A thousand matches is something to celebrate... with a goal, of course!

The Argentinian captain, who had never previously scored in a World Cup knockout match, warded off fate by propelling the Albiceleste to the quarters.

She will find the Netherlands there on Friday, winners of the United States 3-1 at the start of the evening.

Shortly after the half hour mark (35'), Messi fired a free kick from the side which was returned by the Australian defence.

The ball then returned to him through the air, he controlled it from the left with class, then slipped into the box, taking advantage of an exchange between Alexis Mac Allister and Nicolas Otamendi to steal the ball and send it with the left foot at ground level, towards the nets.

The many Argentinian supporters present at the Ahmad bin Ali stadium then began to chant "Messi, Messi!", pretending to bow down in front of the star.

Thanks to this goal, his ninth in a World Cup (but his first in a knockout match, from the round of 16), the star of Paris SG overtook his predecessor Diego Maradona (8 goals) to become the second top scorer in Argentina. World Cup history.

He is now only one unit behind Gabriel Batistuta (10).

"Diego would be super happy for me", had already slipped the "Pulga" ("La Puce", in Spanish) in the mixed zone on Wednesday evening after the match against Poland, which had seen him become the Argentine having played the most matches in World Cups (23 now) ahead of Maradona (21), two years after his death.

Objective 1,003 matches on December 18

In the 50th, Messi again used his dazzling golden studs to keep Mathew Ryan alert, but he slipped on his shot, deflected by a defender.

Then three times at the end of the match (89th, 90th +2, 90th +4), he offered three perfect balls to Lautaro Martinez in the box, but his teammate missed his shots.

No big deal: after his opening goals against Saudi Arabia (Argentina 2-1 defeat) and Mexico (2-0 success), and despite his silence in the 2-0 victory against Poland on Wednesday, Messi , with three goals in Qatar, joins Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, Spaniard Alvaro Morata, Englishman Marcus Rashford, Dutchman Cody Gakpo and Ecuadorian Enner Valencia (eliminated) at the top of the World Cup-2022 top scorer rankings.

"He is the N.1 in the history of football, without a doubt," reacted Spanish coach Luis Enrique, his former coach at Barça, who was live on Twitch during the Argentina match.

In the 57th minute, following poor control by the Australian goalkeeper, Julian Alvarez, already a scorer against Poland on Wednesday, took advantage of this error to double the lead.

There was just a usual scare, late in the game, for the Albiceleste, when Enzo Fernandez allowed the Australians to close the gap by deflecting a Craig Goodwin strike into his own net.

But Argentina without thrills is not Messi's Argentina.

And for what will "surely" be his last World Cup, the brilliant N.10, 35, does not plan to stop there.

The goal: to reach 1,003 matches on December 18, the date of the World Cup final.

The only trophy still missing from his huge list.

© 2022 AFP