. He is just one goal away from equaling the highest Argentine record in World Cups (he has 9), which Gabriel Batistuta continues to hold in solitude (10).
In addition, the good moment of Julián Álvarez with the Argentine team is reiterated: according to data from DataRef, he scored in the three official matches in which he started (Ecuador in the Qualifiers, Poland and Australia in the World Cup).
A separate paragraph deserves Emiliano, the "Dibu" Martínez, who only receives four shots per game, being the fewest number received by the Argentine team in World Cups, thanks to the data kindly provided by OptaJavier.
In this way, numbers and performances similar to the match against Poland can be observed, which coincide with the repetition of the victory. The result against Australia only tightened it for obvious reasons of the contested instance, but it keeps the illusion intact for the duel against the Netherlands, which can give them the chance to play all seven games, and be among the four best teams in the World Cup.
Temas
