It would be safe to say that Lionel Messi single-handedly schlepped the Albicelesteto Russia with a spectacular display against Ecuador in the final qualifying match. Messi scored a hattrick which proved to be the difference between the two teams on the night.
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This is not the first time that Argentina has been pulled out of the pit of mediocrity by Messi. Though Argentina have a star-studded team with some fantastic individuals, they just don't seem to be able to play well together.
The story is similar to that of the 2014 World Cup's. Even though he could find himself having to be at his very best to help Argentina to success, he has proven that he is more than capable of doing it.
If this Argentina team do go the distance, Lionel Messi will have played quite a huge role in that.
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About the author
Shambhu Ajith
Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.
For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.
Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.
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