Messi's artistry turns boos to cheers as Argentina beat Bosnia

Just after the start of the second half, the British Broadcasting Corporation tweeted out a comment by ex-Brazil midfielder Juninho: “Messi’s performance has been incredibly bad. He has been giving the ball away so easily. It must get better.” At least for the first 15 minutes of the second half of the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, it didn’t look like it would. He strolled around, not getting enough of the ball, Mensur Mujdza continued to shadow him and he even managed to sky a free kick. It wasn’t as bad as the Wayne Rooney corner – but it was close. This wasn’t the Lionel Messi of Barcelona, the all-conquering hero… rather this was a Messi that Argentina had come to hate. The one who just doesn’t turn up for the country. By the time, the 64th minute of the match came around – Messi was being booed by the Argentina fans at the venue. Then, in one moment; one moment of magic… it all changed. He exchanged a one-two with Higuain, finally got away from Mujdza, took four touches, beat Bicakcic and then fired it in low. The ball went off the post to put Argentina 2-0 ahead. [caption id=“attachment_1572045” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Moment of genius. AP[/caption] In exactly one minute, Messi had gone from being booed to becoming the best player in the world once again. The way Messi just pushed the ball past Bosnia defender’s foot; the way the defenders crashed into each other as they desperately tried to stop him; the way he finished it off. It was all classic Messi. Eight years after his first World Cup goal, the Argentina superstar finally had his second. His celebration, which seemed like a mix of anger and joy, showed just how badly he wanted to get on the scoring sheet. But the game also showed that Argentina – favourites for many – still have a lot of chinks in their armour. Messi’s moment of brilliance notwithstanding, Bosnia took the game to the South American giants and forced the Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella to make changes at half-time. It was a change that the world’s no 5 team needed. Messi wasn’t working and neither were Argentina. So out went Maxi Rodrigues and Hugo Campagnaro and in came Gonzalo Higuan and Fernando Gago. They moved to what seemed like a 4-3-3 formation. And it took them a while to settle in but they eventually found their feet. In the second half, Argentina had much more impact in the final third of the field – completing 41 off 60 passes. And that’s how they want to be for the rest of the tournament. Coming into the tournament, this was a team that had the attacking firepower, that was the envy of every team in the world. But you need to have the right players on the field to take advantage of all that talent. In the second half, Messi got a lot more of the ball and it forced Bosnia on to the backfoot each time. His passing percentage went up from 70 to 86 and they were incisive passes as well. Argentina won 2-1 but Bosnia and Herzegovina showed that they are good enough to advance from this group. After the game, Messi said: “It was important to start with a win, Bosnia is a great team. We need to improve things, but the main thing are the three points.” And in that he is correct. Argentina still seem to be searching for their best XI but this game would have got them closer. The matches against Nigeria and Iran should be easier. Bosnia and Herzegovina were organised and controlled Messi for most part. But as the diminutive Argentine showed, he only needs one moment of magic; one inch to make the difference. With him around, you simply can’t afford to take a break – even if Argentina are having an off day. Messi vs Bosnia: - shots: 3 (1 goal) - passes completed: 46 - distance covered: 8169 m - top speed: 28,9 km/h