It was the five seconds that every knowledgeable football fan would cherish. The telepathic ability of Juan Roman Riquelme and Lionel Messi destroyed an Olyroos defence which had looked strong despite their fair element of luck.

But fifteen minutes from time, fortune had run out for Australia.

A delicate cross was met near the far post by Lavezzi to volley home his side’s classification for the next round and send the Beijing faithful into raptures.

After luckily beating the Ivory Coast, Argentina got less than they deserved against Australia.

Sergio Batista’s side approached the Olyroo defence with both clarity and precision. There were seven golden opportunities for ‘la seleccion’ to seal the deal, but constantly lacked the killer punch and, at times, were thwarted by Australian goalkeeper Federici.

Nevertheless, Argentina came out with a dominant attitude.

Their passing game was far too superior for an Australian side still with much to learn about the instincts of playing football on the ground.

Although yet to find the form displayed at Barcelona, Messi was once again critical for a side keen to repeat their golden effort achieved in Athens 2004.

He’s explosive velocity – in the midst of the noise and applause from the dedicated fans in Shanghai – allowed Argentina to forge chance after chance at the Olyroos goal.

While Australia did have some opportunities at the Argentine goal, poor finishing by Archie Thompson and co. failed to strike fear in the South American giants.

Despite some hiccups in defence, Argentina was by far the better team.

They were led brilliantly by Riquelme and Mascherano in the middle of the park. Two world class players who showed the ingredients necessary to dominate their Australian opponents.

In the second half, the Olyroos did find more continuity in their game thanks to good runs by Kilkenny.

But Argentina is Argentina, and when the star power in the side shines, the majority of their rivals can only hope that luck is on their side.

For the Olyroos, that luck came to an end when Napoli star Lavezzi slotted the ball home in the bottom left hand corner. In the play leading up to the goal, it deserved a finish.

It was a goal that showed the gulf in class between Argentina and the rest of their opponents.

Prior to their showdown with Australia, ‘La Seleccion’ has won the past two under 23′s World Cups, not to mention a gold medal in Athens.

With classification now in their pockets, Argentina will look to build on their clarity in attack and defence against Serbia. The individuals of the side believe that repeating the gold achieved in Athens is far from mission impossible.

If anything is certain, Serbia better be on their best behaviour.

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