Lionel Messi (Argentina) scored his 789th career goal and 9th World Cup goal in his 1000th match, breaking Diego Maradona’s record of eight World Cup goals.
The group stages are over, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is on to the next stage, which is the knockout stage—the round of 16. The round of 16’s second match on FIFA was between Argentina and Australia on Sunday.
The second knockout match was Messi’s 1,000th career match. The spectacular moment in football history peaked as he helped Argentina get past Australia on Sunday. With a score of 2-1, Argentina roared into the quarterfinals.
The match took place in Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
The Argentine skipper scored the opening goal in the 35th minute, his 789th career goal. The coolly-taken strike marked his ninth international goal, passing the great Diego Maradona’s tally of eight World Cup goals for South Americans.
With a 1-0 lead, Argentina went into the halftime break. The winning advantage was doubled by Julian Alvarez early in the second half. Alvarez’s 57th-minute goal gave Argentina breathing space. Australia didn’t pull back as they scored a goal in the 77th minute when Craig Goodwin’s shot was deflected off Enzo Fernandez’s face for an own goal.
Ultimately, Argentina held their nerves to progress into the next round, which is the water finals. The team will be preparing for their face-off with the Netherlands in the World Cup quarter-finals, which is scheduled for December 9.
FIFA 2022 so far
The group stages are done and dusted, and the FIFA World Cup 2022 has entered the knockout stages with no second chances.
The 16 teams have now entered do-or-die mode in the Qatar world cup.
Teams qualified for the knockout stage are the Netherlands, Senegal, England, USA, France, Australia, Argentina, Poland, Morocco, Croatia, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Switzerland, South Korea, and Portugal.
Schedule for the upcoming matches
The round of 16, the knockout matches has begun on the 3rd of December and will continue till the 7th. The first match on December 3rd saw Netherlands vs USA saw Netherlands winning 3-1.
The second round saw Argentina vs Australia, in which Argentina won 2-1.
The match schedule follows as:
- December 4- France vs Poland at 8:30 PM in Al Thumama Stadium
- December 5- England vs Senegal at 12:30 AM in Al Bayt Stadium
- December 5- Japan vs Croatia at 8:30 PM in Al Janoub Stadium
- December 6- Brazil vs South Korea at 12:30 AM at Stadium 974
- December 6- Morocco vs Spain at 8:30 PM in Education City Stadium
- December 7- Portugal vs Switzerland at 12:30 AM in Lusail
Teams that are out of the world cup
- Group A: Ecuador and Qatar
- Group B: Iran and Wales
- Group C: Mexico and Saudi Arabia
- Group D: Tunisia and Denmark
- Group E: Germany and Costa Rica
- Group F: Belgium and Canada
- Group G: Cameroon and Serbia
- Group H: Uruguay and Ghana
