If Lionel Messi’s wins a World Cup? Argentina’s icon ran things again and took a step back in time to set up the third goal that sealed the victory for Croatia. This will now be the story of his final global tournament’s final days leading up to Sunday’s final.
The truth is something else entirely. In fact. from Messi’s perspective here. it appeared that the opposite was true. This was more than just a performance with decisive moments. edge. and thrust—it was carved out of the air in his own unique physical style. At 35. a footballer can basically make this thing up in his own image.
Football will always be the sporting chaos that is most outcome-oriented and literal. But one thing seems to be certain. regardless of how this fever dream of a winter World Cup ends. The man out there turning the game against the Croatia midfield’s iron fist. that small. badger-like figure in the baggy blue and white shirt. is already the best football player who has ever played.
Quick Reference Qatar: beyond the football Show He has been for a long time. Eight years ago. in a slightly different role. he reached the World Cup final. The third and final goal of this Messi-drunk semi-final victory had a throwback feel to it. like a sentimental wedding anniversary dance in football.
When Messi took possession of the ball on the right with 69 minutes remaining. His buried. ferrety sense of purpose was immediately evident in his stride in a different way. He shook his head. He jinked. Wait. He is imitating Messi. He’s acting like a winger.
Messi drove Josko Gvardiol into the region. holding his man off. contacting the ball continually like a woodpecker pounding at a piece of bark. He then spun back in a sort of lure before spinning back toward the goal and inside Gvardiol once more. Gvardiol. who is the tournament’s defender and is 20 years old. is now being rinsed and rinsed again like a wet tea towel.
From there. Messi had enough room to roll the ball back to Julián lvarez at 45 degrees. ending the game. It felt like a memory. a memento of Messi. a run. a pass. and a touchdown—another ghost at this World Cup of ghosts.
However. there is an odd sense of danger surrounding each of these last-minute Messi knockout matches. Could it be that? Is this where we say goodbye to something? In that case. a fitting wake will be held. The Lusail Stadium is an aggressively beautiful structure inside. with its sides pointing toward the roof. which can be closed. The roof is surrounded by huge steel braces. like an open mouth howling at the sky.
The Argentina fans were on one side. but the mind-numbingly inane PA drowned out any attempt to create a genuine atmosphere. Because something is going on with the Argentina fans here. it is best if this is slowed down for the final.
As Croatia’s superior midfield genes kicked in and dominated the ball early on. Argentina needed his spark. One time. it was suggested that Luka Modric resembles a young boy dressed as a witch. No longer is this the case.
He now has the appearance of a teen dressed as a witch. Furthermore. he was splendid here for 20 minutes. until the second one more sort of predetermination mediated.
The initial goal was scored out of nowhere. A straightforward pass was made by Enzo Fernández into the space behind the Croatia defense. Varez was running away. but he was knocked down as he shot the ball past Dominik Livakovic. After carefully picking up the ball and staring at his feet. Messi scored an unassailable goal by zinging it into the roof of the net. This was Messi’s fifth objective at this World Cup and furthermore. strangely. his fourth at the so called “Famous” arena. It appears that he will visit if you construct it.
Inspiring Lionel Messi leads Argentina past Croatia in the semi-final and into the World Cup final Read more Then. something even more bizarre occurred when Varez. who had been brilliant throughout the game. scored a wonderfully direct faux-Diego goal to make it 2-0. Has a World Cup wondergoal ever been stranger? Using tennis balls and wheelie bins. this was Maradona ’86 recreated after closing time.
The final pass came from Messi deep inside his own half. What’s more. from that point Álvarez had open grass in front of him. staffed by a scared moving retreat. He went on his run. And continued to run. Essentially. he ran the ball in a straight line for 60 meters. crash-tackled the final two defenders. and produced a delicate finish that came almost as an afterthought. similar to touching in at the finish line of a race.
Messi had made one. scored one. touched the ball 63 times. and dribbled more than anyone else on the field by the time the game was over. He also played the dad-like role of leading destiny to perfection.
.