Messi revives Argentina and can change the World Cup: “We’re back”

It could have been a haunted night, that of the almost elimination from the World Cup. For over an hour Mexico had held its own against an uninspired Argentina, with Lautaro invisible and Di Maria intermittent. But then Leo Messi demonstrated why he has seven Ballon d’Ors at his home and led the team to a victory that “brings” Albiceleste back to the race for the knockout stages.

Perhaps only a feat by Pulce could change the story of a national team that had blocked the debut against Saudi Arabia and had plunged its people into pessimism. The PSG star once again took his teammates on his shoulders who, after Orsato’s triple whistle, thanked him, embracing him like a… savior. Years ago, perhaps, the ending would have been different because Pulce suffered terribly from the weight of the races with his Argentina. He came to vomit from the tension and was unable to show the class with which he lit up the Camp Nou at the time.

However, the story has changed for a while and thanks to the victory of the Copa America 2021, with the leader’s speech in the locker room before the final at the Maracanã against Brazil, Leo is an undisputed and indisputable champion even with the national team shirt.

AIMAR’S TEARS

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Messi, voted man of the match for the seventh time in his World Cup career (equalized Cristiano Ronaldo), scored the 1-0 goal and also added the assist to make it 2-0. Thus he equaled Diego Armando Maradona, both in goals (8) and in appearances (21) in the final phase of the World Cup. And he moved Pablo Aimar almost to tears, who was his childhood idol and who is now on Scaloni’s staff.

Leo brought a ray of light into what could have been one of the darkest nights in the history of Seleccion and clearly at the end of the match he didn’t hide his satisfaction: “It was a difficult match – Rosario’s champion admitted – because Mexico he was playing well. We had to win at all costs and this conditioned us in the first half. We knew that another World Cup had to start for us and so it was. We are back to being ourselves, we are back. We can’t go wrong now.” He speaks once again as a leader, as a 35-year-old champion who knows he has to drag his teammates along like another number 10 did, Diego Maradona. He is now both the youngest (18 years and 357 days) and the oldest (35 years and 155 days) to have scored a goal and assisted in a World Cup match since 1966. In Doha he can continue to write history and, rest assured, he has no intention of stopping.