BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Lionel Messi scored a superb goal in stoppage time to give Argentina a 1-0 victory over Iran on Saturday and secure his teams place in the second round of the World Cup. Fake Panthers Jerseys . Iran had defended solidly throughout the game and also took the match to Argentina in the second half, creating several chances to win the Group F match and cause a tournament sensation. But Iran was punished for those missed chances when Messi picked up the ball about 20 yards (meters) out and curled a shot into the left hand corner. It was a moment of individual brilliance, and showed why Messi has been voted world player of the year no fewer than four times. Up until that point, he had been kept quiet by stoic Iran defending, while Argentina had at times been exposed to counterattacks. Iran had several chances to win it, especially in the second half. The best of those opportunities came in the 67th minute, when midfielder Ashkan Dejagahs powerful header from close range was tipped just over the bar by Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero. Earlier, lone striker Reza Ghoochannejhads header from close range was saved by Romero after a cross from the right. He later missed a chance for a late winner when his shot was again saved by Romero. Before the match, Iran faced criticism for its defensive tactics after a dour 0-0 draw against Nigeria. But before Messis strike, Iranian and Brazilian fans were singing "Ole, ole, ole, ole, Iran Iran!" in recognition of the teams attempts to score a winner. But Messi denied Iran what would have ranked as its greatest result by drawing with the former world champions. The victory sent the pro-Argentina crowd into raptures and most of them stayed in the stands well after the match, chanting and waving scarves and flags, and watching highlights -- including Messis goal -- on the big screens. It almost looked like Argentina coach Alejandro Sabellas decision to return to an attacking lineup would backfire. In Argentinas 2-1 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Group F opener, Sabella started with a more defensive 5-3-2 lineup with only two strikers. He then changed to a 4-3-3 formation in the second half -- a system favoured by Messi -- and he continued with that lineup at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. Panthers Jerseys 2020 . -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby. Florida Panthers Pro Shop . The Wild, playing their first game since leading scorer Mikko Koivu broke his ankle Saturday at Washington, have won three straight for the first time since Nov. 1-5. Koivu underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. https://www.panthersjerseycheap.com/ . Patrik Bartosak turned away 50-of-52 shots for the Rebels (28-26-4), who halted their losing streak at seven games. Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, Feser forced overtime with his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the third period.ST. LOUIS - The timing was perfect for Matt Adams dad to make a weekend visit to Busch Stadium. The burly first baseman is playing well after a stint on the 15-day disabled list, giving Jamie Adams a lot to smile about. "I think anybody here would like to have their parents around, especially on Fathers Day weekend," Adams said after hitting the go-ahead home run for the second straight game in a 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday. "Tonight was a little better," Adams said. "Coming the day before Fathers Day is great." Adams connected against Stephen Strasburg in St. Louis three-run seventh inning, driving a 3-1 offering over the wall in right-centre. On Friday, he homered on his first swing in his return from a left calf strain, lifting St. Louis to a 1-0 victory. "I think Im just waiting out the pitchers," Adams said. "I went down to Memphis to get my timing back and my confidence is up." The Cardinals batted around in the seventh with the help of two infield hits, a hit batter and two walks, one of them by Matt Holliday with the bases loaded against Drew Storen. Allen Craig added an infield hit off Storen on a slow tapper halfway down the third-base line. "What can you say?" Nationals catcher Jose Lobaton said. "Theyve been throwing good and today was one of those days." Jayson Werth had an RBI double in the first for the Nationals, who managed just four hits for a two-day total of six. Its their first series loss since losing a pair to Miami from May 26-28, and they will try to avoid a three-game sweep in the series finale Sunday. St. Louis reliever Randy Choate (1-2) needed one pitch to escape a bases-loaded threat in the seventh after a strong start from Shelby Miller, who gave up four hits in 6 2-3 innings. Pat Neshek worked a perfect eighth and Trevor Rosenthal finished for his 19th save in 22 chances. Strasburg allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings in his first career appearance in St. Louis. It was his 11th consecutive quality start, but he dropped to 5-3 with a 2.22 ERA in that stretch that began April 20 when he gave up two runs in six innings at home against the Cardinals. Strasburg didnt pitch in the 2012 NL division series against St. Louis after the Nationals shut him down the final month of thhe season. Florida Panthers Gear. They lost a five-game series. "It was just fun to finally get a chance to pitch here," Strasburg said. "I wanted to go out there and give it everything I had and I feel like I did that, so I can sleep easy tonight." Strasburg allowed just two homers in his previous seven starts, and Adams long ball was the Cardinals first off the right-hander in four career appearances. "In the grand scheme of things you can always second-guess yourself, but I think if I threw a 3-1 changeup there, especially if hes in swing mode, I probably wouldnt have had that result," Strasburg said. "Who knows? Im not going to dwell on it too much, just going to learn from it and move on." St. Louis pitchers have permitted just one run in the Cardinals last five victories, including a pair of 5-0 wins over Toronto and a 1-0 victory against Tampa Bay. Miller matched his season best with seven strikeouts but walked four, including two for Strasburg, batting .077 with two hits on the year. Strasburgs second walk loaded the bases, but Denard Span grounded out against Choate. "Ill say this just to make him mad, but it looks like he got a little tired," manager Mike Matheny said of Miller. "Those are the things that they dont like to hear, so hell come back and have something to say about that for sure." Span went 0 for 4 and is hitless in his last 18 at-bats over the last five games. Anthony Rendon singled with one out in the first and scored from first on Werths double to right-centre. Craig made a sliding stop to cut the ball off and couldnt recover in time. It was tied in the third after a two-out rally started by Millers fourth hit of the season — and third double. The pitcher scored standing up on Matt Carpenters single. NOTES: Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia (2-0, 4.26 ERA) opposes Doug Fister (5-1, 2.68 ERA) on Sunday. Garcia is 3-1 against the Nationals and Fister has won his last five starts. ... The game time of 2 hours, 3 minutes for the series opener Friday night was the shortest in the major leagues this season. ... The Cardinals have won 11 of the last 13 regular-season meetings with Washington and are 17-2 at home the last two years against the NL East. ... The Nationals are 30-2 when scoring four or more runs and 5-30 when scoring three or fewer runs. ' ' '