Leo Messi needed to vent in Atlanta, cry, and shake off the burden. Once again, the worst had passed. His teammates embraced him, tossed him in the air, and the fans who filled the stadium chose him as the best player, something he didn't understand. The captain has long embraced his leadership role but prefers to distribute play. He would have chosen Enzo, or Cuti Romero for their goals. He knows he has 25 soldiers who, like a Roman legion in a wedge formation, jump onto the field behind their centurion, the one who breaks lines and rescues them from death when they are wounded. Twice he appeared against Egypt: an assist to narrow the score and the equalizing goal that gave them life. So, even though the image of the comeback was Lautaro with his run down the left flank and Enzo Fernández with his header to put the 3-2 in added time, Messi's figure is always present, always "comes like the sun."
"Leo could have dwelled on the penalty miss, but he always asks for the ball back, tries again and again. It gives me goosebumps," admitted Scaloni, who has a strong connection with him on the field. Beyond what the coach dictates, Messi interprets, and everyone follows him. He has even managed to make the team walk on something created by their star, "the best player in the world," as De Paul said. The entire team wears off the field a pair of sneakers from the line that the star has with Adidas: the Adistar Messi designed in harmony with the 'Último Tango' boots worn by the number 10.
"We didn't want to leave so soon. We suffered a lot, with the 0-2 the game got tough, and it was very exciting to turn it around. But this group never gives up and tries until the end. It's crazy what happened in this tie. That's why we couldn't end like this," acknowledged the Argentine.
Argentina knocked Egypt out of the World Cup by scoring three goals in 14 minutes right after the second-half hydration break. What happened? Something similar to what occurred against Netherlands in Qatar. Then Scaloni told them at halftime a phrase that stuck: "If we go, we go with ours." "In moments of high adrenaline, you have to touch a nerve, and those memories stay forever," De Paul admitted. As important as the words exchanged in Argentina's circle were, even more crucial were the decisions of French referee Letexier. He disallowed a goal for Egypt due to a previous foul because VAR saw a stomp on Lisandro Martínez at the start of a breathtaking play, but then did not penalize the one received by Mo Salah in the area, in the final moments of the match, despite the ball ending up in the back of the net, leading Argentina to the quarterfinals. The Egyptian players and coach could not contain their indignation. "There was no fair play, no respect. A penalty that should have been reviewed by VAR was dismissed, and the second goal was surprisingly disallowed for some reason," said coach Hossam Hassan, who during the match repeatedly crossed his forearms in a gesture similar to what referees do when there is a racist incident. However, he did not comment afterward on whether there was one. More outspoken than the coach was their forward Zico: "The Cup is rigged." The Egyptian Federation has filed a complaint with FIFA about the refereeing and has requested that the French refereeing trio not officiate another match in the World Cup.