Argentina played like champions in their first match in the World Cup. Lionel Messi played like a champion. He spent 78 minutes on the pitch and scored a beautiful hat-trick. This is his first hat-trick in the World Cup. Argentina beat Algeria very easily with the magic of Messi. Messi proved in the first match that they are back to win the World Cup.
Messi is 39 years old and will play in the World Cup. There were many questions before the World Cup about whether he can play well or not, how long he can play, how much he has recovered from the injury before the World Cup. But in just three shots he answered all the questions and silenced everyone.
From the start, there was also a question about whether Messi would play. But coach Lionel Scaloni answered that question by bringing Messi on the field from the start. Scaloni wanted to score early and relied on Messi for that. Messi did not disappoint the coach either.
Despite being a strong team, Argentina could not control the midfield in the first 15 minutes. Algeria took the ball away from them several times. It looked like the Argentina team was still not settled in the game. But then Messi’s magic seemed to change the game.
Algerian coach Vladimir Petkovic did not mark Messi, which was a big mistake. Even a mercurial coach would have deployed at least two players to stop Messi. But only he knew what he was planning and they paid the price. Messi scored the first goal with a left-footed shot from about twenty-five yards without entering the box after receiving the ball from Christian Romero. Luca Zidane, son of French legend Zinedine Zidane, made his World Cup debut as Algeria’s goalkeeper. Luca touched the ball but could not save the goal. Argentina lead 0-0 in the 17th minute.
After the first goal, Argentina’s style of play changed. Argentina’s players play one-touch football without keeping the ball at their feet for long periods of time. Passing the ball to teammates on possession increases the pace of the game and prevents the opponent from taking the ball.
Messi knows his age, so he has applied skill as well as intelligence. He did not stop at one place. This made it easier for teammates to find Messi.
After taking the lead, Argentina slowed down towards the end of the first half. They knew Algeria would try to score, so they tried to slow down the game and give Algeria fewer chances. But Messi had that old pace when he got the ball in hand. After the goal, Algeria tried to score their own goal, but failed to break the hand of Argentina in the first half.
A few minutes into the second half, Rodrigo De Paul found an empty space on the right and broke into the box. He could have had a shot himself but attempted a pass to Messi that didn’t go well and squandered a goal chance.
In the fifty-fifth minute, coach Scaloni brought on Nicolas Gonzalez and Julian Alvarez in place of Lautaro Martinez and Thiago Almada. This decision has been taken to reduce the pressure on Messi. Scaloni wanted to keep Messi on the field as long as possible and the decision paid off. The defenders left Messi to stop the rest of Argentina’s strikers.
Sixty minutes saw Messi as an opportunistic striker. Alexis McAllister received a pass from the left and was able to save his powerful shot. But Messi converted the rebound with his right foot to give the team a 2-0 lead.
Messi has proved that he is coming to the World Cup in his own name. His hat-trick was completed in the 76th minute. Algeria could not stop Messi. Messi once again found space outside the box and finished perfectly on the left foot. Argentina lead by three goals to zero. Zidane scored three goals in front of his son who came to watch the game against France.
Scaloni took Messi out of the field after the goal. He successfully completed the work for which he was appointed. So the coach did not want to take any more trouble with him. Messi sat on the bench for the rest of the game and the team left the field with an easy win. Argentina made it clear in the first match that they were coming to win the title and Messi made it clear that he came to win the title.