To crown his career, Lionel Messi still needs two victories. At his fifth and final FIFA World Cup, the outstanding Argentinian footballer not only thrilled his compatriots, but the 35-year-old also amazes fans and pundits on an international level. But Messi and his Argentines must be careful, on Tuesday (20:00 / live Servus TV) the vice world champions Croatia are waiting at the Lusail stadium.
After the heated drama in the quarter-final against the Netherlands, Messi calmed down again in the isolated World Cup camp of the Argentines. In the last World Cup week of his career, the best World Cup Messi ever wanted the final coronation by all means. Determined and brilliant like none of his previous four appearances, Messi leads the selection of the two-time champions in Qatar in recent weeks. First Croatia, then Sunday’s final and the most coveted trophy in the hands of Argentine’s new god of football: this is the plan if everything goes perfectly for Messi and for an economically troubled country where every goal and every victory is celebrated for streets and applause thundered from the windows of skyscrapers.
“The whole of Argentina wishes him a World Cup title and I’m sure many others do too,” Bastian Schweinsteiger also wrote on Twitter – he prevented a Messi title from four World Cup appearances previously with the German squad three times (2006 and 2010 in the quarterfinals, 2014 in the final). At the age of 35, under the leadership of Lionel Scaloni, Messi became the leader of a team that almost conspired. 41 games with only one defeat – in the World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia – bears impressive testimony, in reference to their team boss, the team is only called “La Scaloneta”.
The ninth coach who hits him in the selection has apparently found the ideal solution. Messi provokes: he stands in front of the Dutch bench and puts his hands behind his ears – he didn’t like what Louis van Gaal said earlier. He faces Wout Weghorst, who the Argentines had felt irritated by. “What are you looking at, idiot,” Messi exclaims twice during a television interview. The Argentine journalist is also irritated, trying to appease Messi: “Calm down, calm down.”
Encouraged by tens of thousands of Argentine fans, Messi also ended the curse of the last 16: all of his previous World Cup goals had come in the group stage. But none when Argentina faced Croatia in 2018. Di Messi there was not much to see in the 3-0 defeat, the World Cup in Russia was the South American’s weakest point.
Failure again would leave deep scars. The long-awaited triumph would put Messi, who had long been battling for recognition in Argentina due to his anticipated move to Spain in 2000, on a par with the great legend Maradona, who died a full two years ago – if not higher. “Diego is watching us from the sky, he is pushing us. And I hope he stays that way until the end,” said Messi.
