What pushed Argentina out of 21st FIFA World Cup?

Even in Kazan, Russia’s ‘third capital’, built at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanska rivers, on the Eurasian border, and where the great write Leo Tolstoy studied at the Oriental Division of Kazan University’s Philosophical Department for six years, the debate raged: who is the best, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

Downtown, workers hastened to paint a portrait of Messi at Argentina’s Ramada Hotel to welcome the superstar and counter the three-storey portrait of Ronaldo on a building behind the South Americans’ hotel. The last-ditch diplomacy pleased the Argentina fans, who thronged around the barricaded hotel to get a glimpse of their mega hero and his supporting cast.

The Albiceleste faithful took over the Tartar capital, transforming Kazan into a sea of blue and white, as they did in every host city Argentina played in. On the streets they sung their great hit: “Brazil, decime que se siente. Tener en casa tu papa. Te juro que aunque pasen losanos. Nunca nos vamos a olvidar. Que el Diego te gambeteo.” (Brazil, tell us how it feels, to have your dad come home and boss you around. I swear that even if years pass, I will never forget that Maradona outskilled you.)

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The travelling Argentineans gave the World Cup an outspoken Latin flavor, backing their team through ten nerve-shredding days during the group stages, in which their talisman and Marcos Rojo delivered salvation against Nigeria. Often, it felt as the stadiums and streets were an extension of the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital.

But as Antoine Griezmann converted an early penalty in Kazan, there was, at last, the sense of ending for Argentina. Coach Jorge Sampaoli set up his team in suicidal fashion, playing a high defensive line with ageing defenders against the quicksilver, youthful French. Les Bleus exploited Sampaoli’s astonishing idea and hurt Argentina with speed. Up front, with no one to pass to, Messi, in presumably his last World Cup game ever, cut a lone figure.

Then Di Maria struck, with his ‘angelic’ touch. The fans revived, they chanted ‘Vamos Argentina’ as the players left for the dressing room. The respite was, however, brief. Chaos, the ultimate variable in the game, endured and turned the match into a frenzied classic. Argentina did little right but still got parity until the 64th minute when France’s boy wonder Kylian Mbappe unleashed his prowess to complete a hat-trick and knock Messi and Argentina out of the World Cup, in spite of Sergio Aguero’s late header. Slowly, the chanting died down and, with it, Argentina’s World Cup dreams.