Lionel Messi did not have the same performance seen in other matches for the Argentine national team, but he did enough to score the goal that paved the way for his selection’s victory over Mexico, by 2-0, in the second round of Group C of the World Cup. World.
In the first half, the number 10 was unrecognizable. In a start to the right of the attack, he was trapped between defensive midfielders Herrera and Guardado and practically did not play. In the few times he got the ball, he was blocked by the markers and failed to create chances to endanger the Mexican goal.
In the first half of the match, he had eight loose balls, suffered only one foul and made one. He also only managed one submission, without danger.
At the end of the first half, Guardado was replaced by Erick Gutiérrez, which loosened the Argentine’s marking a little. With more space, already in the final stage, Messi began to participate more in the match, appearing to receive the balls from his teammates and try triangulations. Little by little, he returned more to the frame of the plays and was acting more on the left side, where he had more space.
As he was still the main target of the Mexicans, on some occasions he ended up blocked and lost balls, but he was more effective than in the previous partial.
In the only shot in which he managed to catch the free ball, one meter from the half moon, he shot low into the left corner of Ochoa, starting the fans’ celebration at the Lusail stadium.
The opponent felt the blow, and Argentina dominated the actions. Thus, Messi took advantage of the spaces given up even more. In a bid, he triangulated with Lautaro MartÃnez, went to the bottom line and crossed close, but the goalkeeper took it for a corner.
Then, in the 44th minute, he assisted Enzo Fernández to score the second goal, sealing the victory.
Even though he didn’t play a perfect game, the number 10 once again showed that he is essential for Argentina to still dream of the world title.
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