IN HIS debut as a World Cup starter, teenager Lionel Messi did everything but give Argentina victory.

It didn't matter. In a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands yesterday, the Argentines confirmed their role as title contenders and easily earned a second-round match against Mexico.

Fielding four second-string players, Argentina showed their depth. The Dutch were less impressive as they head to a meeting with Portugal on Sunday in Nuremberg.

LATIN AMERICAN DUEL

As Group C winners, Argentina now have a Latin American duel in Leipzig on Saturday. No doubt they will be the overwhelming favourites after another strong performance.

"The only thing we lacked were goals," forward Carlos Tevez said. "We did everything right and for some reason we were unable to score."

Messi, who played for 69 minutes, ran the show for much of the time he was on the field. He set up chances for teammates, tested the inexperienced Dutch defence and showed the skills only a precious few players in the world have.

When he was replaced, Diego Maradona applauded him from the stands.

TOUGHEST OPPOSITION

At the same time, Netherlands winger Arjen Robben was on the bench, saving his strength for the second round. The Dutch also played without four other starters and the performance showed that, somehow, coach Marco van Basten can earn results against even the toughest of opposition.

In his Dutch record-equalling 112th international, goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar produced the save of the match, a one-handed dive to swipe out a 20-metre drive from Tevez, the Man of the Match in the 74th minute to deny Argentina what it had deserved.

"We had our hands full," Van Basten said. "We played against one of the top teams in the world, and we survived. We kept them from scoring."

Overall, the clash of the 1978 finalists rarely produced the intensity everyone had hoped for. It made Messi's performance all the more exciting.

Given space and time, the FC Barcelona prodigy was a joy to watch by the sell-out crowd of 48,000. He had been out injured in the closing stages of his European club season, and he showed an eagerness to make up for time lost.

GOAL-SAVING TACKLE

In the 10th minute, he picked out a run of Esteban Cambiasso and sent the Inter Milan midfielder through the heart of the Dutch defence, forcing Khalid Boulahrouz into a goal-saving tackle.

In the 33rd minute, he set up Maxi Rodriguez on the opposite right side, but his shot went into the side netting.

Just ahead of the halftime whistle, he took on the whole Dutch defence on his own, and his 20m shot whistled wide past Van der Sar.