DALLAS (special envoy).- The hugs with his companions seemed to never end. The Argentines kissed him, the Austrians greeted him. Messi ran this afternoon to celebrate the second goal he scored in extra time and seemed to merge into a hug with the thousands of Argentines who filled the Dallas Stadium, where he continued to feed his own legend. Top scorer in the history of the World Cup and also in this edition of the cup. He had qualification for the next phase in his left hand.
Several minutes had passed since the final whistle and the captain it was still there, on the grass. Happy, greeting his family, who celebrated from one of the boxes. He walked to all four sides. Before entering the tunnel he greeted José Pekerman and Maxi Rodríguez, and the Germans Klopp and Müller. “I am very happy. It was a long-suffering, hard, worked victory.. I hope it gives us peace of mind for what’s to come. It is a very even World Cup. “We are happy with the classification,” he said as soon as he left the playing field.
Messi chooses the moments. Although mother Celia still had two days left to give birth to her third son at the Italian hospital in Rosario, Leo came into the world when Argentina celebrated the first anniversary of “the hand of God” and the “Goal of the Century”. The same afternoon in which the 40th anniversary of Maradona’s two goals against the English in Mexico 86 was remembered, Messi created his own story with two other goals that will also remain in great history.
With the two goals he scored against Austria he became the top scorer in the history of the World Cup. On Tuesday he had reached the German Miroslav Klose, and on the afternoon in Dallas he reached 18 points to be crowned the only king. When asked about his new record, he once again chose restraint: “I don’t remember if I have a favorite goal. I’m tired, it’s hard for me to think. “I enjoy this moment and I look forward to returning to my teammates.”
Regarding the development of the match, he was analytical: “Our plans included achieving two victories. Today there was a lot of intensity. At times, it was difficult for us to have possession. They didn’t hurt us, but it was a very tight and intense match. We had to play very quickly. The important thing was the classification. We are Argentina and we will always look for matches against any rival. “We have to show it on the field.”
When the interviewer asked him about how he felt about having achieved such a record, he once again chose to focus the answer on the collective: “We all experience them as something special. The entire team experiences it like this, now and throughout our time, when we get together for competitions or friendlies. Enjoy competing, training and bringing joy to people. We will try to continue being in this dynamic, in this harmony. It is step by step, this is long and difficult. I enjoy every moment on the field. I was angry because I missed the penalty. I kicked him really badbut we were able to reverse the situation.”
Another performance for history
7 minutes into the first half Messi It came to another brand, but not a good one. He settled down to kick the penalty that had been committed against Lautaro Martínez. Goalkeeper Alexander Schlager guessed his goal and the captain opened his foot too much and the ball went out. Messi’s annoyance continued for several minutes, looking at the sky, at the ground and cursing for the failed situation. It was the third penalty miss in the World Cup: Madie missed so many.
“That with the hand of Leo Messi”, the stadium was raised immediately as a show of loyalty and support towards the great captain. From the missed penalty, Argentina lost the possession with which it had started the match. Austria evened the game and brought danger to Dibu Martínez’s area with two free throws.
At 18 he put together a great play in combination with Lautaro, he eluded a defender on a tile and finished with the goalkeeper on top, who again blocked his goal. Unlike the first game, the captain was inaccurate on a couple of passes, especially after the missed penalty. A gap in which the team also entered.
At 38 came the best collective play of the game. Center behind from the left of Facundo Medina, Thiago Almada who let it pass and Messi entered history head on: definition and 1-0 to seal qualification for the next round of their sixth World Cup, another record they broke just five days ago. He shouted it with his soul, “Come on, sons of bitches,” he said before smiling. Fists up, look at the sky. Hugs with each of your friends and colleagues.
In the kick that Alaba gave him before the end of the first half, Messi himself chose to stop quickly so that the referee could forgive the Austrian figure the yellow card.
with the soul
In the second stage the captain regulated the match, as did Scaloni’s team. Managed energy and he stayed on the court for ninety minutes. In the first match against Algeria he was replaced with ten minutes remaining. Gone is that Copa América two years ago in which he suffered physical discomfort that even took him out early in the final against Colombia.
The scorer of this cup. The top scorer in World Cup history. The player with 201 appearances with the Argentine national team. The one who secured a place in the round in his sixth consecutive tournament.
In two days, Messi will celebrate his birthday again focused on a World Cup. He has already blown out the candles in four World Cups (Germany, South Africa, Brazil and Russia) with his friends from the national team. Those who accompanied him on his way to the top and hold him at the top. Those who continue to see closely how their friend and companion continues to cement the myth of the coming decades.
A week of rumors
It was also the end of rumor week. Those who dominated the scene at the rally in Kansas City. The versions that emerged in Wathsapp groups in Rosario and Buenos Aires spread at such a speed that The family decided to issue a statement to say that Jorge, the captain’s father, was going through a health situation, but totally different from what was circulating.
It bothered Messi. He himself had said after his three goals in his debut that he had shed some tears due to a problem unrelated to sports. And he thanked his teammates, with whom he shared bitter moments in the national team and also with others, such as the eternal glory in Qatar.
Scaloni referred to how the captain handled the issue in the privacy of the concentration. At the press conference on Sunday, Father’s Day. “The group is the one that takes situations forwardwhether good or bad. It is always better to share good or bad situations with friends. That’s what we all feel. He (for Messi) also feels it.”
The imposing Dallas Stadium, one of the best in the world, was dressed almost entirely in light blue and white. More than 90 percent of the 70,000 seats were filled by fans of the national team. Half were Argentinian, but Mexicans, Americans, Chinese, Indians were also mixed… The craze to see the living myth led to tickets being paid for up to $10,000.
