The seven tendencies Messi displayed against Poland

DOHA, Qatar -- The conceit was simple, up of Argentina's last radical crippled against Poland: What if you simply watched 1 subordinate for 90 minutes? And that player, 1 of the undisputed GOATs, mightiness good beryllium playing his past World Cup crippled ever. So, pen and pad successful hand, I did what I've ne'er done before: chronicle 1 guy's each infinitesimal connected the pitch.

Spoiler alert: Argentina bushed Poland, 2-0, which means this wasn't Lionel Messi's last quality astatine a World Cup. You'll get to spot him again, possibly once, possibly two, 3 oregon adjacent 4 times successful Doha. And, yes, determination is simply a accidental -- ne'er accidental ne'er -- that helium whitethorn crook up successful 2026, though helium turns a venerable 36 this summer.

Despite having watched Messi for the past 2 decades -- possibly 500-plus times connected tv and astatine slightest a 100 times successful idiosyncratic -- erstwhile you zero successful connected him and thing else, you prime up things you don't different see, arsenic good arsenic getting confirmation of things you suspected. Here are immoderate I picked up against Poland:

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1. Messi walks astir astir of the match

It's the quality of the crippled to beryllium walking erstwhile the shot isn't adjacent you, but Messi does it acold much than most. This, we knew: Bobby Gardiner's seminal investigation of Messi walking done the 2018 World Cup is simply a tremendous read. When you look lone astatine him, though -- thing you tin truly lone bash successful idiosyncratic -- it is perfectly singular however disengaged helium appears to beryllium from everything else.

He doesn't way runners, helium whitethorn instrumentality retired a limb if an hostile is nearby, but mostly helium conscionable strolls around. Sometimes he's looking successful the wide absorption of the ball, sometimes not.

You're tempted to deliberation it's vigor conservation -- aft all, the antheral is 35 years aged -- and walking means you tin prevention up vigor for erstwhile you request to sprint. Except Messi, particularly astatine nationalist squad level, has been doing this for a agelong time.

2. Messi has 2 different speeds: the seldom-used trot and the rarer-style sprint

The trot is what helium uses erstwhile helium needs to get from Point A to Point B successful a hurry, usually to debar being offside oregon to instrumentality a acceptable piece. The sprint is unleashed erstwhile the shot is with idiosyncratic helium knows tin present it to him oregon erstwhile helium needs to propulsion a defender retired of position. It's not thing we spot often, but, erstwhile it happens, it tin beryllium devastating.

I counted 4 occasions, determination whitethorn person been more. He sprinted towards the acold station to triumph a header (and the generous penalty, which helium past missed). He took disconnected arsenic soon arsenic Wojciech Szczesny parried Julian Alvarez's shot, arsenic if helium knew Alvarez would retrieve the shot and transverse it. On the different occasions, helium whipped a shot implicit the apical of the defender to the flank and took disconnected into space, assured that he'd get a instrumentality transverse (sometimes helium did, sometimes helium didn't).

3. Most of Messi's dribbling runs are mostly each the same

What I mean present is that the immense bulk of the time, helium receives the shot either astatine a standstill oregon astatine a trot and past either stops earlier taking disconnected again oregon spins into space. He's deceptively speedy with the shot astatine his feet, which seems counterintuitive, and helium takes connected opponents each the time. He doesn't look to caput losing the ball, which happened rather a spot against Poland, possibly due to the fact that he's giving it distant successful spaces wherever it won't wounded Argentina (and possibly due to the fact that his teammates set to the possibility). Whether helium loses it oregon whether helium beats 3 oregon 4 opponents, the effect was the same: opposing defenders converge connected him, immoderate antiaircraft signifier was successful spot is present warped, which means openings are created elsewhere.

4. Messi's passing enactment instrumentality is highly pugnacious to defend

There's a classical Messi walk from cardinal positions, which, similar a Garrincha dribble, opponents cognize is coming but simply can't stop. He gets the shot centrally, helium fakes a dribble and past twists his assemblage to uncork a a curving left-footed walk that dinks astatine gait implicit the antiaircraft enactment and into the near helping position. Marcos Acuna was the beneficiary of this connected 3 antithetic occasions, but, perhaps, the astir stunning mentation of the walk was the 1 that recovered Alvarez precocious successful the game.

Once Messi receives the shot there, it's a classical triple threat. He whitethorn dribble and gully the foul, helium whitethorn instrumentality a interaction and sprout oregon helium whitethorn propulsion disconnected that walk to the left. You can't truly support the walk due to the fact that you person to beryllium alert of the different options, which, you mightiness say, are the "least bad" ones.

5. Messi spends 90% of the crippled successful the aforesaid 2 areas

One is astir a 3rd of the mode betwixt the "D" astatine the apical of the opposing punishment country and the halfway circle, the different is wide connected the right, conscionable wrong the absorption half.

When it's the former, the result is astir ever a shot, the aforementioned walk oregon a dribbling tally that results successful a foul oregon a changeable (or, if defending well, a turnover). When it's the latter, astatine slightest successful this game, it was mostly 1 of 2 things: a elemental layoff, arsenic if to say, "Nope, not feeling it, you person a go," oregon the classical dribbling run, usually from close to left. Again, you cognize what's coming.

6. Even erstwhile Messi doesn't get the ball, helium wreaks each sorts of havoc arsenic a decoy

His specified beingness is disruptive, due to the fact that if you're an opposing player, you're good alert of who helium is and what helium tin do. When he's not astatine the apical of the "D," the center-backs wonderment wherever he's gone. And erstwhile helium shows up connected the right, the opposing team's near broadside has an overload to deliberation about.

7. All of the supra are evident Messi patterns, but past he'll interruption them without warning

It's arsenic if helium lulls you into a consciousness of security.

Take the header that led to the missed penalty. You don't' expect to spot Messi astatine the acold station challenging a 6-foot-4 keeper similar Szczesny successful the air. Or Argentina's opening goal: the play unfolded down the right, the transverse came from the close and Messi was each the mode adjacent to the near touchline. Or 2 different occasions erstwhile helium picked up the shot heavy successful his ain half, from his ain cardinal defenders.

And determination are the moments erstwhile helium forgets his property -- and tricks his assemblage into forgetting it. too. Look astatine the counterattack wherever helium received the shot successful his ain fractional and raced with it into the opposing half, a half-dozen Poland players converging astir him similar a achromatic unreality and Messi emerging from it to sprout connected goal. It was blocked, but still.

This is evidently conscionable a 90-minute-plus-injury-time snapshot of what Messi does astatine this signifier of his career, but it's emblematic (missed punishment aside) and it's inactive a batch portion often appearing to beryllium little. And portion it's familiar, it's the moments of unfamiliarity that helium tin inactive conjure up that springiness an added furniture of threat.

Enjoy it portion it lasts.