FIFA World Cup, Argentina’s road to title: Messi and Co’s superb turnaround after losing opener

Starting as the favourites to win the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi’s Argentina have justified the tag by going on to win the title after beating France in the final. Starting the tournament with a major hiccup, the coach Lionel Scaloni-led side’s World Cup campaign seemed in jeopardy as Saudi Arabia stunned them early. However, since then, not only has the side got their act together but showed they are men on a mission by putting in clinical performances with the team not depending on individual brilliance. FIFA World Cup: Fixtures | Results | Points Table | Squads | Records We take a look at their results so far in the tournament and then take a brief glance at each of them in Argentina’s road to the title. Group C Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia Argentina 2-0 Mexico Poland 0-2 Argentina Knockout stages Round of 16: Argentina 2-1 Australia Quarter-final: Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (3-4 P) Semi-final: Argentina 3-0 Croatia Final: Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 P)  Group stages Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia Argentina were seen as a hot favourite to take this game as Messi & Co were on a 36-match unbeaten run. The discussion was, in fact, about how many goals their superstar will score against a lowly 51st-ranked Arab side. The match seemed under control as well with Messi scoring an early penalty while three more goals were flagged offside as the Argentines ran havoc in Saudi defence. But all that changed in the opening six minutes of the second half. Salah Al-Shehri first silenced La Albiceleste fans with a burst into the box before shooting it past Emiliano Martinez. A few minutes later, the entire world was stunned as Salem Al-Dawsari pulled a Messi-esque effort into the far post to give the Green Falcons the lead. Scores never changed beyond this point as Saudi Arabians claimed a memorable win. Argentina 2-0 Mexico With their backs against the wall, Argentina’s true character came out as they responded with a clinical performance for a 2-0 win in what was a cagey affair in Doha. The win was down to the side’s icon Messi, who shot the winning goal from 20 yards in the 64th minute before Enzo Fernandez put the game beyond any doubt with a thunderbolt of  a goal in the 87th minute. Messi’s goal was of historic importance as he tied late Diego Maradona’s tally of eight goals in the World Cup and came a day after the second anniversary of Maradona’s death. Poland 0-2 Argentina All those doubts of disjointed performances and failing to click as a side were dispelled against Poland as Scaloni’s side put forward their best show against Robert Lewandowski and Co. The game did have its concerns for the Argentines as Messi missed a penalty in the first half while they struggled to break the stubborn and physical Polish defence. The game also saw the two veterans in Angel Di Maria and Messi attack in tandem but yielded no result. All that changed as early as the first minute in the second half as Alexis Mac Allister finally broke the deadlock while Julian Alvarez made the most of the momentum by doubling the lead in the 67th minute. Knockout stages Round of 16: Argentina 2-1 Australia A match rated as Messi’s masterclass saw the 35-year-old forward unlock the Australian defence in the first half by running into the Aussie box and bending the ball into the bottom corner with a shot that was as calm and cool it can get. With the goal ended the long-time criticism of Messi not showing up in the knockout stages of the World Cups before. The goal again had historical importance as it was his 1000th career appearance and was his 789th career goal. However, it was Julian Alvarez, who decided the game for Argentina as his 57th minute strike proved vital with an own goal from Enzo Fernandez in the 77th minute leading to an unexpected nervy finish to the game. The Argentine, defence, however, successfully held off with the Australian attack lacking firepower and legs. Quarter-final: Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (3-4 P) Rated as match of the World Cup, the game had everything in a stunning comeback, late goal and a penalty shootout. It seemed business as usual for Messi and Co, who took a 2-0 lead by the 73rd minute. It was Messi, who doubled the lead from the spot after setting up Nahuel Molina with a defence-splitting pass in the 35th minute. The script, however, was written elsewhere. Probably by Wout Weghorst, who inspired a late rally with goals in the 83rd and 90+11th minutes. Argentina ultimately had the last laugh as Argentine custodian Emiliano left his mark in the tournament with two vital saves as the South American side clinched the shootout 4-3 for a memorable win. Semi-final: Argentina 3-0 Croatia Argentina pulled off the most dominant performance of their Qatar campaign so far with a 3-0 win over Croatia in the first semi-final at the Lusail Stadium, the same venue where they will be up against France in the grand finale on Sunday. Both Messi and Alvarez continued their red-hot run in the tournament, scoring within a few minutes of each other to ensure the two-time world champions went into the interval with a two-goal cushion. Messi put the Argentines in the lead with a 34th-minute penalty, becoming the all-time leading goal-scorer for his country at the World Cup, while Alvarez breached the Croatian defence with a spirited run five minutes later, tapping the ball in calmly past goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. Messi would then produce yet another magical assist on the other side of the half-time interval, slipping past Josko Gvardiol to set Alvarez up for a third goal in the 69th minute, one that put the result beyond doubt and dashed Croatia’s hopes of reaching a second consecutive World Cup final. Final: Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 on penalties) The dream finally came true for Messi and Argentina on Sunday, 18 December at the Lusail Iconic Stadium where the Lionel Scaloni-coached side ended France’s four-year hold on the trophy by beating them in a thrilling, high-scoring final to be crowned world champions for a third time. And it was star forward Messi who was the man of the moment in the grand finale, given he had earlier announced his intention to retire from international football at the end of Argentina’s World Cup campaign in Qatar. Messi scored twice, converting a penalty in the 23rd minute to put his side ahead and doing the same in extra time. His Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe though, had other plans as he fired a hat-trick — becoming the first in men’s football to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in 1966 — to ensure the game went into a penalty shootout. The cherry on top of the cake for Argentina was goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez dishing out a repeat of his heroics against Netherlands, stopping one with another going marginally wide as La Albiceleste held their nerve to win the penalty shootout 4-2, and in the process, the glittering trophy! 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