Lionel Messi's hypnotic MOTM highlights from Argentina's World Cup win vs Australia | OneFootball

Lionel Messi was playing football from a different universe as Argentina booked themselves a place in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

Having recovered from the infamous defeat to Saudi Arabia to actually top Group C, Argentina now had the pressure of proving to the world that they were indeed contenders to go all the way in Qatar.

Truth be told, Australia represented one of the easier potential opponents in the second round, but the Copa America winners certainly couldn’t afford to underestimate a nation who made it out of a group containing France and Denmark.

How did Messi play vs Australia?

In the end, though, it was that gold dust of Mr. Messi himself that proved the difference for Lionel Scaloni’s men on the night as they secured a 2-1 victory.

Messi had gotten the party started in the opening 45 minutes for his first ever World Cup knockout stage goal, dancing his way into the penalty area before stroking the ball past Matthew Ryan.

Julian Alvarez would later double Argentina‘s advantage before the Socceroos put on a nervy finish, but the second-half, if anything, was even more ‘The Messi Show’ than the first.

Mesmerising the crowd with every touch at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, the Paris Saint-Germain star cantered his way to the Man of the Match award with slick dribbling, silky passing and satin-like touches.

According to SofaScore, the magic man finished up his round of 16 masterclass with four key passes, two big chances created, 88% passing accuracy and the highest match rating on the pitch at 8.0.

Let’s be honest, though, Messi masterclasses can seldom be quantified in the statistics as the best way to enjoy his genius is by, well, simply watching it unfold before your eyes.

And seeing as Messi tearing Australia to shreds might well be one of the final World Cup matches that he ever plays, it would be rude not to bask in the full extent of his majesty on Saturday night, wouldn’t it?

That’s what we thought, so be sure to check out Messi’s individual highlights from the Australia win because it not only shows how much he’s fired up to win the World Cup this winter, but it’s generally just a work of art…

What did Ferdinand and Shearer say about Messi?

The magic of Messi’s performance wasn’t lost on those in the BBC studio either as the punditry team of Rio Ferdinand, Alan Shearer and Pablo Zabaleta lavished the Barcelona icon in praise.

Ferdinand declared: “The best individual performance from a player at this World Cup. It was almost god-like. I’ve not seen anything like this.

“How is he doing this? He is embarrassing players with his head up. He’s taking people on and is able to see the whole pitch, where people are. He is phenomenal.”

While Shearer eulogised: “We’re so lucky to be in this stadium to watch him. What a performance from him, we’ve talked about his ability, the hunger and desire.

“The ability to run with the ball which attracts so many players, allowing him to free up his team-mates. The way Messi works that space, the way he carries the ball when there is much going on around him. He’s got everything.

“Whenever he gets the ball the whole stadium gets on its feet. It doesn’t matter where he is on the pitch, the whole stadium rises.”

Yup, it’s fair to say that Messi means business in his hunt for that elusive World Cup trophy.