Star striker Lionel Messi conjured up his second World Cup goal after a sedate start to inspire Argentina to a 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina even as the first timers made a strong impression on their debut in the finals, here Sunday.
Messi bursted onto the scene after a quiet first hour as he dribbled past defenders in majestic fashion to double the Argentine lead in 65th minute, firing a left-footer from the box, that hit the left post before finding the net.
It took 26-year-old Messi eight years and 623 match minutes to earn his second World Cup goal, the first one coming in 2006 against Serbia Montenegro.
A change of tactics in the second half revived Argentina, who had gone with a 5-3-2 formation but resorted back to 4-3-3.
Substitute Vesad Ibisevic had the honour to score Bosnia's first ever World Cup finals goal, five minutes form the whistle, when he shot the ball in as Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero approached and failed to block.
Messi bursted onto the scene after a quiet first hour as he dribbled past defenders in majestic fashion to double the Argentine lead in 65th minute, firing a left-footer from the box, that hit the left post before finding the net.
It took 26-year-old Messi eight years and 623 match minutes to earn his second World Cup goal, the first one coming in 2006 against Serbia Montenegro.
More From This Section
Debutantes Bosnia made a forgettable start as they conceded the fastest own goal in World Cup history in just two minutes and eight seconds but impressed as the game wore on with their fantastic defence, specially the way they managed to stifle Messi for most of the part.
A change of tactics in the second half revived Argentina, who had gone with a 5-3-2 formation but resorted back to 4-3-3.
Substitute Vesad Ibisevic had the honour to score Bosnia's first ever World Cup finals goal, five minutes form the whistle, when he shot the ball in as Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero approached and failed to block.