This might just be his World Cup after all. Lionel Messi must battle football opponents and the sands of time in equal measure this month but here he dismissed both with a flourish that, whatever happens to him and Argentina from here, will be treasured by those privileged to bear witness. His side were a slip away from oblivion on an intense, pressured and niggly night where potential ramifications seemed to stifle everyone in view. Messi was firmly among that number until breaching a limited Mexico with a thrilling goal that guarantees him at least one more dance on this stage and has the potential to change the course of this tournament.
Messi’s left-footed finish was outdone aesthetically by a sumptuous late curler from Enzo Fernández but his 64th minute opener was for the ages nonetheless. It was out of keeping with an occasion on which little had come off. There had been sighs when he sent a wayward pass over the left touchline but then, after Ángel Di María had clipped a deliberate ball across from the opposite side, the tenor shifted emphatically.
Continue reading…
