FIFA World Cup 2022 | What now for Lionel Messi and Argentina?

Argentina’s lack of midfield control and creativity in their opening game may not signal just one off-colour day, but a deeper reality that may have been hidden under a band-aid called Messi. (Image: Twitter/@WeAreMessi)

It really shouldn’t be so, but if the name Lionel Messi conjures in your mind a floppy-haired boy-man doing nearly impossible things on the football field in a Barcelona jersey, it probably also throws up an alternate image: of a visibly diminished player walking around with his shoulders slumped and his head bowed, wearing the blue-and-white of Argentina.

It’s that familiar scene that came back to haunt Argentina in their opening match of the World Cup, where they were handed, arguably, the most upsetting defeat in their footballing history, 2-1 down to Saudi Arabia.

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Also read: Saudi Arabia declares public holiday on account of beating Argentina in their FIFA World Cup opener

What went wrong? Where do Argentina go from here? Will Messi’s lifelong dream of winning football’s ultimate prize for his country go unfulfilled yet again?

None of those questions have easy answers. The first one is the hardest. Here is a team that was on a 35-game unbeaten streak, with all players—from young rookie talent like Julian Alvarez to those on their final mission like Messi or Angel di Maria—clicking together in devastating fashion. They were, safe to say, on everyone’s list of favourites to win the tournament in Qatar. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, had one of the weakest records at the World Cup of any team: No wins in 1998, 2002, 2006; did not qualify for 2010 and 2014; one win in 2018.

Yet it was the Saudis who came off the gate charging at full tilt, and Argentina suddenly looked like they had developed cold feet. For much of the second half, Messi and Co looked tired, jaded, and uncoordinated. They were physically pushed aside by the Saudis, who threw themselves at every tackle and every ball with gritty commitment, never got outpaced, and managed to crowd out the danger players like Messi and Di Maria with remarkable consistency.

The Saudis were playing all-out football, covering the pitch tirelessly. They also played brave football, holding a high defensive line and effecting an offside trap that would have made peak Arsenal proud. This is what got to Argentina in the first half, the nagging pulse of a headache that bloomed into a full-blown migraine by the second half.  In the first 45 minutes, Argentina enjoyed most of the possession, and did most of the attacking, but had three goals disallowed in what would amount to a total of seven offside calls that went against them. That must be a record of sorts.

In the second half, Argentina’s spirits were sunk by two goals—the second of which was Messi-esque as Salem al-Dawsari dribbled past three challenges and curled in a perfect shot past Emiliano Martinez in goal.

Argentina fell apart. Imagination, poise and teamwork abandoned them. Everything they did from that point on reeked of desperation. They tried to run past the Saudis but couldn’t. Their crosses were blocked. No one played a clever through ball. The link-up play stuttered as the Saudis pressed and pressed. Finally, Argentina gave up the ghost and resorted to feeding the ball to Messi or Di Maria every chance they got, hoping that one of them would dribble and slalom his way through and find a moment of individual magic. Instead, all they found were bodies blocking their way.

How does one of the world’s strongest teams, on the back of a historic winning streak, implode like this? That is one of football’s great mysteries—ask Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool players.

It is difficult to predict what this loss will do to Argentina. It could inspire them—like it did in 1990, when Diego Maradona’s team made the final after a shock loss in the opener to Cameroon—to shrug off the disappointment and find even greater form than they had in the lead up to Qatar. Or it could break them, introduce a nugget of self-doubt and a bit of fear, things that will stop them from playing freely and with joy. The second path is more likely. Liverpool’s struggles have gotten worse and worse as the English Premier League season progressed this year. Argentina’s lack of midfield control and creativity in their opening game may not signal just one off-colour day, but a deeper reality that may have been hidden under a band-aid called Messi. How else can Argentina’s second-half performance be explained? How could they not create a single chance for more than 30 minutes for a forward line as accomplished as Messi, Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez?

Argentina now have to ensure they win against Mexico and Poland in their remaining group matches, and depending on those performances, it may turn out that the Saudi game was just a blip after all. On the other hand, the analysts for Mexico and Poland would have studied the Saudi game with bated breath. They are sure to have the confidence to follow the same pattern—a high defensive line, a box-to-box physical game, crowding out Messi and Di Maria—everything will be revealed once we see how Argentina respond to that.

Other favourites

Argentina’s opener was a wake-up call, and perhaps even reason enough to remove the South American powerhouses from the list of favourites to win the Cup.

England and France, on the other hand, have shown us why they must be treated as firm favourites. Both teams showed, in their thumping opening wins, just how assured and confident the young talent on whose shoulders their hopes rest are. Nineteen-year-old Jude Bellingham was a giant for England in the midfield, controlling the game like he was born to do so (look out for the future England captain) and scoring the opening goal with a superb header. Bukayo Saka, 21, was an absolute joy, skipping past challenges, finding telling passes, gliding in and out of brilliant positions, scoring two clinical goals—he has simply transferred his superlative form for Arsenal onto the World Cup stage. Twenty-three-year-old Mason Mount was lively and solid.

For France, Kylian Mbappe, who scored the winning goal in the 2018 World Cup, looked absolutely unstoppable. He is faster, more skilled, more inventive, and playing with more verve than four years back, which means he may just end up being this World Cup’s most impactful player. If it wasn’t for the weight of history—only two teams have won the World Cup back-to-back, Italy (1934, 38) and Brazil (1958, 62)—France would be my favourite for the Cup based purely on Mbappe’s striking form. The speed and agility, the intent and creative abilities he showed against Australia were mesmeric. With Olivier Giroud tying Thierry Henry’s all-time scoring record for France, and Aurelian Tchouameni shaking off his loss of form for Real Madrid to marshall France’s midfield, things are looking good for the defending champions.