Argentina are building momentum, but it's nice to have Messi to call on

DOHA, QATAR - Argentina are a enactment successful progress. Or, perhaps, a voyage of self-discovery. This whitethorn look similar an unusual happening to accidental erstwhile you've mislaid conscionable 1 of your erstwhile 39 internationals, erstwhile you're coming disconnected 3 wins connected the rotation and erstwhile you're successful the past 8 of the World Cup. But determination is simply a weird and unexpected fragility to this broadside and it came to the fore against Australia connected Saturday night. On the flipside, erstwhile things aren't rather moving arsenic they should, there's a chap named Lionel Messi to telephone upon.

Buoyed by a phenomenal enactment that turned the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium into a benignant of Estadio Monumental, Gulf Edition (the stands were a oversea of Albiceleste with a tiny Tetris-piece yellowish signifier representing Australia), Argentina were 2-0 up and cruising for astir of the game.

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Then, with hardly 15 minutes to go, substitute Craig Goodwin's hit-and-hope from the borderline of the container rocketed disconnected the backmost of Enzo Fernandez and looped past keeper Emi Martinez to marque it 2-1. Scarcely 5 minutes later, left-back Aziz Behich astir achieved World Cup item reel immortality, with a ridiculous mazy tally that saw him slither past 4 opponents and occurrence connected goal, lone for Lisandro Martinez to someway get a artifact in. Behich, a 31-year-old journeyman who has turned retired for 10 antithetic clubs successful his career, was playing successful the Turkish 2nd part this clip past year. Earlier successful the game, helium clashed with Messi, with the seven-time Ballon d'Or victor getting successful his face.

Evidently immoderate of that Messi stardust landed connected him. "Had helium pulled it off, it would person been Messi successful a yellowish shirt," Australia brag Graham Arnold said aft the game.

It was a reminder that the World Cup, particularly successful the knockouts, tin beryllium a large leveller and that each infinitesimal connected the transportation is an accidental for a no-name to participate lore.

"Two-nil would person been fair," Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said afterwards. "But that's football. Football is astir moments. Moments erstwhile you predominate and moments erstwhile you suffer."

The Behich scare did shingle Argentina awake. In the last minutes they could -- and should -- person scored bundles more, with Messi and substitute Lautaro Martinez some squandering aggregate chances. But, again, heavy successful wounded time, 18-year-old Garang Kuol -- the youngest subordinate to diagnostic successful a World Cup knockout crippled since Pele successful 1958 -- forced a pugnacious prevention from Emiliano Martinez that would person levelled the game.

This is not however things are expected to unfold. Not erstwhile you are comfortably successful power and, lb for pound, respective orders of magnitude much talented than the opposition. And that should springiness Argentina brag Scaloni thing to deliberation about.

Argentina controlled the crippled (good) but, done 85 minutes, managed conscionable 3 shots connected target, 1 of them Julian Alvarez's extremity to marque it 2-0, which was a acquisition from Aussie keeper Mathew Ryan.

That's a batch of fume for not overmuch fire. And yet, successful galore ways, Scaloni's crippled program had worked (at slightest close up until the last third.) He thought Australia were going to beryllium heavy with 2 banks of 4 (and they did), which meant Argentina would person plentifulness of the shot and determination would beryllium nary abstraction behind. That meant determination was nary constituent successful going for Lautaro Martinez and his north-south runs, truthful helium went alternatively with Papu Gomez and his trickery (Gomez was ineffective, but the thought was solid.) Argentina poked and prodded and was patient. They got the first-half extremity they wanted erstwhile Messi scored for the archetypal clip successful a World Cup knockout crippled and they looked to beryllium connected their way.

Except past the tempo dropped. Argentine possession became sterile possession. Australia didn't propulsion forward, seemingly contented to support things adjacent and effort to nick an equalizer astatine the end. With Gomez having an disconnected time (not for the archetypal clip this tournament) and Angel Di Maria sidelined, it became evident that this squad isn't precisely teeming with non-Messi creativity. And, indeed, connected respective occasions Messi dropped each the mode successful beforehand of the backmost 4 to person the shot successful an effort to conjure up immoderate ideas.

Ideas which this squad needs to run, because, for each the awesome results, they're wanting successful different areas. They don't property precocious to unit turnovers (it's fundamentally intolerable to bash with Messi successful the team), they don't person a playmaker quarterbacking the side, and they don't person a large cardinal striker to clasp the shot up. There isn't overmuch successful the mode of patterns of play either, successful portion due to the fact that Messi -- regularly listed astatine centre-forward connected FIFA's tactical squad expanse but, successful fact, wandering wherever his genius takes him -- makes constructing specified structured attacks difficult. That is besides successful portion due to the fact that Scaloni has changed plentifulness of unit successful each of Argentina's games; Messi and Rodrigo De Paul are the lone ones successful his beforehand six to person started each of the 4 matches played frankincense far.

Without the above, you're near with a somewhat constricted arsenal: acceptable pieces, opposing mistakes, one-on-ones and, well, Messi. Fine for Australia, but Netherlands successful the adjacent circular connected Friday are apt to connection a sterner test.

Scaloni nary uncertainty realized this and it astir apt explains wherefore helium switched to a backmost 3 conscionable 4 minutes into the 2nd half, replacing Gomez with Lisandro Martinez and pushing Nahuel Molina and Marcos Acuna up the transportation successful an effort to supply much width. It worked defensively to a constituent -- until the Fernandez ain extremity and the madness astatine the extremity -- but did small to adhd attacking oomph.

The bully news? Well, immoderate of it is apt down to fatigue. Messi himself noted however they lone had 3 days to hole for what turned retired to beryllium a carnal game. They'll person six afloat days up of the Dutch and that should help. Equally, arsenic disjointed and lacking successful fluidity arsenic they looked astatine times, determination does look to beryllium an underlying content and unity to this team. That matters successful a tourney setting, arsenic anyone who remembers Jorge Sampaoli's broadside astatine Russia 2018 volition confirm.

"I person 26 players and I person religion successful each past 1 of them," Scaloni said. "I cognize they tin each assistance us, depending connected the moment."

It's thing you perceive often from coaches. Except with Scaloni it feels genuine.

And past there's Messi, who turned successful 1 of his amended World Cup performances successful an Argentina shirt. Their caller occurrence -- witnesser the unbeaten tally and the Copa America triumph -- was predicated upon the information that Messi was a cog successful the machine, not the feline carrying the full instrumentality connected his back. But, astatine times, helium showed helium tin inactive transportation the squad and is much than consenting to bash so. You can't expect him to bash it each crippled and Scaloni, nary doubt, doesn't privation him to person to bash it successful each game.

But it's comforting to cognize that erstwhile things aren't rather working, there's a Plan B called Leo.