Messi goal puts Argentina on top

Lionel Messi 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 in Lusail, Qatar, to ignite his team’s World Cup chances.

His dream of winning soccer’s biggest prize in likely his last attempt is still alive.

“It’s a weight off our shoulders,” Messi said. “It gives us joy and peace of mind to start again.”

Messi took a touch from Angel Di Maria’s pass across the face of the area and drove a low shot from 25 meters into the bottom corner to give Argentina the lead in the 64th minute.

His arms outstretched, he ran toward the team’s supporters, who were celebrating behind the goal, and was soon mobbed by his teammates. He whirled his arms in an emotional response to scoring his 93rd — and perhaps most crucial — international goal.

Substitute Enzo Fernandez added a goal in the 87th minute, ensuring Argentina bounced back from a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia that ranked as one of the World Cup’s biggest ever upsets.

“We lived with discomfort and kept the defeat in the opening match in our minds,” Messi said. “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.

“We can’t let our guard down now,” Messi said. “All of our matches are finals now. We can’t mess up.”

Poland 2, Saudi Arabia 0

In Al Rayyan, Qatar, Robert Lewandowski finally scored at the World Cup, helping Poland beat Saudi Arabia and boosting his team’s chance of reaching the knockout stages.

Lewandowski shed tears after scoring in the 82nd minute. He raced toward the corner with his arms outstretched, then stayed slumped on the field as teammates rushed to congratulate him. He got up, rubbed his face, and blew a kiss to the crowd.

It was the Poland forward’s first World Cup goal in his fifth appearance at the tournament.

The 34-year-old Lewandowski also set up the opener in the 40th minute when he kept the ball in play after goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais’ initial block, then laid it back for Piotr Zielinski to knock in.

Australia 1, Tunisia 0

In Al Wakrah, Qatar, Mitchell Duke celebrated scoring Australia’s winning goal by forming a “J” with his fingers in a tribute to his son Jaxson, who was in the stands.

Coach Graham Arnold dragged injured winger Martin Boyle — on crutches — into the celebratory huddle as fans sang merrily along to Men at Work’s “Down Under,” blaring over the stadium speakers after the final whistle.

Later, Arnold was wiping away tears.

It was an emotion-filled day for Australia, which beat Tunisia for only its third win in 18 World Cup matches.

Duke gave Australia the lead midway through the first half with a header.

Australia hadn’t won at the World Cup since beating Serbia in 2010 and it means the Socceroos still have a chance to qualify for the round of 16, despite losing to defending champion France 4-1 in their opening match.