DOHA — Australia beat
Denmark 1–0 on Wednesday to reach the last 16 of the World Cup for just the
second time in their history while holders France won the group despite an
upset defeat to Tunisia.
اضافة اعلان
Mathew Leckie’s
superb 60th-minute goal, twisting and turning to shake off the Danish defenders,
was enough to lift the Australians into second spot in Group D and earn them a
meeting with the winner of Argentina’s Group C.
Australia coach
Graham Arnold said he was “just so proud of the effort by the boys” after they
qualified for the knockout stage for the first time since 2006.
“It was a short
turnaround but their effort was incredible. A lot of belief, a lot of hard
work,” Arnold said.
“These boys came
in with a great mindset. We’ve been working on this for four, four-and-a-half
years about the belief, the energy and the focus. I could see in their eyes
they were ready tonight.”
Showdown
Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski were heading into Wednesday’s later
showdown between Argentina and
Poland with the futures of what could be their
final World Cup adventures hanging in the balance.
Either one of the
two biggest stars in European club football could fail to qualify for the
knockout stages in Qatar and end their careers without tasting glory at the
most prestigious tournament of all.
Messi has already
netted twice in his last attempt to emulate Diego Maradona and win the World
Cup for Argentina and is trying to drag the Albiceleste out of Group C after
they were stunned by Saudi Arabia in their opening match.
Argentina beat
Mexico 2-0 to salvage their campaign and sit second, level on three points with
the Saudis and one behind leaders Poland and only a win will guarantee that
35-year-old Messi’s Qatar campaign continues into December.
An Argentine exit
would devastate fans back home and a worldwide army of Messi fans desperate to
see him lift the World Cup.
Lewandowski was
visibly moved by fulfilling his “childhood dream” of scoring his first ever
World Cup goal in what was his fifth match at the finals, a 2-0 win over the
Saudis.
The Barcelona
forward knows he might not get another chance on this stage should the Poles
exit the tournament.
“I’m aware it
might be my last
World Cup and I wanted to be able to say that I’ve played and
scored at World Cups,” said the 34-year-old.
Lewandowski is a
safer bet to make the last 16 as Poland only need a draw, and even if they lose
they are only sure to be knocked out if the Saudis beat Mexico in Wednesday’s
other late game.
Poland coach
Czeslaw Michniewicz insisted it wasn’t simply a contest between the forwards
despite the inevitable focus on the two big stars.
“It’s not only a match
between Lewandowski and Messi, it’s not tennis,” he said.
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