Argentina defeated Mexico 2-0 to earn their first victory of the World Cup thanks to Lionel Messi who inspired his team to seal an important three points.

Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia was the biggest shock of the tournament so far, dropping Lionel Scaloni’s team to the bottom of the standings before their match against Mexico.

The Albiceleste would have been eliminated if they had lost on Saturday night, despite the fact that they had the upper hand in recent encounters with El Tri, winning seven of their last eight games, including victory in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

Although their performance may not have been outstanding, Argentina defeated Mexico 2-0 at the Lusail Stadium to maintain their hopes of qualifying to the knockout stages.

FT Argentina 2-0 Mexico

⚽ 64': Messi
⚽ 86': Fernandez

Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez keep #ARG's World Cup dreams alive 🏆

Are they still one of your favourites to win the tournament?#FIFAWorldCup | #ARGMEX pic.twitter.com/munwv45WBk

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) November 26, 2022

After a goalless first half for his team, Messi, as is so frequently the case, appeared to be the difference.

Midway through the second half, he scored from 25 yards out to give the Albiceleste the lead, and 23 minutes later, he switched roles and set up Fernandez for an outstanding second.

Mexico showed grit but completely lacks quality in the final third, which caused them to finish last in the group and Argentina to move up to second.

Now, Mexico will play Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, while Argentina will play Poland to complete the group stage.

Argentina 2-0 Mexico! The South American champions have arrived! 🔥🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/n5EqmiRc7F

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) November 26, 2022

Lionel Messi quickly hailed Argentina for “rescuing their World Cup” and said after a vital 2-0 win over Mexico: “We needed this euphoria”.

𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕? 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒙!