Battle with demons from the past: Messi and Argentina will soon face off in Purgatory | FIFA World Cup 2022

Most surrounded during the match, now lonely and alone. Lionel Messi slumped with his head down.

No sane person could have predicted that his last World Cup would begin with a catastrophic scenario. Damn Saudi Arabia is lost. And this after a run of no less than 35 games without defeat.

The great hope in advance has turned into fear for every Argentinian. Local media called it “one of the fiercest blows in history” and “a defeat that wiped out everything positive in one fell swoop”.

Tonight is a must against Mexico.

Messi and Argentina slid into mental purgatory with unexpected speed. Loaded with negative pressure they would never have felt during this tournament.

The great strength of this selection was the redeeming feeling that they had become winners after that victory in the Copa América – their first major trophy since 1993. In addition to the high form that came next. That indomitable aura had already been shattered.

Instead, demons from the past reappeared.

Like the difficult relationship between Messi and the World Cup. For twenty years, the son of the gods has been carrying the heavy legacy of Diego Maradona on his shoulders. Just like the unfortunate phenomenon, Messi had to take the World Cup back to Argentina.

A banner with the image of the two remains on the field at every World Cup match. As if Maradona is watching with hope from above.

In the past, this expectation pattern of the 46 million Argentines ensured that Messi would not look as complex as he does at Barcelona. Especially after losing three finals – the 2014 World Cup and two in the Copa América – the negativity surrounding the national team began to take its toll.

In 2016, Messi announced his retirement from the national team – a decision he later retracted, but an important one.

Father Jorge Messi once said: “Argentina mistreats Lionel.”

They claimed that Messi disappointed at key moments – he never scored beyond the group stage in a World Cup – and was in fact half Spanish, because the star started his career at Barcelona and never sang the national anthem.

Intimate people resolutely dispelled doubts about his devotion. For example, Messi’s former agent recently put forth a powerful anecdote: “Lionel was up every night for a year after losing the World Cup final. He couldn’t sleep anymore.”

Hence the huge dump after winning the Copa America. A Netflix documentary about that tournament once again confirmed the (misunderstood) boss in Messi by filming his harrowing speech before the final.

Soon Messi will have to provide inspiration again… and above all comfort.

Experts of the Argentine national team assure that the captain collects everything more than the coach.

“Messi transfers his energy to all the other players,” said Santi Villahoz, a journalist for the Argentine soccer station. Marker. “The players at the Copa America said they wanted Messi and Argentina to win, and now they say they don’t want Messi to be eliminated in the last World Cup like this.”

Then it should be a much better sport. Especially since this was the great warning against Saudi Arabia.

Scaloni has put together a stronger group in recent years, which has been less dependent on Messi. Just: Last Tuesday, everyone looked at the guy in the gold shoes to straighten it all out.

And even that is more related to the others because of its engine advancement. At PSG, an entourage with Neymar and Mbappe helps us, but can players like Papu Gomez, Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria do the same for Argentina?

So again the same questions and doubts as in the past. Against Mexico, it was better to drive out the devils.