Argentina are into the World Cup quarter-finals after their victory over Australia on Saturday.
And our Man of the Match is …
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
1000 games, 789 goals and 348 assists.
If those numbers don’t make your jaw drop then it’s only because Messi has normalised this level of brilliance.
Like his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, we have become so accustomed to Messi hitting extraordinary heights and doing extraordinary things with a football that we’re in danger of forgetting how truly exceptional he is.
Perhaps we won’t truly appreciate those two until they’ve retired. It could be a long time before we see their like again.
But for all Messi’s brilliance down the years, there was something unique about his 789th career goal. It was the first and, so far, only goal scored by the 35-year-old in a World Cup knockout match.
The World Cup has not been a particularly happy hunting ground for the little magician during his career, which perhaps makes his desire to win it this year all the more burning.
As Messi goals go, his strike against Australiawasn’t particularly memorable and probably won’t be the centrepiece of the YouTube compilations of his genius that you’ll show to your grandchildren one day.
It was a calm, composed finish through a crowd of players to break the deadlock. A good goal, but pretty average by his standards. He makes this stuff look too easy.
But the other significant thing about this goal is that it came at a stage in the game when Australia were defending resolutely and Argentina were having difficulty carving out a chance.
The thing is, you can have the best game plan in the world and defend as if your life depends on it, but when Messi is on the other team, there is always a chance of the tiniest chink in your armour being exposed.
La Albiceleste still haven’t truly hit their stride at this tournament and will need a better performance than this to overcome the Netherlands in the quarter-final, but with Messi they can beat anybody without playing particularly well, and they know it.
It may catch up with them one day soon, but today they march on, and Messi’s World Cupdream lives on.
