Messi, Lionel

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      A Two-Goal Lead Disappears, So Argentina Has to Do It the Hard Way

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      LUSAIL, Qatar — Argentina almost did it the easy way. For a while, Lionel Messi and his teammates were coasting. They had a two-goal lead against the Netherlands, and just a few minutes to see out. They were comfortable. And then, all of a sudden, they were not. They got there in the end, of course, but it would not be Argentina if there was not a little suffering.It had all seemed like such smooth sailing. Argentina had won even as its battalions of fans, decked out in sky blue and white, were still filling the steep, banked stands of the Lusail Stadium: A few miles away, Brazil had been eliminated by Croatia, Argentina’s fiercest rival and the most intimidating obstacle on its route to the final vanquished in one fell swoop.Barely a couple of hours later, the second victory seemed secure. Messi had created Argentina’s first goal, threading a pass of delicate brilliance into the path of Nahuel Molina, and scored its second, converting a penalty after Marcos Acuña had been tripped by Denzel Dumfries.As Messi stood in front of Argentina’s fans, his arms outstretched in front of him, as if waiting for their gratitude for the gift he had bestowed upon them, many in the crowd would have allowed their thoughts to wander to next week, to the meeting with Croatia, or even a little further still, to what they have come to refer to as “la tercera,” the country’s third World Cup.Argentina’s players celebrated in the direction of the Dutch after they won in a penalty shootout.Peter Cziborra/ReutersThe prospect felt, in that moment, less of a fever dream than ever. Argentina’s campaign in Qatar started with one of the most searing humiliations in the country’s sporting history: beaten, here at Lusail, by a Saudi Arabia team that had barely been granted a second thought in the weeks leading to the tournament.That loss, with its echoes of Argentina’s defeat to Cameroon in 1990, shredded the team’s delicate confidence. The nation indulged in a bout of soul-searching and teeth-gnashing. The players held tense, emotionally charged meetings. Lionel Scaloni, the coach, took a team that had not lost a game for almost three years and ripped it up to start again from scratch. These are not, as a rule, reliable indicators of forthcoming success.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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      Messi and Ronaldo’s Last World Cup Is the End of Soccer’s Greatest Generation

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      The World Cup is bidding farewell to the starriest cast the game has ever assembled. The setting is a perfect fit for the game’s age of excess.DOHA, Qatar — One by one, they have exited the World Cup stage that has been theirs for so long. Some, like Luis Suárez, restless and helpless, on the substitutes’ bench, could not hold back their tears. Others, like Romelu Lukaku and Edinson Cavani, lashed out at whatever inanimate object crossed their path, unable to contain their rage.One or two have managed to greet the end with grace: a smile on the lips of Robert Lewandowski, satisfied that he had, at least, signed off with a goal; a subtle, sorrowful shake of the head from Sergio Busquets as he turned his back on the missed penalty that had all but drawn the curtain on Spain’s campaign.There are some who remain, of course, for now at least: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Ángel Di María and Luka Modric, Thiago Silva and Pepe. Some will depart over the next two days. Some will have a stay of execution for another week or so. One or two will have the ending they crave, inside the gleaming, golden bowl of Lusail Stadium, a trophy in their hands and ticker-tape at their backs. But whenever it ends, however they react, for all of them, this will be goodbye.It has felt, at times over the last two weeks, as if this World Cup is essentially a valedictory tour for Messi and Ronaldo, certainly the two standout players of their era and quite possibly any.For the better part of two decades, they have been the central characters in both the sport’s overarching narrative and its daily life; every story has, at heart, been about them. This tournament could not be any different: it is, after all, their last chance to claim the one treasure that still eludes them, to find the missing piece, to cement not only their legend but their apotheosis.Romelu Lukaku and Belgium’s golden generation didn’t survive the group stage.Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesLuis Suárez and Uruguay followed them to the exit a day later.Philip Fong/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMessi and Ronaldo, though, have always been something else, too: the spearheads of and the torchbearers for a generation of players that has dominated soccer for more than a decade, the starriest cast that soccer has ever assembled. Whether it is the most talented is not, in a way, especially relevant. What is indisputable is that it is, by some distance, the most famous.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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      Every Team Left in Qatar Is a Contender

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      France and England, Argentina and Brazil, Messi and Ronaldo: The quarterfinals offer everything except an easy path to the trophy.DOHA, Qatar — And then there were eight. In a little more than two weeks, the World Cup has whittled its field from 32 hopefuls to eight genuine contenders, most of whom would regard anything less than the ultimate success as something of a failure.Not all of them, of course. Morocco, the standard-bearer for both Africa and the Arab world, has made the quarterfinals for the first time. It will not go lightly now, but anything else, from this point on, will be a welcome bonus. A rational analysis would suggest this may be Croatia’s limit, too.All of the others, though, were never here for the atmosphere. They are in Qatar for glory. England and France have a depth of resources none of other teams can match. Portugal wants to deliver a final triumph for Cristiano Ronaldo, even if he is not starting. Louis van Gaal, the Dutch coach, has repeatedly said that playing soccer is pointless if you’re not trying to win.And then there are the twin South American giants: Brazil, probably the most impressive side in the tournament so far, the scent of a sixth World Cup in its nostrils; and Argentina, inspired by and devoted to Lionel Messi, determined that it should be here that his career reaches its climax.Vinícius Júnior, Lucas Paquetá and Neymar of BrazilManan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesCroatia vs. BrazilFriday, 10 a.m. ET, Al RayyanThere is no sight more ominous for the teams left in this tournament than that of Brazil having fun. Its last three World Cup campaigns, at least, have been long months of angst and tension and inevitable heartache. In Qatar, Neymar, Vinícius Júnior and the rest of Tite’s team are light-footed, spring-heeled, and all the more menacing for it.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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      Messi’s Score Sets Tone for Argentina in World Cup Win

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      AL RAYYAN, Qatar — For all of his accomplishments, and there are many, there was one thing Lionel Messi had never done at the World Cup: score a goal in an elimination game.Now that he has done so — his first-half shot helped carry Argentina to a 2-1 victory over Australia on Saturday night — he still has a chance at another first: Messi has never lifted the World Cup trophy.A championship, of course, is still a ways away. But squint your eyes as Messi darted through the Australian defense at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Saturday night and it still seems possible. For 90 minutes, Messi, 35, looked like the Messi who made his World Cup debut at 18 and has torn through club opponents across Europe for decades.With the win, Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals, where it will face the Netherlands on Friday. A potential matchup with Brazil looms after that, and maybe one with France or Spain or England if Argentina (along with one of those other teams) can reach the final.Messi’s last act on the World Cup stage is perhaps still a ways away.“I’m very happy for taking another step forward and achieving another objective. It was a very physical and difficult match,” Messi said, then alluding to the fact that Argentina’s final group stage game was three days before. “We had played recently and didn’t have much time to rest up. We were a little concerned about that.”A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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      Lionel Messi Saves Argentina’s World Cup

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      LUSAIL, Qatar — As he wrapped Enzo Fernández tightly in his arms, Lionel Messi could not help it. His Argentina teammates were screaming, full pelt, toward them. At their back, the stands were melting into a writhing, bubbling soup of sky blue and white. Messi saw it all and, for the first time in what has felt like a long time, he smiled.For someone who has spent the better part of two decades delivering moments of rare, soaring pleasure to millions of people on a weekly basis, Messi looks happy surprisingly infrequently. He tends, most of the time, toward the serious. He often looks concentrated, or focused, or intent.Occasionally, he might look pensive, ruminative. More regularly than he might have liked, particularly in the last few years, he has had cause to look disappointed, either in himself or, more usually, a teammate. And then, of course, there is Messi in despair: the Messi with the sagging shoulders and the hollow eyes, watching his world crash down around him.Five days ago, that was the Messi who had departed the field at Lusail, his dreams in tatters. Argentina had been beaten by Saudi Arabia, an ignominy that will haunt the country for some time, a shame that will be spoken of only in whispers for years, and its World Cup — his World Cup — hung by a thread.That ghost has been at Argentina’s shoulder all week. In its immediate aftermath, as Argentina’s disconsolate players headed back by bus to their hotel, Messi demanded that his teammates remain united. He promised the fans that they would not be left “stranded” by a squad in which they have placed so much hope.After Enzo Fernandez scored Argentina’s second goal, Messi was the first player to meet him.Juan Mabromata/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesHe knew, though, that the only way to dispatch ghosts was to confront them. Argentina had no choice but to return to Lusail, to face Mexico, and to manifest a different denouement. Defeat would end its involvement in the World Cup after just two games. Even a tie would leave it on the brink of elimination from a tournament it harbored genuine hopes of winning. Already, it had no margin for error.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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      Who Will Win the World Cup?

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      Who’s going to win the World Cup? To get an answer, you could seek the opinion of coaches, players, pundits or fans.Or you could ask the people who have a great financial stake in the outcome: bookmakers.With every team having played one game, the most likely team to win the World Cup this year is, as almost every year, Brazil, according to oddsmakers around the world. But it is far from a sure thing. The team’s odds are roughly 3-1, meaning at best it has about a 25 percent chance of lifting the trophy at this point.Also considered strong contenders are France (6-1) and England and Spain (both 7-1). The next leading contender is, somewhat surprisingly, Argentina at 8-1, even though it lost its opening game to Saudi Arabia. The consensus seems to be that it will bounce back against Mexico and Poland and make it to the knockout rounds. On the other hand, Argentina was originally the second favorite at 5-1, so it certainly has slipped.As you might have noticed, the favorites are the usual suspects.The truth is, long shots just don’t win the World Cup very often. Oh, they sometimes make a surprise run to the semifinals (South Korea in 2002) or even the final (Croatia in 2018) but they just don’t win it.So if you truly believe in, say, the United States (150-1) or even Costa Rica (as much as 3,000-1 after losing to Spain, 7-0), you could be richly rewarded if they defy the odds come the final on Dec. 18.There are odds available on the individual awards as well, giving a clue as to who bettors and bookies think will perform well the rest of the way at the tournament.Before the World Cup began, who else but Lionel Messi (7-1) was the favorite for the Golden Ball as player of the tournament, an award he won eight years ago. But after Argentina’s stutter, he has slipped behind Kylian Mbappé of France (6-1).That prize almost always goes to a player on a successful team, but not necessarily the winning one. The last two Golden Balls went to players on the runner-up (Luka Modrić of Croatia and Messi), and the winner before that, Diego Forlán of Uruguay, made only the semifinal.The final game on Thursday significantly shook up the betting for the Golden Boot for the top goal-scorer of the tournament. Richarlíson of Brazil had been a 25-1 shot before the tournament started, but his two goals against Serbia has made him a favorite at 8-1. The other top contenders are Mbappé (9-1, with one goal so far), Olivier Giroud of France (11-1, two goals) and Messi (13-1, one goal).The other players with two goals so far aren’t attracting as much interest from bettors: Ferran Torres of Spain (20-1), Bukayo Saka of England (20-1), Enner Valencia of Ecuador (50-1) and Mehdi Taremi of Iran (such a long shot that few bookies have even posted a price on him yet).Fancy an American to get a bootload of goals? Timothy Weah, who had the Americans’ only goal in their first game, is 300-1 or more to finish as the tournament’s top scorer. More