Argentina let it get messy rather than Messi, and cannot flop again

The stars appeared to be aligning for Lionel Messi as he arrived at the Qatar World Cup as the talisman for an Argentina squad that has been simply unbeatable since 2019.

When the mercurial 35-year-old stroked home a penalty 10 minutes into his side's opening Group C clash against Saudi Arabia it seemed all the pre-tournament talk that this was his, and Argentina's, time was fully justified.

What happened next suggested that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's fifth and final attempt at World Cup glory might all end up in familiar crushing disappointment.

Saudi Arabia, Fifa's 51st-ranked team and who have suffered 5-0 and 8-0 World Cup defeats down the years, roared back to claim an astonishing 2-1 victory that will go down as one of the greatest shocks in any sport ever.

“We knew how Saudi Arabia play. We prepared for the match knowing their defenders play high. The offsides were by millimetres,” Scaloni said.

No-one thought it would matter much and that Argentina would change gear after the break. But from the moment the second half kicked off they looked ragged and ponderous. Certainly not the swagger of a team widely-tipped to deliver a third World Cup for the soccer-crazy nation, and first since Diego Maradona's 1986 glory.

When Saleh Al-Shehri got away from Cristian Romero too easily to equalise in the 48th minute to draw Saudi Arabia level, it should have focused Argentine minds. Instead, the Saudis swarmed all over them and five minutes later Salem Al-Dawsari shrugged off some flimsy challenges to curl a winner of which Messi himself would have been proud.

Even then, with so much time left on the clock, Argentina's quality should have shone through to avert humiliation.

Scaloni threw on 22-year-old Julian Alvarez and 21-year-old Enzo Fernandez on the hour but to little effect as Argentina laboured, with veteran Angel Di Maria looking heavy-legged and Messi continually running into a green wall.

Argentina can still salvage their World Cup, as they did in 1990 when they reached the final having been shocked by Cameroon in their opening game, but Scaloni has some serious thinking ahead of their next game against a dangerous Mexico on Saturday where another flop would end their hopes.

Reuters

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