Lionel Messi ’s stunning World Cup opening goal against Mexico left Argentina assistant coach Pablo Aimar in tears on the bench.
Messi and Enzo Fernandez netted superb goals to seal a vital victory for Lionel Scaloni’s side against a passive Mexico on Saturday evening. Had Argentina lost their second game, they would have crashed out of the tournament following their shock opening-match loss against Saudi Arabia.
That heaped the pressure on the players alongside boss Scaloni and his coaching staff; Argentina are arguably the most fervent football nation on earth and they had entered the tournament on a remarkable 36-match unbeaten run, elevating them to be among the favourites for the trophy.
The loss against Saudi Arabia brought immense pressure and was one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history. After Poland defeated the Saudis with a two-goal victory earlier on Saturday, Argentina knew that even a draw against Mexico would leave them with a mountain to climb in the group.
Scaloni made five changes to his starting line-up that fell to defeat by Saudi Arabia; Lisandro Martinez replaced Cristian Romero in the heart of defence while Sevilla full-backs Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna came in. Elsewhere, Guido Rodriguez replaced Leandro Paredes at the base of the midfield while Brighton ’s Alexis Mac Allister came in for Papu Gomez.
However, Argentina’s first half performance against Mexico was abject and represented a decline from their opening-game loss – which, as traumatic as it was, saw Argentina miss a host of chances, have three goals ruled out in narrow offside decisions and concede goals with their only two shots on target against.
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The first-half showing was marked by nerves and anxiety, which Mexico were unable to take advantage of to leave the game hanging in the balance at half-time. It was not until Messi’s moment of magic – finding space 25 yards from goal and nestling the bottom corner of the net with a rasping effort – 20 minutes after the break which lifted the tension.
The pressure and expectation was visible on the Argentina bench, as assistant coach Aimar could be seen with his hands covering his face as he was visibly emotional after Messi’s strike. It appears to be a release of the huge emotion built up over the past few days of scrutiny.
Argentina secured the victory late on as substitute Fernandez scored from a Messi assist to further alleviate the pressure, but it will return as Scaloni’s side conclude their group stage campaign against Poland – and they will likely need a win to seal qualification for the round of 16.
