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#2 Lionel Messi (Argentina)
At 31, this seemed certain to be Messi’s last chance of success on football’s biggest stage. Sadly, he and his side just couldn’t do enough. The Barcelona man had a good game against Nigeria to help send Argentina into the round of 16, but apart from that, he wasn’t his usual self.
It would be wrong to blame Argentina’s failure entirely on Messi. This is the worst Argentinian team for a long time, and on paper, they wouldn’t be considered one of the top sides at the tournament. They will have hoped for a little bit more from Messi however.
He missed a penalty to potentially win the game against Iceland, and then was virtually anonymous in his side’s 3-0 defeat to Croatia. He retired from international football a couple of years ago before returning to the squad, but there is a feeling that we have seen the last of him on the international stage. If it is the case, it is a sad way for one of football’s greatest ever players to finish at the World Cup.
