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Just four more days to go before the WC 2018 in Russia kicks off. Since it is the biggest sports competition in the world, it is only natural for the hype to be there when it comes to the World Cup.
The World Cup is the ultimate glory for any professional footballer. One could actually claim that every child aspiring to be a footballer envisages himself at the top of the podium after a World Cup final game and lifting the trophy and bathing in its eternal glory.
It comes every four years and stays on until the end of time.
As the cycle is about to be completed, the teams are gearing up to give it their best shot and win the World Cup if possible. One of the key points of this year’s World Cup is Lionel Messi.
While there is a good chance that Messi will play in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as well, this edition in Russia could very well be the last time the Argentine finds himself at the peak of his powers as a footballer.
Right now, he is the most dangerous player in the world – someone who can change the game within a moment – and has the best chance of leading his team to World Cup glory.
However, the sad news is, he can’t, simply because this Argentina team is…
#5 Already a lopsided unit
While they might have a great attack consisting of a plethora of star players, their midfield and defence lack the necessary bite to win the World Cup. Their goalkeeping department, too, was weak even when Sergio Romero was in the squad.
The Manchester United goalkeeper couldn’t play in many games this season due to injuries and being the second choice to David De Gea. Willy Caballero, too, hardly features as he lurked under the shadow of Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea.
While the central zone of their defence seems strong with the likes of Nicolas Otamendi, Federico Fazio, and Gabriel Mercado, their full-backs are uninspiring. Their midfield also lacks imagination and the injury and subsequent withdrawal of Manuel Lanzini has further put a dent to it.
This is just a part of the reason why Argentina won’t win the World Cup this year and give Messi what he wants the most. Here are four more reasons why they won’t…
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#4 Injury-ravaged
As mentioned earlier, as it is, Argentina lack creativity in midfield. They had Manuel Lanzini who could have been an important player but he is now out of the World Cup due to an ACL injury.
Meanwhile, they had already lost their first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Romero earlier and will now have to turn towards Willy Caballero to guard the sticks for the Albiceleste.
The goalkeeper is 36 and doesn’t have the reflexes that he once had during his days in Malaga. He is also out of match practice as he has played in only 13 games last season.
More than Romero, however, it will be the injury of Lanzini that goes on to hurt them more as his directness and vision from the center could have eased a lot of playmaking burden off Lionel Messi.
#3 Over-reliance on Messi
And that brings us to this point. As it is, we have seen how Barcelona struggle without the presence of Lionel Messi – and we can’t really blame them. When a player is so good, it is only natural for his team-mates to be accustomed to getting great assistance for him.
In Messi’s case, this is exactly what happens. He makes his team-mates look better, who, in turn, subconsciously rely on him to help them win games. Slowly and steadily, this reliance crosses the safety limit and becomes over-reliance.
With Argentina, his team-mates depend more on him as he is their best passer, playmaker, dribbler, and scorer. The strikers expect Messi to make plays for them while the midfielders expect Messi to open channels for their ease.
And this type of over-dependency is never good.
#2 Messi is only human
At the end of the day, no matter how many superlatives are used to describe the genius of the Argentina captain, he is only human – someone made of bare bones, flesh and blood.
As a result, as rare as it might be, the former Newell’s starlet can have a bad day on the field – and that is when his team suffers.
Or, even worse, if he becomes unavailable for a match, then the team falls in tatters as they would not lose just any one player, but someone who epitomises their playing style and is in the soul of every attacking move that the team makes.
As great as the myth may sound, no single player can make his country win the World Cup all by himself – and the same goes for Messi, which is why the dependency on him could lead to Argentina’s downfall.
#1 Better teams out there
Perhaps the biggest reason why Lionel Messi won’t be able to win the World Cup is due to the quality of the other teams in the tournament. Germany are the reigning champions and overall have a very balanced squad.
France are so strong that even if they make a squad out of the players that were rejected for this World Cup and line them up together, they would still challenge for glory.
Spain, meanwhile, may not have a great attack but have perhaps the best midfield in the World Cup and also experience and winners in the defence. And, of course, David De Gea in goal.
And Brazil? Simply put, they have a far better squad than Argentina - heck, they even have two of the best goalkeepers in the world in their squad - and if any South American team is to win the World Cup, it has to be Brazil.
But not Argentina...
