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It was never going to be any other way. With Argentina staring down the barrel of early elimination, Mexico defending for their lives and tension ratcheting through the roof, Lionel Messi got the ball on the edge of the area.
His shot whistled into the bottom corner, a piece of brilliance in a game that for over an hour, had threatened to be overwhelmed by nerves. With three minutes remaining, Enzo Fernandez announced himself on the international scene with an excellent second.
The albiceleste will take the 2-0, because for so long, it looked like it would not come. When you have Messi in your side, anything is possible. His ability to turn rocks into diamonds remains undiminished, even at his advanced age.
The feeling that this is his tournament, the final chance for a crowning moment on one of the great careers, remains. The questions, as they have been for all of his five previous World Cup appearances, are about the other ten blokes in blue and white.
Argentina will now face Poland on Thursday morning (AEDT) knowing that a win sends them through. Mexico’s route is less straightforward: they need to beat Saudi Arabia and hope that Argentina win their game, or win by enough to turn their goal difference around.
It would be no exaggeration to say that, for 45 minutes at least, this was the worst game of the tournament so far. Mexico could take a draw and Argentina passed like they had met each other yesterday. In between, both sides fouled and fell and little more.
There was one shot in the first forty minutes, a tame Mexican effort, until Lautaro Martinez headed over. Alexis Vega had a free kick saved on the brink of half time, but that was all she wrote. The crowd sang, the tension rose, but the game failed to match.
The second half wasn’t much better. Messi did find some space in the central pocket, but was cynically fouled as soon as he stepped forwards. The free kick went well over the top.
The breakthrough came from absolutely nothing. Angel Di Maria spotted Messi in space, 20 metres from goal right in the middle. How he was allowed to take up such a position unheeded was puzzling, but he took the small opening and made it count.
The pass was rattled into his feet, but the first touch was perfect and the finish outstanding, drilled with no backlift into the bottom corner of Memo Ochoa’s net. It was a moment of pure quality dropped in a game that, to that point, had seen none.
Mexico failed to adapt from holding on the chasing the game, and with time running out, Fernandez was able to receive the ball from a short corner and curl an excellent shot past Ochoa.
It provided catharsis for the thousands of Argentina fans inside the Lusail Stadium. They go to the final group game knowing their destiny is in their own hands. For Mexico, it is win or bust – and hope Messi does them a favour, too.