Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo scored a late goal as Argentina struggled to beat Nigeria 2-1 in Saint Petersburg.
A lacklustre Argentina were on the verge of an embarrassing exit, before Manchester United defender Rojo surged into the area to place Gabriel Mercado’s cross into the bottom corner.
Lionel Messi had earlier scored a sublime opener to put his side in position to qualify from Group D, only for Javier Mascherano’s poor error to allow Victor Moses to equalise with a penalty.
That would have sent Nigeria through but they were wasteful against a ragged defence and punished late on.
Argentina will face Group C winners France in the last 16 in Kazan on Saturday.
Croatia beat Iceland 2-1 in the other game to secure first place in Group D and set up a tie against Denmark.
– Messi’s magical touch –
Given Messi will be 35 during the next World Cup in Qatar in 2022, victory here has at least staved off a miserable end to what could well be his last chance to win the tournament.
The Barcelona striker, whose hint of a smile during the pre-match anthems was a stark contrast to his pained expression prior to the 3-0 defeat by Croatia, produced a superb first-half performance.
His opening goal displayed all his talent and composure. With Ever Banega looking to go over the top from deep, Messi cut sharply right and surged in behind the defence, with the Sevilla midfielder picking him out with a terrific pass.
Messi’s first touch to cushion the ball on his left thigh was sublime, the second off his left boot to draw it away from Kenneth Omeruo exquisite, the finish into the far corner with his right emphatic.
Elsewhere he was efficient, threatening to create openings with every quick touch, and could have had a second but for Nigeria keeper Francis Uzoho’s tremendous save to tip a free-kick onto the post.
With Argentina’s players reportedly at odds with boss Jorge Sampaoli, it was perhaps telling that Messi delivered a second team talk to his side in the tunnel just before coming out for the second half.
His words failed to inspire them, with Messi increasingly isolated, but he had at least given his team-mates the foundation to salvage their World Cup.
It is still hard to see Argentina progressing into the latter stages of this tournament without significant improvement, even if Messi goes on to put in performances for the ages.
This was the oldest starting side in the country’s hugely successful World Cup history – with an average age of 30 years and 189 days – but it is a far from settled one.
Sampaoli made five changes from the Croatia defeat, including an international debut for 31-year-old keeper Franco Armani after Willy Caballero’s blunder.
Some of those changes, like starting Banega, were overdue, but the decision to drop Sergio Aguero and then wait until two other substitutions had been made and 80 minutes had passed before introducing him was bizarre.
If Sampaoli has lost control of the dressing room, Mascherano is supposedly his side’s real leader. But the former Barcelona and Liverpool defensive midfielder, who now plays for Chinese club Hebei China Fortune, looks shorn of his former talents, failing to offer protection to a shaky defence.
While not the most blatant example of holding, his grabbing of Leon Balogun in the box from a corner was naive and rightly penalised. Is there any way he can rally his team-mates for the challenge of France?
“It is very hard to see how Argentina can stand up to the French – if they are going to mount any challenge, it will have to be like it was four years ago when they played on individual talent,” said BBC Sport’s South American football expert Tim Vickery.
“France will not be too concerned about playing Argentina.”
