DOHA : Argentina reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Australia on Saturday but they were taken right down to the wire and might not want to consider what may have happened without Lionel Messi on the pitch.Messi marked his 1,000th professional game with his 789th goal - his first in a knockout match at the World Cup - and almost everything good that Argentina created going forward went through the little number 10.It was always going to be a tough game against a Socceroos team who muscled their way into the knockout stages with a brand of football that relied on each player covering huge swathes of turf and tackling anything that moved.The Australians, who have just refused to accept they are beaten during their Qatar campaign, got back into the contest with a late deflected Craig Goodwin strike and had two good chances to equalise in the last few minutes.Argentina's teak tough defenders matched the physicality of the Australians all evening, however, and they will take due credit for blocking Aziz Behich's shot after the fullback's mazy late run through the box.
Emiliano Martinez also had a good night and capped his fine display in the Argentina goal by stopping Garang Kuol's goalbound shot from close range with a save in the final seconds.
Further forward, though, Argentina will surely need to produce more penetration from the midfield and wide players in contests to come, starting with their quarter-final against the Netherlands next Friday.Australia's compactness in the middle of the park forced the Argentinians to look wide in search of space but there was no Angel Di Maria to share the attacking load with Messi because of the winger's calf injury.