FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi's Argentina dispel doubts clicking as a team against spiritless Poland

Doha: Towards the end of the first half, Lionel Messi’s name rang out across the stands of Stadium 974 — a landmark venue made of shipping containers on the outskirts of the Qatari capital. The hysterical supporters were voicing their support for Argentina’s number 10, who had just conned the referee Danny Makkelie into awarding a soft penalty. Messi, however, missed from the spot , but it didn’t upset those in the stands.

Everyone at Stadium 974 seemed decked out in blue and white. Everyone had come to see the legendary forward. They had flown in from India, Laos, Hong Kong, and every corner of the world to support and serenade Messi. Argentina and their number 10 never play an away match in Doha.

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Star power has been a recurring theme at this tournament — Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and other marquee names draw in supporters — but this was perhaps different: Messi was a single goal and a defeat away from a premature World Cup exit. He’d enter the pantheon of the Gods without having won football’s most coveted prize. That was the danger Argentina had to contend with: the margins in Group D were fine.

In fairness, Messi’s penalty came during Argentina’s best spell of the first half. The South Americans had struggled to break down the stubborn Polish team, whose plan existed in defending and then defending some more. Angel Di Maria and Messi attacked in tandem, but the team of Scaloni failed to produce a defence-splitting move. In the final third, they lacked incisiveness. A subtle pass never arrived. Instead, this was something of Argentina, who passed the ball to Messi.

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The dribbling of Di Maria was not enough to overcome the Polish defence. In this tournament, a lot of goals have been created by breaking the lines or playing the ball in behind the opposing backline and when Argentina employed the latter strategy, Poland’s defence started getting stretched. This was a stuttering and flickering Polish team, getting torn apart by a team that at first had flickered and stuttered with that opening defeat to Saudi Arabia, but was beginning to assert itself at last with a healthy degree of aggression.

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Poland sat too deep, recovering possession too deeply, and thus simply inviting wave after wave of Argentinian attack. They were under siege and no matter their formation — often a diabolical 9-1 with star striker Roberto Lewandowski completely isolated — the Polish and their resistance were not going to last. They had been so, so poor.

Within 60 seconds after the mid-game interval, Argentina had gotten their goal, through Alexis Mac Allister. Julian Alvarez doubled the lead, but there was something cowardly about Poland, who were still assured of a spot in the last sixteen because of fewer yellow cards than Mexico . Did Poland play to simply not get booked? They hardly left their own half, an act of great risk-taking.

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Argentina were irresistible, Messi zigzagging his way past the helpless and hapless Polish players. Each time Messi touched the ball there was a crackle in the air. Messi and the Argentinians completed 812 passes and 25 attempts but statistics alone cannot explain Argentina’s dominance. They played with panache and zeal. It was a team that wanted to take control again. It was an affirmation that this team wanted three points.

With this commanding victory, Argentina restored their confidence. The South American champions will remember the 1990 World Cup in Italy when their dramatic opening defeat against Cameroon, an upset for the ages, inspired a run to the final. Messi and Co have dispelled doubts that rose after the Saudi Arabia result. They still rely on Messi, but, at the same time, are more than the sum of their parts.

Tougher tests than Poland and Australia will come, but Argentina’s World Cup dream lives on.

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