Here he goes again. How's he got away? He's gonna lose it now, yep, he's gonna lose it. Someone's gotta take if off him! He surely can't go all the way... Except he doesn't. And he does.
Even at 35 years old, who's anyone to doubt Lionel Messi? On the biggest stage of all, the World Cup, Argentina's talismanic magician is producing one of the all-time great solo campaigns. Dragging his side through the knockouts and all the way to the final thanks to a string of mesmeric displays, his unearthly powers were no more evident than in their 3-0 semi-final win against Croatia at the Lusail Stadium.
It didn't start like that - far from it. A shock 2-1 defeat to unfancied Group C opponents Saudi Arabia prompted voices of doubt from around the globe. "Messi the other night – he was walking around the pitch," Gary Neville firmly declared to Sky Sports. "I said at half-time 'people don't fear him anymore'. They don't! When he's on the ball now, people go and take it off him. Go and tackle him."
