Argentina survived a late scare against Australia to seal qualification to the quarter-finals of the World Cup but the South American giants made it difficult for themselves.
Lionel Scaloni’s men were favourites to win the entire tournament but an inconsistent start has cast some doubts over those projections.
Lisandro Martinez, one of Manchester United’s most important players this season, has started just one of Argentina’s four games but was a second-half substitute in their showdown with Australia.
Argentina were two goals to the good before a deflected strike offered Australia a lifeline. Not long after, they came close to equalising but a perfectly timed tackle from Martinez ensured Argentina maintained their lead, as seen below.
Behich almost took a trick out of Messi's book with this winding run tonight… 👀🇦🇺#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/LtcVZLVDP6
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) December 3, 2022
Footage courtesy of ITV Football
Martinez will now be hoping to start in their crucial quarter-final game against the Netherlands – a repeat of the 2014 semi-final in Brazil.
