Shooting the Breeze: World Cup 2010 Day 17 - 2nd Phase - Argentina vs Mexico
Argentina's victory over Mexico was marred by further refereeing controversy but Diego Maradona's side still did enough to deserve to progress to the quarter finals after beating a feisty Mexico side 3-1.
Much will now be said about Carlos Tevez' opening goal for Argentina in the 25th minute when Oscar Perez cleared a ball meant for Tevez only as far as Lionel Messi but when Messi put the ball back into the area the Mexican defence had stepped up leaving the tenacious Argentine striker clearly offside when he nodded the ball into the back of the net.
Amidst scenes of confusion the Mexicans were trotting back to the centre circle when a replay of the goal was accidentally played back on the big screen prompting scenes of anger as they immediately remonstrated with the Italian linesman and referee in a vain attempt to get the goal chalked off but it was too late to reverse the decision.
After the earlier Frank Lampard goal-line incident in the England vs Germany match this was clearly going to add fuel to the fire for the debate over video replay technology for World Cup finals matches.
If there was any controversy about the first goal there could be none about the second, the Argentines scored a second in the 33rd minute to seriously dent Mexico's hopes of winning the game. Gonzalo Higuain pounced on Ricardo Osorio's loose pass in the Mexican defence and rounded the hapless keeper Oscar Perez before slotting Argentina's second goal.
Angel Di Maria and Higuain could have easily extended the lead before the break but the shellshocked Mexicans benefitted from slack finishing and some last minute tackles to keep the Argentines from going out of sight before the break.
There were strong words at the Argentine bench at half time from Mexican players and staff but Argentina effectively made the game safe after the break when Carlos Tevez received a square pass from Gabriel Heinze, regained control of it after briefly losing it, and made space before rifling an unstoppable third into the top corner.
With almost 40 minutes left, the Argentines seemed to take the foot off the gas pedal, allowing the Mexicans to try and get back into the game.
Manchester United's new Mexican striker Javier Hernandez showed glimpses of just why Sir Alex Ferguson bought him when his free header went over the bar and with 20 minutes left he pulled one back for the Mexicans with a brilliant left footed goal which was every bit as good as Tevez' second half goal.
Despite making some defensively minded substitutions Argentina still tried to get their star striker Lionel Messi a goal but he was denied by Oscar Perez as Mexico failed to narrow the gap.
Argentina will be grateful for Carlos Tevez' second half goal that gave them a 3-0 lead. Their controversial opener was reduced to merely a talking point by their eventual 2 goal winning margin but it won't stop the shouts for technology to aid refereeing teams at the World Cup finals.
