World Cup column: Familiar names show their many faces in thrilling Quarter-finals
It is comforting to think that the greats of football were always great, are always great and will always be great, but even for those imbued with brilliance from a promising start to a glorious end, the path to pre-eminence is not without divots and diversions. To be without imperfection would mean they lack the very human essence that goes so far in enthralling those who watch them. It is the minor shortcomings that make their stories whole and well-rounded.
The opening night of the Quarter-finals of this World Cup showed that whilst two of the game’s current figures of importance remain capable of doing things that no one else can, they are still flawed at times and can lack unwavering judgement at crucial times.
It is hard to think of anyone who has trod the tightrope between regular brilliance and irregular outcomes as delicately as Neymar over the past decade. He can all too often feel luxurious rather than decisive, but focusing too closely on either the on-field extravagance or off-field oddities can distract from quite how exceptional he is. There is perhaps no one in world football who is currently as adept at being a goalscorer, a playmaker and a dribbler all at once.
There was no sense that the 30-year-old was overwhelmed or intimidated by the occasion against Croatia as he effectively put the hopes of a football-neurotic nation on his injury-prone back for a third and possibly final time. He almost enjoyed himself too much. Neymar’s overindulgence in the elaborate makes him so watchable, but taking on one defender more than necessary on Friday allowed a crowded Croatian defence to remain set and stifle attacks. Brazil looked most dangerous on the rare occasion that Luka Modric – back at his regal, strolling best – or a team-mate gave possession away and the opportunity to counterattack opened up.
Neymar was still Brazil’s most influential player, retaining his fun-loving equilibrium even as the minutes began to disappear and the Croatian midfield started to constrict the contest with another penalty shootout in sight. This was evident in the goal he scored that should have decided the game. The awareness to play a pair of one-two’s on the edge of the box in the 105th minute was remarkable in itself, but the touch to take the ball away from goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was the very best of Neymar. Elaborate and effective in equal measure, setting up a chance he could not miss to surely decide the game in his team’s favour.
To point to an on-camera sharing of a joke with Vinicius Jr at half-time of extra time as evidence of the other side of Neymar would be harsh. He had just done something truly outstanding in a moment of incomprehensible emotional tension, someone less accustomed to such an occasion would likely have broken down in a fit of delirium. It is however hard to imagine some similarly influential individuals reacting in such a way at such a moment. Lionel Messi has continued his dead-eyed determination from last year’s Copa America win in Qatar; he looks as though his desire to win a first World Cup has meant he has not cracked as much as a smile in weeks and he may never even snigger again should he not lift the trophy in a weeks’ time.
It is Neymar’s final action of this tournament, or rather inaction, that will stick in the mind though. Scheduled to take Brazil’s fifth kick in the shootout, his moment never arrived as Livakovic saved from Rodrygo and Marquinhos hit the post. Departed manager Tite took responsibility for the order of the takers, yet the outcome only added to the sense that Neymar’s brilliance will be something you have to scratch ever so slightly beneath the surface to truly appreciate rather than it being unquestionable, rigid and blatant.
Neymar not taking a penalty possibly influenced Messi to take, and score, Argentina’s first penalty in their shootout victory against the Netherlands later in the day. To begin at the end would not do justice to what was another career-defining night for the greatest footballer who has ever lived though. He had already won the game for his country with a wonderful assist and accurate penalty in the first hour of the game before his team-mates once again crumbled in, and possibly due to, his presence.
Messi is not quite what he once was. The hyperbole around him at this tournament is understandable given how final the entire event feels in a career we all wish would never end. He still runs games due to how reliant his team-mates remain on him, but Jamal Musiala was averaging three times as many successful dribbles per 90 in the group stage and Antoine Greizmann has registered the same number of key passes as his former Barcelona team-mate. Messi’s era-defining brilliance is still visible though, just distilled into precise moments and exact actions within a game.
This was perfectly displayed when a drop of the shoulder unbalanced Nathan Ake on 35 minutes and the slightest gap opened for a pass of perfect precision. Messi, seemingly without even looking, weighted the forward ball so enticingly that the marauding Nahuel Molina had little option but to score the game’s opening goal.
Whilst this was a positive example of how Messi can seemingly remove the autonomy of his international teammates, the final minutes of regular time showed how chaotic Lionel Scaloni’s team can become, caught up in the intensity of how much it all means to their captain. Panic set in when they fell behind to Saudi Arabia and Messi was relied upon too heavily. Australia very nearly forced them to extra time in the last round after Lautaro Martinez failed to capitalise on two chances laid on by Messi.
Rocked by Louis van Gaal’s decision to go with a double target-man attack, it felt impossible that Argentina would advance when Wout Weghorst equalised with a brilliantly inventive second goal in the 11th minute of stoppage time. Both teams were entitled to feel some frustration towards referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz in a game of 17 yellow cards, but it was Scaloni’s side who allowed the referee’s performance to inhibit their own.
If what followed the end of the 90 minutes summarised and solidified what we know about Neymar and why he may now never win the trophy that would guarantee his place among the very best Brazil has had to offer, the same period of play just a few hours later may hint that Messi has found a way to alter established patterns and cycles.
No longer the silent genius content with performing well himself and hoping his talent alone will inspire those around him, Messi is now influencing this Argentine team with his words and not just his feet. This new phase of his career sees him cajoling team-mates and barking at opponents, leading the conversation as players huddle in the breaks between the periods of extra time and then again before the shootout.
Argentina were the better team in extra time and were almost rewarded when Enzo Fernandez clipped the woodwork with what was practically the last kick ahead of penalties. Their efforts from 12 yards were devoid of the emotion that has so regularly inhibited them in the past, saved instead for a viciously triumphant dash from the halfway line when Martinez dispatched the decisive penalty.
Whilst these two Quarter-finals felt familiar in so many ways, it could well be that this tournament is decided by an individual capable of breaking pre-determined narratives and bending them to their will. This game has never seen anyone with Lionel Messi’s capacity to do such a thing.
