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Published 22:41 26 Jun 2018 BST
Updated 12:25 27 Jun 2018 BST
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The Manchester United defender smashed home an excellent volley four minutes from full-time, one of the few pieces of quality from Argentina on the night, and sent his country into the next round.
There were jubilant scenes amongst the Argentina players at full-time, but their manager didn't join in with the celebrations.
Jorge Sampaoli stormed straight down the tunnel, an act that will only add to speculation that he has fallen out with his players.
It appears as though the senior players in the Argentina team are at odds with Sampaoli.
It was notable that, just before the second-half, the Argentina manager sat on the bench as Messi rallied the troops.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1011687105058213888
Messi is the team's captain, so it wasn't too surprising to see him deliver a speech just before a massively important half of football - even if the act didn't fit with the perception of the Barcelona forward as an introvert.
Messi's speech to his team conveyed just how much trouble Argentina were in at that point.
https://twitter.com/0abtaha/status/1011701983273680902
Following the final whistle, Rojo spoke about Messi's team talk. The Argentina defender is reported to have said:
"During halftime, Messi said that all of us have the duty to score so whenever we get the chance, we shoot, no matter our position... So, when I saw that ball coming towards me, I kicked it in with all that I had in me and [laughs] it went in."https://twitter.com/PlQUECHU/status/1011718168828633090 https://twitter.com/IndyFootball/status/1011706645259407360 Next up for Argentina is France on Saturday in the last-16.
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