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Messi magic sinks Australia
It took a moment of first-half brilliance from Argentina’s main man to put Australia a goal down at the break.
The play started from a Lionel Messi set-piece which was initially dealt with by the Socceroos' defence. However, the Paris Saint-Germain forward picked up the loose ball on the wing and found Alexis Mac Allister on the edge of the box - the latter offloading onto Nicolas Otamendi who passed short to Messi inside the penalty area, curling it low and hard past goalkeeper Mat Ryan to make it 1-0.
After an opening half-hour in which the South Americans sat deep, inviting pressure from the Socceroos in their defensive half, the goal allowed La Albiceleste to remain in cruise control for the remainder of the opening half as they turned the tables and applied immense pressure on the Aussie backline.
This approach was on full display when a costly error for Ryan in the 57th minute lead to the Argentine's second of the match. The opportunity arose from the press of Rodrigo De Paul and goalscorer Julian Alvarez, as they pressured Ryan into the mistake upon attempting to evade De Paul, only to have the ball stolen by Alvarez who slotted home.
As Messi's opener went on to set the tone for the rest of the match, SBS World Cup analyst Craig Foster reacted to the moment of individual brilliance at half-time.
"He was the difference in the first-half," he said.
"We've just seen one of the greatest players in history, and the reason he's so good is that he doesn't have to carry the ball - what he does is he's on the outside. He plays the ball and then he goes, and as soon as he plays the ball inside and starts running, we're all screaming get on him!
"You've either got to follow him which is what Mexico tried to do, or you've got to block the space. In the end, Australia had a good structure there and they had three players, [but] as he does, he just passes it into the goal."
Brain fades cost the Aussies dearly
While Ryan's unfortunate error in the second half left Australia with a mountain to climb in the final 30 minutes of the match, it was a foul from defender Aziz Behich in the lead-up to Messi's first-half strike which proved costly in the eyes of analyst and former Socceroo, Mark Bosnich.
A minor bust-up between the left-back and the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner on the touchline was followed by Behich's challenge on Papu Gomez during the next play, as the Argentine subsequently drew the foul which led to the opening goal.
"He [Behich] winds him [Messi] up here, and Behich loses it a little bit and no pride [lost] if you lose it, but then you've just got to completely forget about it because then that causes Behich to make a foul straight after on Gomez," he said.
"When it got to this stage, Argentina were getting frustrated but Messi's wound him [Behich] up, then does this foul and that was one of the best positions Argentina got in throughout the whole first half.
"Doing a foul there sometimes can be suicidal."
Arnie nails substitutions yet again
After the Australians went 2-0 down on the cusp of the hour-mark, Arnold would immediately respond to the doubled deficit by bringing on group stage starter Craig Goodwin and Serie A midfielder Ajdin Hrustic, in place of tiring midfielders Riley McGree and Keanu Baccus, respectively.
The change provided Australia with a much-needed reset, as Hrustic held the ball up in crucial moments and France goalscorer Goodwin provided an injection of energy out wide.
This was followed by a triple substitution inside the final 20 minutes of play, with Arnold switching out the tired legs of Milos Degenek, Mitchell Duke and Mathew Leckie for Fran Karacic, Jamie Maclaren and Garang Kuol.
Karacic expertly covered the full-back role, making a crucial sliding tackle inside the penalty area to win a free-kick and deny Argentina an opportunity in the 80th minute. Kuol looked dangerous in just his third international appearance out on the right - coming agonisingly close to netting an equaliser in the dying stages of the game.
After the perceived poor timing of Arnold's substitutions in their opening group match against France, the Socceroos head coach drew praise from the likes of SBS' Craig Foster for the five substitutions made against Tunisia and for the introduction of defender Bailey Wright inside the final 15 minutes against Denmark, which was credited with helping the Aussies consolidate the victory.
The timing of the second-half changes against Argentina allowed the Socceroos back into the game, courtesy of Goodwin's deflected strike, as well as setting up a flurry of late chances and, almost, an equaliser.
Set-pieces need work
In an otherwise outstanding performance from the Socceroos, one area of the match in which Australia came up furiously short was deliveries into the penalty area, with midfielder Aaron Mooy’s multiple misfires from set-pieces a constant grievance of SBS World Cup commentator Luke Wilkshire.
During the match broadcast, the 80-time capped Socceroo made particular note of how Mooy’s crosses would often drift too high of his target, despite the tall timber of centre-back Harry Souttar being ready to meet the ball on nearly every occasion.
The Stoke City defender was pushed forward as an obvious target man by Arnold as stoppage time loomed, but he could not get a proper look on goal, as his teammate's crosses often missed the mark.
While the Aussies still managed to create multiple chances through other means against quality opposition, this may be an area for Arnold and his side to work on for future tournaments.
Next stop: Onwards and upwards
The Socceroos’ graceful exit from the tournament signalled the beginning of a new chapter for the national team. Australia not only defied the odds through mustering the once seemingly impossible task of making it out of Group D, but upon putting the world’s third-ranked footballing nation through a world of hurt in the last 15 minutes of their Round of 16 clash.
The stand-out performances of centre-back duo Souttar and Kye Rowles throughout the tournament is just one exciting prospect in the Socceroos' future, of their partnership continuing to grow as both are aged just 24.
Midfielders Hrustic, Riley McGree and Cameron Devlin will all still be under the age of 30 by the time the next World Cup rolls around, while Garang Kuol's move to the Premier League club Newcastle United in just under a month's time is something that should have every Australian fan cheering him on, particularly ahead of what looks to be a prosperous international career.
Although Australians will be feeling the heartache of the Argentina defeat for some time, there is lots to get excited about in the near future - which could start with a climb in the world rankings off the back of this tournament.
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