2014 World Cup: Lionel Messi Scores Last Gasp Goal To Lead His Argentina To Victory Over Iran

Argentina and Iran's match tonight was supposed to be an easy, and obvious game to predict. However, as many are quickly learning, there's rarely an easy game at the 2014 World Cup. Argentina were tipped to score a ton of goals against Iran, but the Iranians battled throughout, giving Argentina a far tougher game than they could've ever imagined. Sadly for Iran, it wasn't good enough as they lost 1-0.

Iran themselves had chances to win the game, but in stoppage time, superstar Lionel Messi grabbed the ball and shifted wide, and then followed that up with a curling strike that left both the Iran keeper and defense stranded. Messi's heroics ensured that Argentina would not be embarrassed. They walked away with qualification confirmed, despite their average performances so far.

Messi had been criticized before the 2014 World Cup, with fans and pundits saying he only plays well for his club side, Barcelona, but plays poorly for his country. In two games he's scored two game-winning goals. Although he's not been to the best of his ability, he has made a difference, and

Next up for Argentina will be their final group encounter against Nigeria. For confidence purposes they'd like to win it, but it's not needed, and they may shift their attention to the latter stages, knowing they have a good chance of winning the entire tournament.

With Messi scoring two goals in two games, one can wonder, just how good will he be when he hits his best form? Can he lead them to World Cup glory?