Really this Croatia defeated my country Nigeria, they are getting stronger and better, good for them..It was a strange thing to
watch, to see the player who is so often nothing less than masterful at the
highest level of the club game not stepping forward into the spotlight.
Argentina are facing the
prospect of an early World Cup exit after a dreadful error from goalkeeper
Willy Caballero set Croatia on their way to victory and a place in the last 16.
On a night when so much was
expected of Argentina captain Lionel Messi, Caballero made the most telling
contribution to his team's fate with an attempted chip over Ante Rebic that
backfired badly, allowing the striker to volley into an exposed net in the 53rd
minute.
Messi - adrift for much of
the match, especially during a pedestrian opening half - rallied his side, but
neither he nor substitute forwards Gonzalo Higuain and Pablo Dybala could find
a way through in Nizhny Novgorod.
The closest Messi came was
a half-chance, a snatch at a rebound from a Maximiliano Meza shot which was
blocked by Ivan Rakitic and turned behind to safety.
Is the pressure too much
for Messi & Argentina?
How did you rate Modric
& Messi?
It was a dogged defensive
second-half display from Croatia, illuminated by a moment of magic from their
own masterful number 10, Luka Modric.
His curled shot from range
drifted beautifully beyond Caballero's gloves to put his side two ahead, before
Rakitic's injury-time tap-in sealed a victory that moves the Europeans through
to the knockout stage and also leaves them in a strong position to win the
group.
Argentina are no longer in
control of their own destiny. This defeat follows their opening 1-1 draw with
Iceland, in which Messi missed a penalty, and now even a heavy win over Nigeria
in their final game on Tuesday may not be enough to send them through to the
next round.
Should Iceland beat Nigeria
in their second Group D game on Friday, Iceland would need only a draw against
Croatia in their final match.
For Messi, a prolific
performer at club level with Barcelona, this was another harrowing chapter in
his recent history of pain and disappointment in the international game.
Carrying the expectations
of a nation
As the national anthem was
played before the match, the camera panned across Messi's face. Eyes closed as
he rubbed his forehead, he looked like a man carrying the expectations of a
nation.
He wanted to perform too,
to carry his team in the shape of his own greatness like the legacy of Diego
Maradona says he must, but this was a long way from a classic Messi display.
This is also a long way from a classic Argentina team.
In the first half they were
easily exposed on the flanks, conceding three first-half chances behind the
full-backs which a more ruthless side than Croatia would have punished.
There seems to be real
tension - a barrier almost - to success in the blue and white stripes of
Argentina.
It has become more
pronounced and painful over the past four years, during which Argentina lost
three major finals with Messi as captain.
After the most recent of
these - defeat by Chile in the 2016 Copa America - Messi announced his
international retirement, having missed a penalty in the shootout.
He reversed the decision a
month later but now, three days before he turns 31, you feel this really was
the last big chance he had of propelling his side to victory on the biggest
stage of all.
Even if international
success does not come - and it looks a long way off - he will still be the
player who has achieved so much and seduced so many in 14 years at Barcelona.
But at a tournament where
Cristiano Ronaldo is again dragging Portugal along with his goals and drive,
there will forever be regret and a sadness that a player as talented as Messi
looks likely to have one thing missing: a World Cup he defined.
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