Lionel Messi's World Cup could have the perfect ending despite Argentina getting off to the worst possible start, when the captain was forced to slam his teammates after they were beaten by Saudi Arabia.
The Paris Saint-Germain star has long been his country's leading light and throughout the tournament in Qatar, Messi has had to step up. He is aiming to win the World Cup for the first time whilst Argentina have not tasted global success since 1986. Their loss to Saudi Arabia, almost a month ago, left them with little margin for error.
The Middle Eastern nation, ranked outside the world's top 50, were able to overturn a 1-0 deficit to shatter Argentina's unbeaten run that had spanned more than 30 games. Messi is often seen as a quiet leader, excelling through example rather than words, but showed a ruthless side during the Saudi loss.
