WATCH | Aerial view of Lionel Messi's 'wonder goal' against Mexico in World Cup 2022

Argentine captain Lionel Messi was once again on fire during his side's FIFA World Cup 2022 clash against Mexico on November 26 as he scored an outstanding goal from outside the box to keep his side's hopes alive of progressing further in the competition. The Albicelestes desperately needed a win against Mexico, having suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat in their opening match against Saudi Arabia.

Lionel Messi delivers when it matters most

As seen in the video below, the Argentine side produced a brilliant piece of teamwork down the right wing before passing it to Lionel Messi in the middle. After receiving the ball, the 35-year-old produced an outstanding finish as he hit a powerful shot past the goalkeeper's left to help his side register a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute.

Messi, who equalled Diego Maradona's record with his eighth World Cup goal, was almost in tears as he grabbed and shook his jersey in front of Argentina’s celebrating fans, then blew a kiss and looked to the sky. With one of the most important goals of his career, Messi led Argentina to a 2-0 victory over Mexico on Saturday to ignite his team’s chances of progressing to the FIFA World Cup 2022 knockout stages. The other goal was scored by substitute Enzo Fernandez in the 87th minute of the game.

Speaking of Argentina's win against Mexico after an opening game defeat against Saudi Arabia, Lionel Messi said (as quoted by AP), "It’s a weight off our shoulders. It gives us joy and peace of mind to start again. We lived with discomfort and kept the defeat in the opening match in our minds. The days were very long. We were eager to have the chance to turn the situation around and luckily we won."

Argentina is second in Group C ahead of its last match against first-place Poland on Wednesday and might need to win it to advance to the Round of 16. With that in mind, Messi added, "We can’t let our guard down now. All of our matches are finals now. We can’t mess up."

(Inputs from AP)