Argentina’s Lionel Messi carries the hopes of 44 million people and it showed as he lined up before kick-off in their crucial World Cup match against Croatia on Thursday, with the captain rubbing his forehead with his eyes closed.
The Barcelona forward has watched on as rival Cristiano Ronaldo has scored four goals in two matches for Portugal, including a hat-trick against Spain.
But the 3-0 defeat by Croatia means Argentina’s fate in Group D is now out of their hands; they need results to go their way to stay in the competition.
So, why has Messi been so poor? Is he trying too hard? Is it his fault?
There were reports during the week that Messi has been feeling so down after last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Iceland that he refused to attend a barbecue organised by Argentine staff, instead staying alone in his hotel room.
If Messi’s pre-match actions on Thursday suggested a headache, it will have got worse by seeing Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero’s howler, which led to Ante Rebic’s first goal in Nizhny Novgorod and contributed to Argentina’s heaviest World Cup group-stage defeat since 1958.
Former Barcelona team-mate Cesc Fabregas, providing analysis on BBC One, called Argentina a “broken team” and questioned their team spirit, saying they were “playing against each other, not for each other”.
He said: “It is difficult for Messi. He does not have the quality in behind him and is really missing Ever Banega or Giovani lo Celso.
“He needs someone who can help him build up the play. You want your best player to be on the ball the most as you can.”
After the Iceland game, in which Messi took 11 shots but didn’t score, the pressure was immense, and it appeared to show. During the national anthems, he put his hand over his eyes in the way of stressed-out student about to start an exam. The Argentina coach, Jorge Sampaoli, who tinkered again with his starting lineup and formation, paced the sideline so hard he surely wore a path in front of the bench.
This team, remember, very nearly missed out on the tournament altogether, needing a hat trick from their savior on the final day of qualifying to get them through. It was not unreasonable, then, to think that everyone hoped the same could happen here: Messi would fix their shaky midfield, Messi would fix their leaky defense, Messi would fix all their problems with a few moments of his unmistakable brilliance.
But it didn’t happen, and afterward, as Croatian fans stomped and sung and shouted their way out of the stadium, even Sampaoli acknowledged what anyone who saw Nicolas Otamendi struggling at the back or Maximiliano Meza slogging through midfield already knew.
“I think,” the Argentina coach said, “because of the reality of the Argentine squad, it sort of clouds Leo’s brilliance.”
That is undoubtedly true. But Messi, too, deserves his share of the blame. He had just 20 touches in the first half, 49 overall in the game, and recorded a single shot on goal. Yes, some (if not much) of that is down to poor service from his teammates, but Messi’s languid pace bordered on somnolent for long stretches as he lingered on the edges of the field, literally turning in a circle at times — yet never moving off his spot — as the ball was passed around him.
