MOSCOW – *Marcus Rojo’s stunning finish four minutes from time kept LionelMessi and Argentina’s World Cup hopes alive to see off Nigeria 2-1 onTuesday and set up a last 16 meeting with France.*
Messi’s first goal of the tournament got the two-time winners off to aperfect start in Saint Petersburg, but Victor Moses’s 51st minute penaltyhad Jorge Sampaoli’s men headed for a humiliating group stage exit untilRojo’s late intervention.
The Manchester United defender, who had escaped conceding a second Nigerianpenalty moments earlier after a controversial VAR review, thundered homeGabriel Mercado’s cross to send the under-fire Sampaoli running down thesidelines amid wild scenes of celebration.
Messi missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Iceland and was largely bypassedin a 3-0 thrashing by Croatia that saw calls for Sampaoli to be sackedbefore their final group game.
However, Argentina avoided the abyss by the skin of their teeth to fightanother day against the highly-fancied French in Kazan on Saturday.
Sampaoli made five changes from the Croatia game, with veterans of theAlbiceleste’s run to the final four years ago Gonzalo Higuain and Angel diMaria returning, but it was the recall of Ever Banega in midfield thatprovided the launchpad for Messi.
The Sevilla playmaker was restored to bring some order to an Argentinemidfield overrun by Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric and proved hisworth inside 15 minutes.
Banega’s brilliant pass over the top of the Nigerian defence picked outMessi’s run perfectly and, after cushioning the ball on his thigh, thefive-time world player of the year erased the frustrations of his World Cupso far with an arrowed right-foot finish into the far corner.
Modric claimed Croatia “cut off Messi” in Nizhny Novgorod five nights ago,but he was back to close to his Barcelona best at the heart of allArgentina’s best moves in a positive first 45 minutes.
Higuain just couldn’t flick the ball beyond the onrushing Francis Uzohofrom a defence splitting pass before Uzoho then tipped a Messi free-kickonto the post.
Argentina escaped just before the break when no penalty was given forRojo’s high challenge on Kelechi Iheanacho.
Nigeria felt that injustice was rectified just five minutes after thebreak, though, when this time Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir did point to thespot when Javier Mascherano tangled with Oghenekaro Etebo at a corner.
Moses confidently stepped up to send Franco Armani the wrong way on hisinternational debut and Argentina back to square one.
Messi produced a magical performance in Argentina’s final qualifier with ahat-trick in Ecuador just to get his country to Russia.
But he couldn’t recreate those heroics as Nigerian defenders swarmed aroundhim everytime he was hopefully shovelled the ball by Argentine team-mates.
There was further VAR controversy when Nigeria were denied a second penaltywhen Rojo headed onto his own arm before substitute Odion Ighalo fired wide.
Ighalo missed another glorious chance when he shot too close to Armani andNigeria were made to pay for their profligacy from the most unlikely source.
Sergio Aguero had been thrown on from the bench to join Messi and Higuainin attack, but it was Rojo who produced a striker’s finish on his weakerright foot to spark delirious scenes of celebration among the tens ofthousands of Argentines in the stands.
Chief among them was legendary 1986 World Cup winning captain DiegoMaradona who reacted by raising the middle finger of both hands in just hislatest controversial moment as a spectator in Russia. – APP/AFP