Argentina beat Poland 2-0, advance to last 16 – Newstrends
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Argentina beat Poland 2-0, advance to last 16

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Lionel Messi had a penalty saved but Argentina still advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup as Group C winners after a 2-0 victory over Poland on Wednesday.

Poland also went through as runners-up although a 2-1 win for Mexico over Saudi Arabia in the group’s other game meant Czeslaw Michniewicz’s side advanced only on goal difference.

Alexis Mac Allister’s 46th-minute goal settled Argentina’s nerves after a tense first half, before Julian Alvarez doubled their lead just over 20 minutes later.

Argentina had been unable to find a way past Wojciech Szczesny in an opening 45 minutes in which the Poland goalkeeper saved his second penalty of the tournament.

Szczesny was adjudged to have fouled Messi while stretching to reach a cross, but he dived to his left to beat away the resulting spot-kick.

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It was the 31st penalty Messi had failed to convert in his career.

Poland offered little attacking threat, with star striker Robert Lewandowski virtually anonymous throughout.

Instead it was left to Szczesny to take centre stage for the Poles, denying Messi with two crucial early stops.

First Messi wriggled clear of a pack of defenders before producing a shot that flew straight at the keeper.

Then he found space to charge into the Polish box down the left, forcing Szczesny to make a save at his near post.

Argentina continued to create the better chances in the first half and Marcos Acuna flashed a shot wide after Alvarez had also gone close to breaking the deadlock.

Szczesny had to scramble to stop Angel di Maria scoring direct from a corner, before the goalkeeper was again called into action to deny Alvarez.

– Penalty save –
Szczesny outdid himself when he dived to his left to stop Messi’s penalty in the 39th minute.

He still had more to do before the half-time whistle, punching away a shot from Alvarez before saving the follow-up from Rodrigo de Paul.

There was nothing he could do when Mac Allister broke the deadlock less than a minute after the interval.

Nahuel Molina charged down the right, then cut the ball back for Mac Allister to drill just beyond Szczesny’s reach.

The goal forced Poland to show some belated attacking ambition and Kamil Glik headed just wide from a free-kick almost immediately after the restart.

Argentina continued to go in search of more goals and Alvarez scored their second after combining well with Enzo Fernandez.

Fernandez, making his first start for Argentina, picked out his team-mate, who held off a defender before lashing the ball past Szczesny.

Poland were still walking a tightrope with yellow cards potentially crucial to their chances of reaching the last 16.

Grzegorz Krychowiak went into the book in the 83rd minute but a late goal for Saudi Arabia against Mexico saw the Poles safely through on goal difference.

AFP

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Manchester United beat Liverpool in FA Cup seven-goal thriller

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Manchester United beat Liverpool in FA Cup seven-goal thriller

Substitute Amad Diallo scored the winner as Manchester United beat rivals Liverpool 4-3 in an FA Cup quarter-final clash at Old Trafford.

United took an early lead thanks to Scott McTominay’s opener but Liverpool drew level when Mac Allister struck. Mohamed Salah gave the visitors the lead and it looked like there were going to win it until substitute Antonio struck in added time.

The match went into extra-time and Harvey Elliot scored for the visitors. Again, it looked like Liverpool had done enough to win the tie when Marcus Rashford who had wasted two glorious chances drew the home team level.

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Amad had the final say. A counter-attack by Manchester United gave the Ivorian a glorious opportunity to steal the limelight and he did, scoring the winner in 120th minute.

Amad was shown a second yellow card for taking off his jersey as his team battled on with 10-men to secure passage to the semi-final of the FA Cup.

Manchester United beat Liverpool in FA Cup seven-goal thriller

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Kane sets new record as Bayern beat Darmstadt

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Harry Kane

Kane sets new record as Bayern beat Darmstadt

Harry Kane set a new personal best of 31 league goals in a season as Bayern Munich beat Darmstadt to close the gap on Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen to seven points.

Darmstadt took the lead through Tim Skarke before Jamal Musiala levelled.

Kane’s diving header put Bayern in front and Musiala dribbled past the Darmstadt defence for his second.

Substitute Serge Gnabry and Mathys Tel made it five for Bayern with Oscar Vilhelmsson scoring Darmstadt’s second.

Despite being bottom of the table, Darmstadt gave Bayern a few scares in the first half but tired in the second period as Bayern exerted their control.

There was one moment of concern for England captain Kane in the second half when he appeared to injure his ankle colliding with a goalpost.

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Kane was substituted after the incident in the 82nd minute and Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel was unsure how serious it was.

“He slipped and fell into the net and twisted his ankle,” said Tuchel. “He’s cooling it down with ice and we don’t have a diagnosis yet.

“When Harry goes off it’s never a good sign because Harry never goes off when there’s still goals to score.”

Kane had previously scored 30 goals in two Premier League seasons while at Tottenham Hotspur.

He has also set a new record for the most goals in a Bundesliga debut campaign, overtaking the previous record set by Uwe Seeler (30) for Hamburg in 1963-64 – which was the first season of the Bundesliga.

He will return to England for the Champions League quarter-finals next month when Bayern face his old foes Arsenal – he has scored 14 goals against the Gunners in 19 appearances.

The first leg takes place at Emirates Stadium on 9 April with the return leg a week later on 17 April.

Kane sets new record as Bayern beat Darmstadt

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FA Cup: Manchester City, 1 other team qualify for semi-finals

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FA Cup: Manchester City, 1 other team qualify for semi-finals

Two teams have booked their places in this season’s FA Cup semi-finals.

They are Coventry City and Manchester City.

The Championship side stunned Wolves with two injury-time goals to win 3-2 at the Molineux on Saturday.

US forward Haji Wright’s strike booked Coventry’s place in the last four for only the second time in the club’s history.

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At the Etihad, Bernardo Silva scored twice in the first half, as City beat Newcastle United 2-0.

The last two spots will be decided on Sunday, when Chelsea host Leicester City and Manchester United clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford.

FA Cup: Manchester City, 1 other team qualify for semi-finals

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