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DOHA, Qatar — Because they got the start of this World Cup all wrong last week, Lionel Messi and Argentina arrived at Stadium 974 on Wednesday facing two unbearable prospects in their Group C finale.
Defeat against Poland would evict the famed Albiceleste from the World Cup — a preposterous fate for one of the tournament favorites and an unceremonious end to Messi’s 16-year hunt for the trophy. Drawing would either boot Argentina or pair it with reigning champion France in a clash much too massive for the round of 16.
There was an alternative scenario: Win the game, win the group and get back on course for a run at a third title. Simplifying a complex situation, Argentina overcame Messi’s failed penalty kick in the first half and scored twice in the second half for a 2-0 triumph that clinched first place in Group C and set up Saturday’s matchup with Australia, the Group D runner-up.
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Coach Lionel Scaloni played down his team’s status, saying: “We’re not favorites to do anything. We are going to put up a fight, but if you think just because we won tonight we are going to be World Cup winners, that’s just wrong.”
Poland also advance, but not without high anxiety over … yellow cards. With Mexico ahead of Saudi Arabia in the other Group C game, which was played at the same time, the Mexicans and Poles were even on points, goal differential, total goals and head to head. The next tiebreaker: disciplinary record.
With two fewer yellow cards than Mexico in group play, the Poles were careful late in the match not to collect any additional cautions. In the end, the cards did not matter because Mexico conceded a late goal to Saudi Arabia in its 2-1 victory, giving Poland the advantage in goal differential.
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“My heart skipped a beat when [Grzegorz Krychowiak] received a yellow card” in the 78th minute, Poland Coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said. “I told them to avoid stupid cards.”
His heart was full of joy when, moments after Poland’s match ended, news of Saudi Arabia’s goal filtered to the coaches and players milling on the field. For the first time since 1986, Poland had escaped the group stage, and it will face France on Sunday.
“We lost, but it’s bittersweet,” Michniewicz said.
He spent much of his news conference sparring with reporters over his team’s performance, saying to one, “Were you watching the game? Were you at dinner? … We got promoted [to the knockout stage] after so many years. Let’s enjoy it.”
Eager to end the media session, Michniewicz glanced at his phone and said, “It’s really late. The prime minister is calling, and I can’t answer.”
Argentina answered its call with a second consecutive victory following its 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the group opener, a stunner that ended a 36-game unbeaten streak.
“When you are defeated, you have to move on,” Scaloni said. “You can’t keep thinking about that defeat. I don’t think it’s beneficial to lose. We didn’t gain anything from that defeat. We knew we had to win our two remaining games.”
Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who scored Argentina’s first goal, said: “We wanted to compensate for that defeat. We knew we could play better, and in the second game [against Mexico] we were able to find that calm we needed. Today was a great game. We played well collectively, and it filled us with confidence.”
The scene was set for Argentina. Dwarfing their Polish counterparts on a partly cloudy night, Argentine supporters decorated the bayside digs with their sky-blue and white balloons, sky-blue and white flags, sky-blue and white wigs and sky-blue and white bucket hats.
There were posters of Messi and of the late Diego Maradona as a sky-blue and white deity, plus sky-blue and white banners labeled with their owner’s origins, such as Bahía Blanca and Rio Cuarto.
Poland absorbed pressure throughout the first half. Nine players sat back, leaving superstar striker Robert Lewandowski a lonely figure at midfield.
Half-chances came and went for Argentina. Then, late in the half, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was caught on video replay smacking Messi in the face while attempting to punch out a cross to the back post. It didn’t seem worthy of a penalty kick, but upon review, referee Danny Makkelie awarded it.
Szczesny redeemed himself on Messi’s bid, diving to his left and using his trailing hand to slap away the flighted attempt. For all his greatness, Messi is far from perfect from the penalty spot, converting about 77 percent, which is about average globally.
It wasn’t the first time he had missed at the World Cup: Four years ago, Iceland’s Hannes Halldorsson stopped him.
“We tried to be optimistic” after Messi’s miss, Mac Allister said.
Szczesny also stopped a penalty against Saudi Arabia on Saturday and is the first to save two penalties in a World Cup since the United States’ Brad Friedel in 2002.
Argentina was clearly frustrated by the halftime deadlock, “and then the goal came and it reassured us,” Scaloni said.
Szczesny’s heroics had offered only temporary relief. Less than a minute into the second half, overlapping right back Nahuel Molina crossed into the heart of the box, where Mac Allister slightly mis-hit his one-timer but had enough pace — and ideal direction — to beat Szczesny to the far lower corner for his first international goal.
Twenty minutes later, Julian Alvarez, a 22-year-old forward, shielded the ball from a defender before whipping a 14-yard shot with velocity and lift into the far side of the net for his fourth international goal.
As a boy, Alvarez worshiped Messi and, at one point, posed for a photo with the Argentine maestro. Now he was receiving a hug from his idol.
Four days after scoring a terrific goal against Mexico, Messi was quiet Wednesday. Without a world-class supporting cast, Lewandowski was also a non-factor.
“We didn’t help him,” Michniewicz said. “If Messi played for us and Robert played for Argentina, he would get five goals, I am convinced.”