Argentina’s supporters had been streaming into Dallas since Sunday, turning the city’s streets into a moving tide of blue and white. Their soundtrack was a familiar one: chants of “La Cuarta Estrella” — “The Fourth Star” — the prize they hope will be stitched above the crest on Argentina’s shirts in the months ahead, confirming them as four-time world champions.
The scale of Lionel Messi’s responsibility was impossible to miss when a group of fans stopped for photos at Elm and North Houston Streets, the corner where two crosses in the road mark the points where the bullets struck John F Kennedy. Every shirt in the group seemed to carry the same name and number: Messi, 10.
Brilliant Messi, history man
That kind of devotion brings its own weight, and nobody is untouched by it. Four years ago, before Argentina went on to electrify the tournament, Messi missed from the spot in a group-stage match against Poland, though Wojciech Szczesny’s fine save offered some explanation. This time, the miss was all his own.
Even so, the idea that Messi would play only a supporting part at this World Cup — perhaps even from the bench — looked badly misplaced. On the night he pushed his name deeper into the record books, the man who turns 39 on Wednesday remained central to Argentina’s best work from the opening exchanges.
It was Messi who set the move in motion for the penalty, demanding possession before sliding the ball out to the left. Lautaro Martinez advanced, and Xaver Schlager’s awkward challenge gave Argentina the chance to take control from the spot.
Messi’s run-up was measured, his contact unconvincing, and the ball drifted wide of Alexander Schlager’s post. But the miss did not pull him from the centre of the match. Soon he was shaping attacks again, gliding through the middle, weighing the angles, and watching as David Alaba jabbed the ball onto his own goalkeeper’s shins and away. Moments later, Messi delivered a sharp, curling pass for Enzo Fernandez, whose path to goal was smothered by a wall of red shirts.
Lionel Messi made history with two goals against Austria, breaking and then extending Miroslav Klose’s World Cup goals record
The match began in uncertain fashion for the 39-year-old, who sent an early penalty wide
Teammates working for Messi
Others worked for Messi. When Paul Wanner muscled him out of possession as the first half wore on, he did not chase.
And others moved for him. His historic 38th-minute opening goal – taking him past Miroslav Klose as scorer of the most goals in World Cup history – was a shot of sweet, clean precision. But it presented itself because Thiago Almada dummied to let the ball run through, intuiting his presence. Messi lurked silently in that moment, awaiting his moment, concluding a move which he had started in the first place.
The numbers reveal an extraordinary consistency. It’s 18 goals in 28 World Cup appearances for him, now. He becomes the third player in World Cup history to score in six consecutive games – after France’s Just Fontaine in 1958 and Brazil’s Jairzinho in 1970.
The Argentina team, and indeed the fans, have come to rely on Messi as a saviour figure
Take a bow, Enzo Fernandez
We learned what a force Enzo Fernandez – Messi’s sidekick in so many ways – really is and what a player Chelsea might have had on their hands if they had only been able to manage him better.
Fernandez’s thumping, arced ball which sent Messi racing through beyond the hour mark will not even be a footnote in the record of this game. The captain had drifted fractionally offside. But it was testament to Fernandez’s vision from the deep. And there was threat from higher up, too. Fernandez took a ball from Rodrigo de Paul, travelled inside and hammered a shot which Kevin Danso blocked.
Fernandez also helped deal with an Austrian team who pressed hard. They had a manager, in Ralf Rangnick, who many Germans see as the godfather of gegenpressing, and at times there was something of the night about the world champions as they wrestled possession back. A vicious little kick by Lautaro Martinez at Konrad Laimer.
Enzo Fernandez, Messi’s sidekick, showed Chelsea the quality he has when managed well
Austrians fail where it matters
The Austrians could not land blows of their own because they lacked effective enough offensive players and the decisive pass through the defensive lines. Marcel Sabitzer swung at a shot and missed and when Rangnick’s players did threaten in the wide areas, there were no numbers in the box.
Sabitzer brought a save from Emi Martinez as the game approached the hour mark but there was no guile or shape on the kick. The set-pieces were poor. The Argentinian central defence was strong. Cristian Romero was a particularly immovable force, always aware, before being removed for Nicolas Otamendi having seemed to pick up an injury.
There were times during a game in which Argentina were never threatened when football seemed to be a sideshow. They took to beaming images of Shakira and others on the vast screens above the pitch, to universal acclaim.
The self-absorbed Cristiano Ronaldo will be desperate to live up to Messi’s remarkable feats
Now match that, Cristiano
It is the intuitive understanding of those team-mates around him which is the defining difference between Messi and the self-absorbed Cristiano Ronaldo. For the second time at this tournament, the so-called ‘CR7’ finds himself trying to live up to his nemesis’s extraordinary feats as he seeks to make up for Portugal’s dismal start.
There was something incredibly fitting about the way Messi wrapped things up, with another goal at the death. Powering down the right to set up Julian Alvarez and when his teammate’s shot was blocked, stealing back into the box and taking on a ball which he rammed into the net at the second attempt.
The chant of ‘Messi’ sounded around this vast place, then, deep, long and low. He flashed an exhausted smile. There is a lot more to come from the man whose name was carried on that blue and white tide.
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