World Cup: Maradona 'would be super happy for me' - Messi after Argentina reach Round of 16

Lionel Messi on Wednesday said that Diego Maradona "would be super happy for me" after he led Argentina into the Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA World Cup.

Argentina defeated Poland 2-0 in their final Group C fixture and sealed a place in the knockout stages of the Qatar World Cup.

On Wednesday, Messi also became Argentina's most-capped player in the World Cup with a 22nd appearance, surpassing Maradona, who died just over two years ago.

"I learned it recently, I didn't know it. It's a pleasure to be able to continue to achieve these kinds of records. I think Diego would be super happy for me, because he always showed me a lot of affection, he was always happy when things went well for me," Messi told reporters after Argentina's 2-0 win.

By scoring in his country's victory over Mexico last Sunday, Messi equaled Maradona's goals tally in the tournament – eight goals. While Messi had a chance to surpass his legendary countryman, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star failed to convert his penalty in the first half against Poland.

After missing a penalty – which was his 39th failure from the spot – the Argentina skipper said his side "came out stronger" after his "mistake."

"I'm angry for missing the penalty, but the team came out stronger after my mistake. We knew that once the first goal went in, it would change the game and they would open up. The previous game gave us a lot of peace of mind and we went out onto the field thinking we had to win," Messi said in a post-match interview.

Qatar World Cup: Game against Australia will be 'difficult,' says Lionel Messi

Messi also spoke about his team's chances after safely making it through to the last 16 as group winners.

"The match against Australia is going to be very difficult. Anyone beats anyone, everything is very even. We have to prepare the game in the best way as we always do. We must be calm and go game by game. Now another World Cup begins and hopefully we can continue to maintain what we did today," the 35-year-old forward added further.

Meanwhile, Argentina's head coach Lionel Scaloni said that he wouldn't substitute Messi, who has played all 90 minutes so far this World Cup, unless the skipper asked him to remove him from the field.

Argentina vs Poland: Won' substitute Messi unless he asks me to, says Lionel Scaloni

In a post-match interview, when Scaloni was asked whether Messi should have been protected towards the end, the 41-year-old boss replied, "I wouldn't substitute (Lionel) Messi unless he tells me to."

The 44-year-old is happy with how Argentina has used its reserves. "Substitutions worked well and we thought about collectively doing well. It's good to know all 26 players can contribute. All the players deserve to be here, different players with different characteristics. We didn't allow them to counterattack and that is our credit, not their mistake.

"We are happy but shouldn't be euphoric as it's crazy that we are playing in two days and conditions are not great. We are not favourites, it was a tough group (C). But just because we won today we can't be winners," the Argentina head coach said further.

Speaking about Argentina's upcoming last-16 fixture against Australia, Scaloni said," We have watched few videos of Australia. From tomorrow, we will prepare thoroughly and analyse them."

Argentina are scheduled to face off against Australia on Saturday (Dec. 3) in the Round of 16 of the Qatar World Cup