You have to be very good to do what Lionel Messi did at the Lusail Stadium. Under the pressure of an entire country and the eyes of the world, with elimination hovering around the head of the albiceleste in a nervous game and locked to unbearable limits, the football embodied by that unique footballer stood out.
At 35 years old and clinging to his last World Cup, Messi did it. Yes, he did it. He unraveled an impossible match. He grabbed a ball on the edge of the area and turned it into a goal as only he knows how to do it. He hit it flat, hard and close to the stick, as if the trajectory before impact was drawn in his brain. He had done it hundreds of times before, but he had to do it again, for the survival of his team, which was drowning, devoid of football and gripped by nerves. What a guy Messi.
After the 2-0 against Mexico (the sentence was the work of Enzo Fernández, the two goals came in the second half) Argentina will qualify for the round of 16, beating Poland. Even tying could be worth it.
Beyond the light of Messi Argentina was a dark and inconspicuous team. Compared to France, Brazil or even Spain, it gives the impression of being a group without much flight. The favorites seem to play something else, they are neater and more organized, they are identified with a plan. Argentina is seen to suffer all the time. Luckily he has Messi.
The game was horrible, especially its first part. That period could be summed up with hardly any words and the reader would not miss a thing. Argentina's game plan was a mystery, presumably due to stress, although perhaps the quality was also exaggerated a bit before coming.
The albiceleste formed from the beginning with up to five changes, a sign that Scaloni did not like what he saw of his team against Saudi Arabia. In that he shared opinion with more than half the planet. The new faces, however, had no effect, if anything made things worse. At least against the Saudis they were able to create scoring chances.
Against the Mexicans, in the first 45 minutes, corners were counted as great successes but in reality there was only one real possibility in the count of real danger: a lateral free kick launched by Messi from the right that forced Ochoa to put out his fists.
The Mexicans, for their part, came out on the scene better, more spirited and determined, but they gradually blurred and confused with their rivals, competing equally in the festival of horrors. Each pass basted with intention was a small miracle and in the counting of goal plays, there was also only one: a free kick on the balcony of the area launched by Vega to which Dibu Martínez responded with a formal popcorn.
The atmosphere in the stands and the tension on the pitch dominated the game by far. He had plenty of testosterone and some brain was missing. A first play anticipated that the match would be shocking and dim: Vega got away from Montiel by hitting him in the face. It was a first brawl without further complications, but the tension was also tremendous in the stands, where strangely both fans coexisted, noisy as rarely in a stadium. A tough challenge from Araújo to Acuña, which was yellow but bordered on red, confirmed that the players weren't up for nonsense. Nor to play football.
Argentina drowned itself determined to enter through the center, confused. Messi, closely watched in the three-quarter zone, was hardly seen. Half-time was reached with the entry of Gutiérrez for Guardado and with Montiel welcoming the newcomer with a kick. Match color card, beige, pale.
The resumption brought more hard play. It started with another warning, this time for Gutiérrez, who stopped a vertical gallop by Messi, the first, with an inevitable trip. The ten threw the free kick, but it came out horrible, to the clouds. Like the day of Arabia. He got mad.
From there, a slight improvement in Argentina was detected, with Messi more active and incisive, forcing Mexico to stand up, finally tilting the field to the albiceleste side. Scaloni brought on Julian Álvarez and retired Lautaro. And seconds later Messi released his foot and beat Ochoa, celebrating in the old fashioned way, Tardelli-style, with the veins in his neck exploding. The sentence was put by Enzo Fernández with a screwball shot. Argentina laughed. For the first time in this World Cup. Thanks Messi.
