England did what Algeria, Austria, Jordan, Cape Verde and Egypt all failed to do. Lionel Messi didn’t score. The greatest goalscorer in World Cup history took only one shot and it didn’t trouble Jordan Pickford. England harried him, frustrated him and badgered him out to the right wing. But there they discovered a truth: that goals are just one strand of his multifarious brilliance. Messi created one, then another, and sent England back across the Atlantic.
Messi’s assist for Argentina’s equaliser may have been a routine pass to Enzo Fernandez, but his sheer presence had already dragged England defenders across, out of shape, leaving holes to puncture. His assist for Argentina’s winner was a little piece of brilliance, driving down the right wing and floating a cross over John Stones’ desperate leap before dropping precisely onto the forehead of Lautaro Martinez.
