Where would Argentina be without Messi?

Great players don’t always play so well in every match, but they do great things when their teams need them the most – that is what defines greatness. This is exactly what Lionel Messi has done for Argentina in the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil in their opening two Group F matches, against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran. Against Iran on Saturday, the four-time Fifa Ballon d’Or winner chose the perfect moment to score his second goal of the tournament, and his third overall at the World Cup finals, when he saved his team from what would have been an embarrassing draw at Belo Horizonte stadium. With the clock ticking well into stoppage time, and Argentina needing a goal against a mean Iran side that played with ten players behind the ball for nearly the entire match, Messi picked up the ball and picked his spot like he so often does for Barcelona. Some would say, it was the perfect goal, for a perfect (World Cup) moment, and it’s hard to argue against it, especially given the fact that Messi and co. had looked out of depth until that moment. The tournament’s brightest star delivered when it mattered the most and his goal secured a place in the last 16 for the South American giants, one of the favourites to win the competition – though they’ll need to do a lot better in the next games than they have done in the first two. Argentina is a team full of vastly talented players, but against Bosnia-Herzegovina (2-1) and Iran (1-0), they have not played like a team – instead relying on individual brilliance. “All players who have played have contributed to the victory but of course we have a genius in Messi. We’re fortunate he’s Argentinean,” coach Alejandro Sabella summed up his team’s position after the narrow win over Iran.

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Where would Argentina be without Messi?