In Atlanta turned Buenos Aires, it was inevitable that in the end, Lionel Messi would eclipse all. A dark night for English football made gloomier still by the darkest of arts, until Argentinian quality finally won the day.
The first thing to say is that England lost the World Cup semi-final through their own craven fear. The retreat they had got away with in Mexico, they were never going to pull off against the world champions. Exhaustion played its part, the space around Enzo Fernandez gaping at the end of an epic summer; this was simply one battle too far.
Lionel Scaloni deserves his flowers too, for his substitutions had precisely the opposite effect to Thomas Tuchel’s. Where Anthony Gordon was withdrawn after putting England within touching distance of history, Rodrigo De Paul and Lautaro Martinez began the onslaught that ultimately broke the English resistance.
But it was the majesty of Messi, with both assists, which transcended the cagey bittiness of the piece. In the first half, he lost possession 15 times and still was able to transform the tempo once Tuchel invited him to dance. His colleagues are supposedly so reverent towards their captain that they are willing to sacrifice all to ensure he wins a second World Cup; their antics of the first 45 minutes (which entailed 19 fouls from both sides combined) did no such thing, robbing the semi-final of the rhythm at which Messi could play. By the end: 33 goal contributions in 33 World Cup matches.
