Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Porto Alegre: Argentina skipper Lionel Messi struck twice as the South Americans advanced to the knockout stage with a 100% courtesy of a 3-2 defeat of Nigeria, who joined the two-time World Cup winners in the Round of 16 as Iran's slim chances of progress ended with a 3-1 loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina in Wednesday's other Group F fixture.
Messi, whose stunning stoppage-time strike denied the Iranians a deserved point from their meeting in Belo Horizonte four days ago, went some of the way towards earning the forgiveness of Team Melli's legions of fans worldwide when he put Argentina 1-0 up with just three minutes played.
A combination Nigeria keeper Vincent Enyeama and the woodwork looked to have denied Angel Di Maria the early opener but the rebound fell invitingly to Messi in the centre of the penalty area and the Barcelona striker made no mistake in despatching his half-volley into the net.
However, just a minute later it was back to square one as Nigeria hit back immediately through Ahmed Musa's well-struck curler after the CSKA Moscow striker received a pass from Michel Babatunde.
The South Americans regained the lead in first-half stoppage time when the mercurial Messi swept home a free-kick which the Argentina skipper had earned after being fouled by 20-year-old defender Kenneth Omeruo but again – the half-time break notwithstanding – the advantage was short-lived.
And again it was Musa, matching Messi in his personal goal-scoring duel with the South American superstar by netting his, and Nigeria's, second just two minutes into the second half only for Marcos Rojo to restore Argentina's lead three minutes later, when the Sporting Lisbon defender prodding home Ezequiel Garay's knock back from Ezequiel Lavessi's corner to complete the scoring with his first international goal.
Defeat didn't prove too costly for Nigeria with Iran's 3-1 defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the other Group F fixture kicking off simultaneously in Salvador ensuring a second-place finish for the African champions.
Photo: AFP