FIFA WC: Messi, Di Maria’s strikes give Argentina 2-0 lead at first half against France

Lusail [Qatar], December 18 (ANI): Argentina came out all guns blazing as captain Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria’s strikes gave Argentina a 2-0 lead in the first half against France in the ongoing FIFA World Cup here at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday.

Argentina led France 2-0 at halftime after Messi netted his sixth goal of the tournament and Angel Di Maria doubled the advantage from a thrilling counter-attack. Lionel Messi’s Argentina began the match on a positive note as Julian Alvarez was provided with a small opportunity to test Hugo Lloris. Alvarez came close twice in the first five minutes.

The first time, the ball was passed by Di Maria to him very close to the Argentina goalkeeper. He was offside though but the next shot came from a distance three minutes later and that was straight at Lloris.

A fine move by Argentina saw Mac Allister finding an opportunity to shoot. His shot, however, went straight into the hands of France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Messi with another excellent attacking contribution from midfield as he unleashed Angel di Maria, who dribbled into the box before lining up a shot for Rodrigo de Paul. The shot, however, was blocked.

Within 14 minutes of the game, Kylian Mbappe found himself with some space on the left wing but the move didn’t materialise. Emiliano Martinez efficiently collected the ball to put the attack to an end.

Angel di Maria was brought down in the penalty box by Ousmane Dembele. Di Maria fell down inside the French box after Dembele’s tackle. Lionel Messi made no mistake from the spot and beat France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. A calm penalty from the Argentine to score his 6th goal of the World Cup and took Argentina 1-0 ahead in the 23rd minute of the game.

Angel di Maria made it two for Argentina as Mac Allister set up Di Maria for a brilliant finish in the bottom right corner and di Maria made no mistake in taking his team to a 2-0 lead in the 36th minute of the game.

In the 41st minute of the game, Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele went off the field and Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani took their place.

7 minutes of stoppage time were added to the clock. It’s for the 6th time that Argentina have taken a 2-0 lead in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. A total of 7 minutes of injury time has been added in the first half.

At the end of first-half Argentina have the upper hand and they went into the second-half with a 2-0 lead over France, all thanks to amazing goals by Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria.