Messi-merising! Late stunner tears into Mexican wave to shake off scare
The skipper and Enzo Fernandes’s brilliant strikes end thoughts of a premature exit for the Albiceleste
DOHA: Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa’s view was blocked by a mass of bodies. It was the same for Lionel Messi.
But when man meets superman, it is never an even contest.
Messi’s second-half goal, coupled with another from Enzo Fernandez, helped Argentina beat Mexico 2-0 to climb to second place in Group C – easing talk of a premature exit for Argentina.
“I think it lifted a discomfort, a weight off our shoulders,” said Messi after the game. “We have peace of mind and it’s back in our hands again.”
Now their fate is back in their hands. If Argentina win against Poland in their final group stage match in Doha, they qualify for the knockdown stages.
Guillermo Ochoa’s view was blocked by a mass of bodies in green. It was the same from the other side for Lionel Messi. But Ochoa couldn’t see what Messi did and he fired a shot before Hector Herrera slid in to block. No offence to Ochoa, who has been to as many World Cups as Messi, but when man meets superman, it is never an even contest. Messi’s goal and that of Enzo Fernandes, the first four minutes after an hour into the edgy, intense and physical contest and the second in the 87th minute, ended thoughts of a premature exit for Argentina. “I think it lifted a discomfort, a weight off our shoulders,” said Messi, speaking to reporters nearly 90 minutes after the game at Lusail Stadium.
“Did you notice his eyes after he scored? I did,” said Sergio Levinsky, a journalist from Argentina in his 10th World Cup and whose book, “Maradona, a rebel with a cause” is still considers ered one of the best on the tormented genius. “It looked like
Messi was close to tears,” said
Levinsky after Messi had buried himself in Angel Di Maria and then in a heap of Argentina shirts. Assistant coach Pablo
Aimar definitely was and that showed what the goal meant not just to the scorer but to the staff and the country.
The celebration, uncharacteristic for a man not known to be flashy, needed to be put Not all of them were in perspective said Levinsky. Argentine, a trio of “Messi wanted to Indians were in the take the pressure off the thobes they said they team by scoring the goal. had bought at Souk He is the captain and he Waqif but had pulled wanted to pass a mes- Dhiman Sarkar on Argentina shirts sage that it was on him to over it. On Sunday, get Argentina out of the through the drive to problem they found the Japan-costa Rica themselves in.” This was game at Ahmad bin Ali his final World Cup and Stadium in Mohammed Argentina were staring Sattar’s taxi, the at possible elimination, man from Chittagong he said. referred to Argentina as “we”.
Levinsky’s comment fit with The 2-0 win against Mexico, he what Messi said after the match. said, has got him to buy a ticket “The days were very long after for the Argentina-poland game the defeat in the opening match and get a Hayya Card which he (to Saudi Arabia) and we were had hung from the rearview mirror. eager to turn the situation. Now Messi accepted that the first we have another chance and half was difficult, “due to the situation some peace of mind.” and our need for a win.”
In the front row of the press Argentina, he said, couldn’t find pack, sat ‘Messi’ in a deep blue space and couldn’t move the ball
Argentina shirt, the interviewer and interviewee showing that there is, after all, lots in a name. Like it has been at every World Cup since 2006, and pretty much everywhere football is played, people of all ages were seen with “Messi’ on their backs: by the takeaway at Al Mansoura Metro station, in trains to Msheireb, where all three metro lines meet, and of course in and around the Lusail. side to side. “In the second half we started doing what we need to do, finding space between the lines and getting the ball closer to the area (of Mexico’s goal). And the goal changed the game for us. Now we can again do what we came here for,” he said.
Given the import of the last two comments what stood out was the matter-of-fact manner in which it was made by a man seeking a crowning glory to a glittering career. Possibly because the 2022 avatar of Messi is more serene, possibly because Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni had spoken of the need for “calm”.
“We were going too fast,” said Messi about the first half where Mexico shut out Argentina’s talisman denying him space in the areas that led to the first goal.
“We adjusted by playing three at the back and were more aggressive. We wanted to play out from the back,” said Scaloni.
“It helped that Julian (Alvarez) could play diagonal balls and Enzo could distribute,” he said of the player who replaced Lautaro Martinez one minute before Messi’s goal. “Sometimes these things work, sometimes they don’t. Today, everything turned out well.”
It is “thrilling” to watch playleave everything on the pitch and “very good opponents”, said the Argentina head coach. “We have very good players and on top of that we have Leo who again did what he does best.”
Reacting to Aimar, a player Messi grew up idolising, crying on the bench after the first goal, Scaloni said: “The feeling that this is something more than a football match is not nice. I got a message from my brother and he too said he was crying. I don’t think we are playing something more than a game but it is difficult to make people understand that.”
Asked whether he was suggesting Argentina should take its football less seriously, Scaloni replied: “That is not what I am saying and I don’t want to make headlines here. We won, we enjoyed and tomorrow we start again. The sun will again rise tomorrow. We will try to win against Poland but if we can’t we will try to bring our A game.”
It was a comment that segued well with what Scaloni said of his captain in possibly his final World Cup. “Messi should enjoy the World Cup.”
Given what’s at stake that could be difficult but it is also the surest way to end what has been a Sisyphean struggle.
In Qatar