DOHA, Qatar—Rest easy, soccer fans. Lionel Messi will grace the World Cup stage at least one more time.
The Argentina great had a penalty saved but his team still beat Poland 2–0 Wednesday after second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez and advanced to the last 16.
After opening the World Cup with a shocking 2–1 loss to Saudi Arabia in one of biggest upsets in the tournament’s history, Argentina wound up finishing in first place in Group C and will next play Australia—a surprise qualifier for the knockout stage.
Messi rolls into Saturday’s game suddenly in a strong position in likely his final World Cup….