Lionel Messi played his 1000th career match in the round of 16 against Australia. In honor of the match, he struck with the first goal of the match in the 35th minute. His ninth career World Cup goal and first in a playoff game.
2-0 came after an invitation from goalkeeper Mat Ryan in the second half that Julian Alvarez took advantage of.
Australia cut back with a quarter to go and began chasing an equaliser. In the absolute final seconds, Garang Kuol also had the equalizer, but then Emiliano Martinez made a great save that secured the 2-1 victory.