Argentina secured top spot in Group C at the 2022 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Poland on Wednesday night.
It was a 22nd appearance at the World Cup for Messi, which saw him surpass the record of the late Diego Maradona, whilst Enzo Fernandez started after starring against over the weekend.
Messi missed a golden chance to give the Albiceleste the lead early on after he failed to bury a spot-kick from a foul by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Argentina returned for the second period restored and found the opener courtesy of a telling finish by Alexis Mac Alister from a ball in the box.
The Poles' route to a comeback was made more difficult by their fiery South American counterparts, who grabbed a second goal through Julian Alvarez from a pass by Fernandez late in the second stanza.
Further dismay were on the line for the Poles, as the Albiceleste threatened a third goal and reduced their counterparts to guilt-edge defending with the final score 2-0 in Doha.
Poland still managed to sneak into the round of 16 by finishing second and will now face reigning world champions France.
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Mexico missed out on a spot in knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup as a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia left them third in Group C with the latter bottom.
Edson Alvarez, Jorge Sanchez and Orbelin Pineda set out the starting line-up provided by El Tri from their loss to Argentina on Saturday.
No goals from Saudi Arabia and El Tri followed during the course of the first half amidst the moments the respective outfits had in the latter area of the field.
Mexico bagged the front-foot in the opening moments of the second half with a strike from Henry Martin before a superb free-kick from Luis Chavez made it two and ensured a comfortable cushion.
The Saudis pulled one back in added time with a one-two finish by Salem Aldawsari which ended the Mexicans' qualification hopes as Poland joined the Albiceleste in the last 16.
The Mexicans finished the campaign in third spot, while Herve Renard's men finish bottom of the group.
