After his side crashed out of the World Cup, Lionel Messi will have been left wondering whether he should have returned to lead Argentina’s bereft finals showing in RussiaAs Argentina’s defenders punted the ball from net to centre circle for the third time, Lionel Messi gazed down with hands on hips and you wondered who he would be more tempted to curse.Would a stray dark thought double down on the figure of Franco Armani, who had just let Kylian Mbappé’s shot through his legs to undo the work – and it had not all been good – that Argentina had put in so far? Perhaps a special place in hell would be reserved for Jorge Sampaoli for giving him such...
Lionel Messi scored a wonderful goal against Nigeria but Argentina are really struggling at this World Cup – and their style of play may suit France in the last 16A lot of the talk at this World Cup has been about big teams underperforming and, believe me, I know all about that. In 2002 we went into the first World Cup in Asia as reigning champions and we had also added the European crown in 2000, playing better football and with more confidence in our ability. France turned up in South Korea with Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and Djibril Cissé – the top scorers in England, Italy and France if my memory serves me well. We were the overwhelming favourites...
The tournament used to make its own stars but is now overdue an outstanding, trophy-winning individual performanceMoscow is a fascinating place to enter for the first time, its fringes marked by an endless scroll of huge stickle-brick buildings and gaudy roadside shopping complexes. Heading in from this angle, before the austere majesty of the city centre, it seems the chief beneficiary of Russia’s great opening out was that well-known US imperialist Colonel Sanders, who can be seen grinning down like Lenin’s crispy-fried southern gentleman cousin from his endless lighted placards, impassive, stoical and oddly comforting.But then, like many other nations, Russia does love an icon. Look around the early days of this World Cup and certain faces just keep looming...
Sevilla had been agonisingly close to beating Barcelona but substitute Lionel Messi came on after an hour to score an equaliser in the dying minutesIt took FC Barcelona 358 days to lose their record and 54 seconds to get it back again. Saturday night, week 30 in La Liga and Sevilla were 2-0 up at the Sánchez Pizjuán, but it could have been three, four or five. They had overrun their opponents and although they were exhausted they didn’t have long to hang on now. On the touchline, the fourth official was fiddling with the board; high above him, the scoreboard crept beyond 87 minutes, and there would only be two more added. Alongside the time were two names: goalscorers...
The little genius changed the gravity of this tie with a piece of classic unforgiving skill to score his first goal against Chelsea, but until then the hosts had been a match for BarcelonaWith 11 minutes gone at Stamford Bridge Lionel Messi did his first extraordinary thing, picking up the ball in the centre circle at ambling speed, then flicking the switch on those waddling nitroglycerin jets. Pedro was shrugged away in conventional fashion. N’Golo Kanté was evaded with a jink.At which point Antonio Rüdiger made the mistake of panicking. Never panic around Messi. He wants you to panic. He smells your panic and runs right into it. As Rüdiger flailed out of the backline Messi didn’t so much dribble...