FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi magic keeps Argentina's hopes alive despite another below-par performance

Doha: And just as the match was drifting to nowhere, a destination yet unknown to the global game with lobotomized football, disjointed teams, and an utter lack of direction, the diminutive Argentinean, disconnected from the diabolical anti-spectacle around him, did what he has always done best: mesmerize the gods, find that pocket of space and deliver salvation.

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It was some finish from Lionel Messi in the 64th minute. A low thunderbolt that stunned Mexico and delighted those who had come to see him.

🚀 from #Messi𓃵 that sent all of @Argentina over the 🌝

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Lionel Messi had been the first Argentina player to walk onto the field at the Lusail Stadium, a cauldron of sound, lights and impressions, but, in truth, all of that raucousness and razzle-dazzle was but an excuse for deeper, more profound thoughts because after all there was just one single question on everyone’s mind: is this it? is this to be Lionel Messi’s last match at a World Cup?

Argentina, of course, had been here before. At the 1990 World Cup, they faltered in their opening game against Cameroon — a shock result for the ages and almost as astounding as the soul-destroying defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia — but they went on to reach the final in Italy — the target for the next few weeks.

The result against Hervé Renard’s team stunned the Argentinians after the euphoria of a 36-game unbeaten run leading up to the World Cup. In their camp there had always been a latent fear that things would go wrong — and they did so in spectacular fashion at the worst time possible. Despite the utter shock, it didn’t drain the belief and hope from the players and the fans that Argentina could achieve great things at this World Cup, just like in 1990.

But, amid all the thunder and noise in a rambunctious Lusail, Argentina from the onset demonstrated why they were in a precarious position: they simply could not control a match. Not against Saudi Arabia and not against Mexico. After ten minutes, the Mexicans settled down, wrestling the initiative from their opponents before the match transformed into an uncompromising, low-quality and highly intense encounter. By the end of the first half, 16 fouls had been committed, four times the number of shots.

It was a measure of what was at stake — this match felt like a proper World Cup game. Everything was on the line. The weight of the game was too much to carry for some players. Mexico veteran Andreas Guardado, a feature in every World Cup since 2006, limped off and Lionel Messi was all but invisible.

The lodestar of Argentina, the superstar of the global game, and one of the all-time greats has often drifted in and out of matches, even more so in the twilight of his career, but on Saturday he couldn’t handle the physicality of the Mexicans. Perhaps he was a reflection of his team. It took Argentina 50 minutes to get a circuit of passing going.

It was perhaps Argentina’s worst half of football in many, many years and reminiscent of the spirit of Marcelo Bielsa’s Argentina at the 2002 World Cup when the South Americans, top favourites back then as well, departed the competition in the group phase. They did so in 1958 and 1962 as well, but at Lusail, they never were in danger just yet of such a fate, simply because Mexico matched Argentina’s diabolical standard. When they broke just after the break, Alexis Vega played his pass behind Chucky Lozano. They had no idea of how to score. It was emblematic of two teams who had little to offer and were going nowhere.

By then Lionel Messi had dropped deeper, but, predictably, he didn’t exert greater influence, even if Argentina played with somewhat more conviction. And so the match drifted and drifted. Then Messi’s moment of magic arrived. It was the moment that split the match. Mexico had more of the ball, but it rendered them no less toothless. Argentine substitute Enrico Fernandez wasn’t — with a beautiful curl, he beat the leaping Ochoa to ensure a 2-0 victory for his team.

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Enz⚽ curler seals @Argentina's win 🙌

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It was neither pretty nor convincing and other teams — Brazil, France and Spain — won’t have been impressed by Argentina. It was often desperate in fact, but, for now, Messi’s World Cup dream lives on.

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