5 Reasons behind Argentina's collapse and how they can come back

Messi under stress before the match against Croatia

1. Lack of a Leader

More than the missed penalty and the unimpressive outing, Messi should be blamed for his lack of character as the captain of Argentina. There is no doubt about the quality of this player, he is surely one of the greatest the sport has ever seen, but by no means, he could be counted in the list of captains who could lead their team out of trouble.

Argentina needed someone to lead them, who could raise the spirit of their players. Messi's role as captain was just limited to wearing the armband during the cause of play. One could not find any incident of him talking to his own players on the pitch, which is weird to expect from a captain.

Messi cannot do everything on his own, which is a fact, but he could have done more as a captain. Throughout the campaign, they lacked intensity on the pitch. Often jogging around when the ball was lost.

There was a lack of desire in the way they played which was more shocking to witness than the results they had. With Messi apparently struggling with the increased pressure, lifting the captaincy out of his shoulder could be benefitting for both the team and him.