The fact that Mexico beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the other group match was pure honour. Mexico and Poland finished level on points and the goal difference was also the same for a long time. Until Saudi Arabia scored the connecting goal in that match in stoppage time and destroyed the last Mexican hope.
Argentina qualified for the next round as group winners. That didn’t seem to happen after the first group match when they lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia.
Missed penalty kick
When Lionel Messi missed a questionable penalty just before half-time, quite a few Argentines had seen the doomsday scenario play out in their heads.
The two-time world champion owes the fact that it wasn’t necessary in the end to Alexis McAllister and Julian Alvarez.
Shortly after half-time, the former Liberator scored 1-0 from a Nahuel Molina cross. Shortly thereafter, Messi almost scored: after a beautiful singles match in which he took four poles, all he needed was a finish.
In the 67th minute, Argentina knew they were right when Álvarez curled the ball into the far corner.
Exodus of the Mexicans
In the other match, Saudi Arabia had the best cards at the start, by winning the first match against Argentina. But when they fell behind to the Mexicans shortly after the break due to a goal by Henri Martin, the cards were shuffled quite differently.
Not long after, the score was 2-0: Luis Chavez scored from a free kick. When the third goal was also scored, the Mexicans began to look forward to the next round. But this party did not last long as the goal was disallowed for offside.
Since the Mexicans themselves no longer score goals, it seems that they have been relegated to the so-called fair play rating for a long time. Mexico and Poland were level on points, goals and live results. Poland received fewer yellow cards. The fact that it didn’t matter in the end was because a late goal from Saudi Arabia dashed Mexico’s hopes.
Possibly Holland vs Argentina
The Argentines will play Australia in the eighth final on Saturday. The winner of that match may face the Netherlands if the Orange succeeds in beating the United States. Poland will play world champions France the next day.
