FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi showcases there's more than one way to skin a cat

At the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday night, Lionel Messi displayed what millions had already witnessed for 15-or-so years. An unstoppable penalty into the roof of the goal. A pass for a counterattack that resulted in a goal. And to top it off, a magnificent assist, having dodged his marker, to effectively put the game to bed. FIFA World Cup: Fixtures | Results | Points Table | Squads | Records But there were also instances of a Messi that is well aware of the timing of this World Cup - a sense of now or never. Coming into the tournament, 35-year-old Messi admitted this World Cup would surely be his last and therefore his final opportunity to lift the trophy that escaped him in 2014. After the win over Croatia, Messi made clear that the final would be his last World Cup appearance. “I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final,” he told Argentine media outlet Ole.If there have been moments of magic to pull Argentina forward, as was the case against Croatia, there have been moments of feistiness also. Late into the first half, he rode multiple physical defensive efforts by Croatia, held off players, gave his teammates time to find space. In stoppage time, with three Croatia shirts around him, he skipped past one and skillfully meandered his way to drawing a foul. It has shown how tetchy he can be. He called out Netherlands’ Wout Weghorst , “what are you looking at fool?” while doing a post-match media interaction. Messi didn’t mince any words in slamming referee Mateu Lahoz who brandished 18 bookings in thrilling Netherlands-Argentina quarter-final . He was also agitated when four minutes of stoppage time were added to the first half against Croatia. For Messi, the objective is, and has always been, to win and he appears to do all it takes towards that end goal. As stakes have gotten higher, the means to that end have become all encompassing too.

The stakes have also been raised by national expectations. It has now been 36 years since Diego Maradona dragged Argentina to their second and most recent World Cup triumph, the crowning moment of his dazzling career. Messi, considered the successor to his legacy, has always fallen short. To the point, he retired in 2016 after losing the Copa America final. The 2022 World Cup has almost felt like the second coming of Messi for Argentina. It started with a massive flop (against Saudi Arabia) and a real test of his credentials to lead this team. Since then, there’s been an uptick in performances by the team and Messi alike. [caption id=“attachment_11805411” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Croatia’s Josko Gvardiol, right, battle for the ball during the World Cup semi-final match between Argentina and Croatia at the Lusail Stadium. AP[/caption] Sixteen years after making his Argentina debut, Qatar has witnessed Messi score in the knockout stages of a World Cup, and he has done so in three straight games now. The first, from the spot against Croatia, his 11th World Cup goal, took him past Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina’s record scorer in the 25th appearance. Messi against Croatia was typical of his late career — a player who conserves energy and spends long periods on the fringes of the game. It appeared he had a niggle and moved gingerly at times but whenever he had the ball, he knew what to do with it. When it wasn’t around him, he made his presence felt by keeping the chances of a counterattack alive. This Messi, one visible at PSG also, isn’t about scoring himself. He creates it for Kylian Mbappe there and did it for Julian Alvarez on the night. “Sometimes it seems like we say Messi is the greatest just because we are Argentine, but I think there is no doubt about it,” said coach Lionel Scaloni. One can argue this Argentina run to the World Cup final is not entirely down to Messi but a lot of it is his creating - directly or indirectly. Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ****,  Twitter  and  Instagram ****.