Nigeria, Dec. 1 -- A missed penalty from Lionel Messi in the first half did not matter as Alexis MacAllister and Julian Alvarez scored in the second half to give Argentina the three points and leadership of the group.

Poland, who began the day as Group C leaders, were almost dumped out, but they squeaked through on the FIFA Fair Play rule as they had fewer cautions than third-placed Mexico, who beat Saudi Arabia 2-1.

It was all Argentina in the opening 20 minutes of the game as Lionel Messi and his teammates pushed Poland back into their half. They got the first corner in the second minute as they chased an early goal to calm down the tension.

Messi had the first shot on target in the seventh minute, but it did not trouble Wojciech Szc...