Coach Arnold: 'We tried our best to block Messi'

"Messi is extraordinary. He is one of the best players in world football. We tried to block him, because we know how dangerous he is. Messi's opening goal is really quality." , coach Arnold shared after losing 1-2 at Ahmad bin Ali stadium. "When I was a player, I faced Diego Maradona. Now as a coach, I am against Messi. Argentina should be proud to have players of this caliber."

Australia entered the game strongly, promoting the right way of playing defense and counter-attack. They left Argentina with little space to play for most of the first half. However, just one moment of ecstasy, Lionel Messi turned the game in a different direction. In the 35th minute, after taking a free-kick causing chaos, he moved into the Australian penalty area. The ball bounced off Nicolas Otamendi's error control, allowing Messi to cut his heart with his left foot, send the ball through three Australian defenders and beyond the reach of goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.

In the 57th minute, Argentina doubled the lead thanks to Ryan's mistake. Receiving a pass from his teammate, the Australian goalkeeper did not immediately break it but tried to go past Rodrigo de Paul. At the same time, Julian Alverez rushed to steal the ball and shot into the empty goal. About 20 minutes later, Australia shortened the lead to 1-2 when Craig Goodwin's long shot turned the ball into Enzo Ferrnandez's body. For the rest of the time, Argentina faced some dangerous situations, but the defense and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez played brilliantly.

"Messi was great. But looking back, it's clear that a personal mistake cost Australia. We also had some good opportunities but couldn't take advantage," commented coach Arnold. "We stopped, but hopefully at home the fans respect what the team did in the World Cup and are proud of us."

Australia started the 2022 World Cup with a 1-4 defeat to France. However, the representative of Asia then defeated Tunisia and Denmark with a score of 1-0, finishing second in Group C and reaching the round of 16 for the first time in 18 years.