Goals: Argentina—Ansaldi 49’ - Messi (penalty) 57'; Croatia—Sharbini 11’
Recap: Ninety minutes of international football saw Argentina capture a 2-1 victory over Croatia on Wednesday.
Argentina did well to entertain a capacity crowd at Upton Park, but it was Croatia who captured a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. Tremendous build play allowed Mateo Kovacic to provide Anas Sharbini an attempt on goal. The 27-year-old was clinical with his finish. Argentina quickly responded in the second half. Poor judgement from the official gifted Cristian Ansaldi an equalizer. A composed penalty from Lionel Messi sealed the 2-1 victory just eight minutes later.
Key Moment: Diego Maradona gave the world the “Hand of God” in 1986. On Wednesday, Sergio Aguero gifted the elbow. The 26-year-old, perfectly positioned, redirected Ansaldi’s attempt on goal with his arm. Croatia’s pleas for a handball were unjustifiably turned down.
Man of the Match: Messi's goal (45) now leaves him nine short of Gabriel Bautista (54) for the all-time scoring record in national team history.
Lesson Learned: Croatia will need to generate more attack to have a chance against Italy in Sunday’s European cup qualifier. The Blazers conceded a lion’s share of the possession, allowing Argentina to boast 65 percent. Even worse was the team’s one attempt on goal. Croatia enters the weekend level on points with Italy in Group H, but that will no longer be the case if they repeat Wednesday’s performance in Milan.
Up Next: Croatia visits Italy on Nov. 16, while Argentina travels to Manchester to face Portugal on Nov. 18.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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