“Argentina recovered the candidate plate. It is already third again in the betting houses, behind Brazil and France ”

We sensed that Argentina would compose its best presentation in the tournament and we had anticipated it. Once the mental block that had remained after the defeat against Saudi Arabia had been removed, which continued against Mexico, vanished in an instant when Messi scored his goal. There the team buried the trauma, broke free and appeared. And it was once again the Argentina of the 36 games undefeated, the winner of the Copa América and the one that shone in the Qualifiers. Despite Poland being an organized team and with a lot of people in defense plus a killer up front like Lewandowski, the albiceleste dominance was absolute and the arrivals were copious.

The electronic poster shows 2-0, although by development it was a match of, at least, 5-0. In addition to the two goals and the missed penalty, Argentina created eight more goal situations, very clear, one-on-one, which they did not know define in some cases or that the good goalkeeper Szczęsny, a firefighter who put out a fire, avoided, because with just one more goal against Poland they were left out, Mexico surpassed them. A defensive team without lights, Poland, but it is already in the round of 16 thanks to the goal difference. With Mexico goes one of the two largest fans in the World Cup, which always brings color and fills the stands. A pity. But the Mexican process led by Gerardo Martino has been crooked for a long time. The shot at the end was given by Saudi Arabia, which returns home but having wreaked havoc. Mexico won 2-0 and was qualifying until the 95th minute, when Salem Al Dawsari, the same man who scored the game-winner over Argentina, plunged a knife into his chest. And bye-bye, little hands… The Poles, who were greeting the Argentine soccer players as if they were in a wake in the middle of the field, suddenly received the news of the Saudi goal and celebrated.

Messi was the virtuoso driver who led the advances, orchestrated plays and made his magical passes. But the man who does everything right did the most important thing wrong: he missed a penalty. The foul had been committed by the goalkeeper himself. However, Leo was agitated, still slightly shaken from the blow to his face and kicked him badly, halfway up. He must have executed someone else.

The promoted duel Messi Lewandowski, spurred on by strong statements by the Pole on the occasion of the Ballon d’Or, did not take place. Barcelona’s number 9 did not even touch the ball, it was swallowed by the mark of Cuti Romero and Otamendi, two beasts that put handcuffs on it and played very hard. Messi, on the other hand, was the player different from the rest and from his mind and his feet all the brilliant lines of the painting emerged. Very visible was that Lewandowski tried a couple of times to get close to 10 and pat him, but he ignored him completely. When Leo won the top award for footballers in 2021 he took the stage and said in a sincere tone: “It is an honor to be here with you, you have broken records and you also deserve to win the Ballon d’Or. Everyone agreed that last year you were the winner. It couldn’t be done due to the pandemic, but I think you deserve to have this trophy at home.”, were Messi’s words to Lewandowski upon receiving the distinction. However, he did not believe him. “I would like his statement to be honest, not empty words.” Messi made the cross to Messi, without speaking any more and without even looking at him.

Scaloni’s eleven made Poland dizzy by touching and touching, from one side to the other, to wear him down and put in the filtered pass when the occasion arose. However, the goal was made to beg and the 0 to 0 survived for a while. But as soon as the second half arrived, Mac Allister’s goal became a minute later, who quietly made a place for himself among the headlines. Julián Álvarez, another who won the game from the start, scored the second. The two will remain in the round of 16. Beyond the overwhelming dominance and touch, it was once again a safe team at the back, with remarkable concentration to anticipate the rival in all sectors of the field and dismantle each attempt to advance. He bound him hand and foot to Poland. That is Scaloni’s football: a lot of pressure, pass and pass until overwhelming the opponent and looking for Messi, who always has the key to the game.

It was a round day for the light blue and white, because in the first round Australia unexpectedly beat Denmark and slipped into the round of 16. And both will meet on Saturday in a clash that should not be an insurmountable barrier for the country of Di Stéfano, Maradona and Messi. It went well for him because, if he had finished second in the group, Argentina would have gone to France. He managed to elude her. Argentina scored two victories in a row and recovered the candidate plate. It is already third again in the bookmakers, behind Brazil and France.

FIFA rotates all the teams through different stadiums. But they put Argentina in 974 (the one with the containers), a venue for 40,000 people, without taking into account that it has an average of 60,000 fans. Tens of thousands were left without entry.

The bumps returned. The first, Tunisia. He left the championship, but through a golden gate: beating France. It is true that Deschamps, already classified and with the first place secure, put all the substitutes. But the hymn that played was La Marseillaise and beating the world champion is a good way to say goodbye.

The second, Denmark, pointed out as a possible surprise to reach the title for its participation in the Eurocup and for having won the two duels against France in the League of Nations, was eliminated in the first phase, and with only one point to its credit. They all relied on an antecedent: their heroic triumph at Euro 1992. Then they had failed to qualify. But an incredible unforeseen happened. Eleven days before the start of the tournament, UEFA, under pressure from the UN, expelled Yugoslavia from the Euro. The solution…? Call the second of your group and let them play. It was Denmark. Very nice, but… His players were on vacation…! Technician Richard Moller-Nielsen must have called them urgently. “We have to go back, we’re going to the Euro in Sweden.” The next day or two days later they showed up. Denmark arrived happy to participate, although unprepared. He had not competed for seven months, since the qualifying ended. And on top of that he had a very hard road: the local Sweden, England and France in his area. To make things worse, they drew the first game (0-0 vs. England) and lost the second (0-1 against Sweden). But he ended up being champion in a kind of Maracanazo. Because of this background, he is always considered capable of anything. It was a fiasco.

It is a beautiful World Cup from a football point of view and a good part of journalism is already encouraged to say that it could be the best of all.