LUSAIL
\nPablo Aimar was in tears, his hands covering his face, as Lionel Messi wheeled off in celebration, arms wide open in accepting the adulation of those at the Lusail Stadium Saturday night.
\nIn the stands, a young fan jumped for joy, hugging his sister who was seated in the row behind him. Once they\u2019d left the embrace, the boy\u2019s parents, in the row before him, reached out to wipe the tears off his eyes. This was just one family celebrating. All around them, Argentinian fans were bouncing in delight. By the time they caught their breath and exhaled, there was finally realisation of the moment of pure magic they had just witnessed.
\nIt was that kind of a goal, one out of nothing. But that\u2019s what Messi does: the unimaginable, the unthinkable, the stratospheric, the liberating.
\nArgentina\u2019s World Cup hopes were on thin ice as a feisty contest against Mexico went past the hour mark, still locked at 0-0. Messi, though, was holding the key. Receiving the ball at the edge of the box, he took a touch and then looked up before swinging his left foot at it. The connection was pure, Guillermo Ochoa had no chance, the low shot was beyond him before he even touched the ground.
\nAimar, Messi\u2019s childhood idol, the silky former number 10 turned Argentina\u2019s assistant coach, tried to but couldn\u2019t hide his emotional release on the bench. Aimar was once the heir apparent of the larger than life Diego Maradona, the man who led Argentina to their last World Cup title in 1986. Messi has taken up that mantle and this, potentially his fifth and last World Cup, is where he wants to fulfill his longstanding ambition.
\n\u201cApart from having top players, we have Leo,\u201d exuded Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after the 2-0 win \u2014 sealed after Messi laid the ball for Enzo Fernandez to score with a superb curler three minutes from the end \u2014 that saw his side wrest back control of their destiny at the World Cup.
\nAt the outset, it didn\u2019t look rosy; Argentina\u2019s campaign looked over as soon as it had started \u2014 the stunning loss to Saudi Arabia setting off the alarm bells. On the eve of the game, Scaloni had reiterated that his team \u201cwas going to stand up again\u201d.
\nFriday was also a day of remembrance for Argentina. It was the second anniversary of Maradona\u2019s death. There was a celebration of Maradona\u2019s life at the CONMEBOL\u2019s fan zone in Doha, graced by his former team-mates and a huge number of Argentinian fans. Messi posted a picture of Maradona, his coach at his second World Cup in 2010, on his Instagram.
\nAt the remembrance, Daniel Bertoni \u2014 a member of Argentina\u2019s squad in their maiden World Cup triumph in 1978, who played with Maradona in 1982 \u2014 spoke about Messi\u2019s quest. \u201cMessi is the ace of spades, you have to put the other cards around him,\u201d he said. \u201cI think he has to be accompanied by the team.\u201d
\nBut here was Messi, carrying the weight of a nation\u2019s expectation, driving his team and changing the momentum of the game with his genius to draw level with Maradona on eight World Cup goals for Argentina.
\n\u201cHe showed that in the space of 30 seconds or so he can be lethal,\u201d said Mexico head coach Gerardo \u2018Tata\u2019 Martino, who has managed Messi for both Argentina and Barcelona.
\nPraises for Messi were also sung on social media.
\n\u201cWhat a goal. What a moment. What a man. Messi strikes,\u201d tweeted former England striker Gary Lineker, who is on broadcast duty in Qatar.
\nGabriel Batistuta, Argentina\u2019s all-time top-scorer at World Cups with 10, tweeted a picture of Messi celebrating with the caption \u201cVamos Argentina\u201d.
\nAt the media centre in Lusail after the game was Jorge Valdano, a member of Argentina\u2019s triumphant 1986 squad with Maradona. Valdano wasn\u2019t speaking to the press but when one member of the television network said he\u2019s working for in Qatar, he came up to him and said \u201cMessi\u201d, and gave a thumbs up with a wide smile on his face.
\nArgentina are still alive and kicking and Messi\u2019s mission of lifting the World Cup lives on.
\n\u201cAnother World Cup started for us today,\u201d Messi said after the game. \u201cWe can\u2019t give up now, we have finals from this point and we can\u2019t make any mistakes.\u201d
\nThe first final for Argentina comes against Poland on Wednesday, when they will look to confirm a spot in the last 16.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LUSAIL Pablo Aimar was in tears, his hands covering his face, as Lionel Messi wheeled off in celebration, arms wide open in accepting the adulation of those at the Lusail Stadium Saturday night. In the stands, a young fan jumped for joy, hugging his sister who was seated in the row behind him. Once they\u2019d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-297909","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n