Leo Messi’s open account with Croatia

by time news

In less than a week Leo Messi can be world champion. This dream of captaining the Argentina national team is so close, but also so far. Two wins he needs to win the World Cup and bring home the golden trophy for the first time since Diego Maradona did it somewhere in Mexico 1986. There are many similarities between this tournament and that number 10 duo, but for the Flea and the Albiceleste to continue dreaming, they first need To beat Croatia tonight (Tuesday, 21:00), with whom they have an open account.

Argentina still remembers the 3:0 defeat to the Croatians in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup. Ante Ravic, the endless Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic then scored for the winners in extra time. That last goal is also remembered by Messi himself who ran half a field back to the defense even when the game was already over, only to see the midfielder put the last nail in Argentina’s coffin.

In fact, at the final whistle that day in Nizhny Novgorod, Argentina were still winless after a 1-1 draw against Iceland in the opening round. Although in the end they beat Nigeria 1:2 and qualified for the round of 16, but it only happened from second place, the one that sent them to a meeting with France already in the round of 16 and an unforgettable match where Kylian Mbappe scorched the Argentine defense and sent them home at the start of the knock out. The world champions on the road then knocked out Messi and his friends, but some would say that it was the defeat to Croatia that sealed their fate even before that.

In 2018, Rakitic and Modric beat Messi (Reuters)

Just before another meeting with Croatia, it is worth mentioning that the Argentina of that time was a completely different team. How much? In those days, Javier Mascherano and Sergio Aguero, who had already retired, were still playing in the Albiceleste ranks, and the coach was Jorge Sampaoli, who failed miserably. But since then many things have changed and Qatar 2022 is Messi’s first World Cup in which Argentina is not just him and 10 others. The flea is still the undisputed superstar and the one who carried Argentina on his back to the semi-finals, but this is a much more team-based team than anything that has happened before in the Messi era. Even more than qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals.

It seems that in Argentina model 2022, Messi has a better supporting team than anything he has had until now and that is what gives him, his friends and the fans hope that this time it will finally happen. This mainly includes Emiliano ‘Divo’ Martinez and Rodrigo de Paul, but also Enso Fernandez and Julián Alvarez who represent the future generation – as well as the present – and of course the coach Lionel Scaloni, perhaps the one who understands better than his predecessors in the position what Messi really needs.

different from anything before.  Messi with Martins after the victory over Holland (Reuters)different from anything before. Messi with Martins after the victory over Holland (Reuters)

Argentina have a high hurdle on the way to the final, but they can afford to dream of winning the World Cup almost a month after the anniversary of Maradona’s death. A little more than two years later, Diego may be looking down on Messi and his friends and in the meantime he seems to be an inspiration to them. “The hand of God that protects Messi”, wrote on Devo Martins In the Spanish newspaper ‘El Mundo’, but Maradona has been mentioned many times in recent days also in the context of – of course – Messi himself.

Jorge and Ledano who was part of the World Cup winning team in the 1986 World Cup and also scored in the final against West Germany, recently said in an interview: “Whoever doesn’t like Messi, doesn’t like football. He has a Mardonian tournament.” And really, you can understand him because Messi reveals lesser-known sides in Qatar that remind Diego. Quite a few people wondered the meaning of the change, but both Waldano and Scalloni said in recent days that the flea has always been like this. He just didn’t let those sides come out, not on that level.

Memories of Diego (Radad Jabara)Memories of Diego (Radad Jabara)

That’s what (probably) your farewell World Cup and the last chance to lift the World Cup at the age of 35 does. And it’s not just that Messi has put Argentina on his back with goals against Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Australia and the Netherlands alongside high ability and memorable moves like the header for Nahuel Molina against The direction of the movement and between the legs of Natan Ake against the Orange, this is also the uncompromising war and closing accounts with everyone who challenges him. To Louis Van Halen Messi Reminded of Juan Roman Riquelme as he recreated his celebration in front of the Dutch bench, the No. 10 wacht and Horst yelled: “What are you looking at, moron?” In an unforgettable interview that became a cult in Argentina, even the judge Mateo Laus did not come out clean.

But all that has already passed and after the drama against the Netherlands, it remains for Messi to settle accounts with Croatia as well. By the way, the flea scored his first goal in the senior team against the Croatians in a friendly match in which the Albiceleste lost 3:2, the one who made his debut in the national uniform in the team from the Balkans, is none other than the current captain – Luka Modric.

Messi gets a remix: “What are you looking at, dumbass?”

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