Suffered a lot, win a huge relief: Messi
SAINT PETERSBURG: Relief washed over them as the final whistle blew at the Krestovsky Stadium on Tuesday. During the game, Lionel Messi had piggybacked on Marcos Rojo, after he hugged Javier Mascherano. Angel di Maria was starting to tear up, perhaps overwhelmed at being spared the ignominy of a group-stage ouster. Don’t cry for Argentina yet.
The tension in the lead-up to the end had got to Messi as well. He had done the team talk at halftime, scored a sublime goal and when Rojo popped up from nowhere to blast the winner he showed what that goal meant to him. Then, Messi, who has so much joy with a football, waited the longest he has ever had for a match to end.
To protect Argentina’s 2-1 lead, Messi, visibly fatigued from a bruising encounter, chased every ball, even made a sliding tackle in the final third as he was being outrun by a Nigerian defender, before getting booked for wasting time. Argentina simply couldn’t afford to squander the opportunity provided by their left-footed centre-back who had scored with an outrageous right-footed volley, a finish that would be the envy of football’s most famous No. 9s, and Messi would do whatever it took to protect the 2-1 scoreline. “Yes, we suffered a lot because it was a difficult situation but we had a lot at stake and it was a huge relief to win,” Messi said.
The evening had begun on a positive note for Argentina. When Victor Moses took nearly half-a-minute for a throw-in in the first minute, it was clear that Nigeria wanted to frustrate their opponents. It did little to deter Argentina though as, bolstered by Ever Banega in central midfield, they controlled the proceedings.
In the 14th minute, a pinpoint long ball from Banega found Messi. The pass was met with an equally good first touch with his thigh. Another elegant touch, this time with his left foot, to create space and time for an unstoppable shot from his right foot and Messi had made it 1-0.
Prior to kick-off, jeers echoed around the stadium as Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli’s name was announced. With his side in the lead and his face on the giant screen, Sampaoli faced a more positive reaction from the mostly Argentine crowd.
In the 34th minute, Messi hit the post from a free-kick. Nigeria held on for the rest of the first half. The story changed early in the second. Mascherano’s embracing Leon Balogun from behind fetched Nigeria a penalty and Victor Moses made it 1-1.
Argentina’s struggles from the centre of the field continued as the second half entered its decisive phase. But this was a mustwin game and Argentina pushed forward, a decision that left them vulnerable to being hit by a Nigerian break. Goalkeeper Franco Armani kept them in the game and then Rojo popped up at the end of Gabriel Mercado cross to set up a pre-quarter final against France. High in the stands Maradona celebrated; on the pitch the players hugged and Sampaoli strode in seconds after the final whistle. France may be another story but that could be dealt with later. The relief of staying alive was all that mattered now.