The football world is reacting to another masterclass from Lionel Messi after the Argentinian genius took his nation to the World Cup final, scoring once and providing one of the all-time great assists en route to a 3-0 win over Croatia.
Not for the first time at this tournament, the PSG star’s performance sent the internet into meltdown and drew immediate comparisons to Diego Maradona, the icon of Argentinian football, with many comparing the manner in which Messi has dominated this World Cup to the way that El Diego almost single-handedly won it in 1986.
Unless you were watching in the UK, that is: just for a change, they saw genius and decided it was a good time to have a chat about the ref instead. More on that later, however – let’s get to the maestro.
“The dream is still alive,” said Craig Foster on our own SBS coverage. “If he takes them to this title, then he’s really genuinely shaking hands with Diego. He now is a goliath of the game.
“What he did there for the third goal was extraordinary against who I think has been the outstanding defender of the tournament, Josko Gvardiol, he took him on and showed he was the greatest.”
“After that opening loss to Saudi Arabia, they pulled things together. The coach has made the right decisions all the way along. Jorge Valdano, one of the ever Argentine players ever, who won in 1986, he said the opening loss galvanised the team and they knew what they had to do early on.”
Mark Bosnich, of course, was asked about the performance of Croatia, but said that there was little they could do in the face of such greatness from the other side.
“They had a terrific victory against Brazil and we celebrated that but I’ve always been taught to lose with dignity and I think that’s very important,” said the former Socceroos keeper.
“Commiserations because Croatia really gave us some great joy and it has been a fantastic run with a lot of players who will be coming towards the end of their tenure but today was about Argentina.
“I thought this was their best performance of the tournament. We can talk about the penalty all we want but they were by far the better team and in the end they got the goals they deserved.
“They didn’t have the possession they normally have during the game but it goes to show if you look at the expected goals and everything else, they were on top in every department.”
On the BBC, Alan Shearer gushed about the little number ten.
“Argentina are in the final because of Messi,” said the England and Newcastle United legend. “Everyone looks to him. He doesn’t work as hard as he once did and he might not be as quick as he once was all those years ago.
“But he has still got that magic, that ability to twist and turn and run with the ball and go past those defenders with ease. He can make the very very best look ridiculously average at times which of course they are not.”
Over on the other UK channel, however, something bizarre broke out at halftime. The penalty that Messi converted, won after striker Julian Alvarez had been wiped out by Croatian keeper Dominik Livakovic, was fairly cut and dried, with former Premer League referee Peter Walton confirming as much.
“I didn’t think it was a penalty at the time,” said Neville. “The keeper comes out and stops himself before the shot, he stops himself and Alvarez just runs straight into him and takes his leg away. That is not a penalty.
“He has to make that motion to try and save the ball. If he had carried on running towards Alvarez and taken him out then fair enough but he doesn’t. I don’t know how that’s a penalty.”
Roy Keane agreed, adding one of the great tropes of all sporting punditry: “It’s poor defending overall to let him get a run at goal but I agree with the lads, I don’t think it’s a penalty. Where else is he supposed to go?”
Host Mark Pougatch then brought in the expert, Walton, to explain the rules to the panel.
“It’s a fairly simply question from the boys in the studio, what else is the goalkeeper meant to do?” asked Pougatch.
“Well, win the ball,” deadpanned the veteran of over 400 professional games. “If he’s challenging for the ball, misses the ball completely and catches the player, it has to be a foul.
“He’s in the path of the forward so he’s impeded his progress. I understand what they’re saying in terms of “where is he supposed to go?” But if you think of an outfield player who slides in to make a challenge, if he misses the ball and catches the man, it’s always a foul.”
Ian Wright, a veteran of zero professional games as a ref, went for a simple “No, no” and ‘It wasn’t a foul” while Neville, also zero games refereed, decided to get into the weeds.
“Peter, are you suggesting a goalkeeper who comes out in the line of the ball needs to move out the way to allow a player to have a free shot?” he asked.
“No, he doesn’t need to move out the way but he needs to make sure he gets some contact on the ball. Otherwise he will be classed as impeding the progress of the player coming towards him. His forward motion there has meant that a collision has happened. If that’s the case he’s been careless in his approach.
“It’s a foul. It may seem harsh but it’s a foul. If you turn it on its head and say it’s not a foul, can you imagine the commotion now? It was a foul.”
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