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#1 The Messi factor
Messi struggled against Iceland and so did Argentina. He looked lost against Croatia and so was Argentina from the score-sheet. However, when push came to shove, the game’s greatest player arrived and how!
The Barcelona wizard showed excellent control and poise to score a 14th-minute goal to set the Albceleste on their way against Nigeria.
“Cometh the hour, cometh Messi”, you say.
The 31-year-old dribbled superbly and looked sharp with his passes but more than anything, he looked like the Messi we all revere as fans.
He spearheaded the side to perfection against Nigeria and also offered the team-talk during halftime - something we’ve hardly seen him doing.
A fired up Messi is a worrying sign for any side and Deschamps will be cautious with his tactics against him.
However, we’ve seen the diminutive magician destroy teams in the past and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Les Blues are Messi’ed out of the game on Saturday.
