AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Papu Gomez’s ball back out to the corner taker wasn’t great, spinning awkwardly and given too much height so an Australian defender could get close. Fortunately for Argentina, the corner taker was Lionel Messi. He trapped it instantly, pushed the ball to Alexis Mac Allister then accelerated—as much as he ever does these days—into the box so that as Nicolas Otamendi touched Mac Allister’s pass into his path, he could arc the ball low into the far corner—his first ever goal in a World Cup knockout game.
In three seconds, Argentina had gone from seemingly losing possession to a goal that was almost impossible to stop. That is what Messi gives you. This wasn’t a brilliant goal. Highlights reels of his greatest moments will not include it. But it was devastating. Among all his gifts, perhaps his greatest is his minimalism, the way that, for all his extraordinary ability, he always chooses the lowest tariff action necessary to complete whatever he wants to do.
This was Messi’s 1000th professional appearance for club and country. It was his 16th appearance in a World Cup match, and probably his best, equalling the Argentinian record held by Diego Maradona. He will claim the record for himself in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands, the country against whom, in 2006, he made his first World Cup start. At 35, he is physically diminished, a sprite who flits into games only when he feels it necessary. Hit a high ball towards him and he will watch the defender head it clear without bothering to challenge. And yet he is the player who makes it possible for Argentina to think it might win a third World Cup. All everybody else has to do is keep things tight.
