By 
Lionel Messi scored the opening goal in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Mexico in World Cup Group C, proving he was far from finished with the tournament.
The 35-year-old Argentine has won every other major title in his career but has yet to lift the coveted trophy despite reaching the final in 2014.
But his 64th-minute strike, followed by substitute Enzo Fernandez’s sublime effort three minutes from time, resurrected their hopes of progressing beyond the group stage after their 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opener.
Messi, who tied Diego Maradona’s Argentina World Cup record of 21 games and eight goals, was nowhere to be seen for more than an hour before picking up an Angel Di Maria pass, finding just enough space, and rifling in from 20 metres.
Fernandez, a substitute, sealed the victory with a superb curling shot into the top corner.
Argentina, which has three points, can advance if they defeat Poland, which has four points, in their final game on Wednesday.
“Today starts another World Cup for Argentina,” Messi said. “I tell people the same thing, that they continue to believe. Today we did what we had to do. We had no other choice. We had to win so that we depended only on ourselves.”
“The first half we didn’t play as we should and in the second, when we calmed down, we started to play the ball better and until the goal we went back to being what we are,” he said.
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