Chapter 623: Argentina's Disaster, Messi Under Fire
In most cases, when a team playing defensive counterattacks falls behind, they often get desperate to equalize, leaving themselves open to more goals, which leads to a collapse.
This is exactly what happened to Iran. Once they fell behind, they had no choice but to throw everything forward in an attempt to get back in the game.
However, when you go all-out against a strong team like Spain, the consequences of failing can be severe.
In the 65th minute, Dani Carvajal delivered a cross from the right, assisting his Real Madrid teammate, Isco, who scored to make it 0-2.
By the 74th minute, Spain executed a series of precise passing plays, and Diego Costa, breaking through Iran's defense thanks to a pass from Lin Quan, slotted the ball into the net.
The score now stood at 0-3, and Iran's fate was sealed.
With the game effectively over, Del Bosque used his final substitution in the 75th minute, replacing Lin Quan with Valencia's Rodrigo.
As Lin Quan walked off the field, he once again received a standing ovation from the entire stadium.
His performance had been exceptional, contributing an assist and a key goal that helped break the deadlock for Spain. Without his goal, the match would have been far more challenging for Spain to win.
With their victory secured, Spain now had two wins from two group-stage matches, securing their place in the knockout stages and clinching the top spot in the group.
Later in the day, Cristiano Ronaldo continued his red-hot form, scoring just four minutes into the game to lead Portugal to a 1-0 victory over Morocco, securing their first group-stage win.
So far, all of Portugal's four goals in this World Cup had been scored by Ronaldo. In what could be his final World Cup, Ronaldo was delivering an otherworldly performance.
Given that Portugal's final group-stage match was against the weakest team, Iran, their chances of advancing to the Round of 16 looked strong.
Meanwhile, things were far more dire for Messi and Argentina.
In their second match, Argentina, led by Messi, were demolished 3-0 by Croatia.
Messi's performance remained underwhelming, and the entire Argentine team was completely dominated by Croatia.
With Modric, Rakitic, and others leading the charge, Croatia secured a resounding victory, announcing themselves as one of the tournament's dark horses—shining brightly, at that.
"I've been saying Croatia isn't a team to be underestimated. They even beat the world's top team, Spain, at the last European Championship!"
"Exactly! If it weren't for bad luck in the Round of 16, where they faced Portugal and were dragged into a penalty shootout, they could have gone further!"
In the previous European Championship, Croatia faced both the champions, Portugal, and the runners-up, Spain. They beat Spain and drew with Portugal before being unlucky enough to lose on penalties.
Anyone who could play at that level against Europe's best wasn't to be taken lightly.
If they had had a bit more luck, Croatia could have reached the quarterfinals or even the semifinals.
While the World Cup had more top-tier teams than the European Championship, its group stage wasn't necessarily harder. Given Croatia's current strength, advancing to the Round of 16 was practically guaranteed. The only question remaining was just how far this dark horse could go.
As the world marveled at Croatia's impressive performance, the media also began to focus on the defeated Argentina.
After being held to a draw by Iceland in their first match and now losing to Croatia, Argentina had only one point after two matches and sat at the bottom of their group.
Croatia, with two wins, had already secured a place in the next round as group winners. Nigeria, with one win and one loss, sat in second place with three points.
Iceland and Argentina, both with one draw and one loss, were tied on points, but Iceland's goal difference of -2 was slightly better than Argentina's, so they were ahead.
Argentina, once considered a favorite to win the World Cup, was now in last place. This result shocked everyone.
Who could have predicted that Argentina would perform so poorly? Were they really going to crash out of the group stage without even a single victory, facing a humiliating exit?
Football legend Diego Maradona, who had come to support his national team in person, almost had a heart attack watching Argentina get crushed. His face, wide-eyed in disbelief and gripping his hair, was captured by photographers and quickly went viral online after the match.
"Poor Maradona!"
"Maradona's probably thinking, 'I should have coached this team myself instead of leaving it to Sampaoli!'"
"Ha! Maradona may have been a great player, but as a coach? No way! Just look at what he did to Argentina in 2010!"
"That's nothing! Even the Al Wasl club in the UAE hired Maradona for his fame and achievements as a player, only for him to lead them into disaster. They ended up firing him!"
"Seriously? That's too much! Was Maradona really that bad as a coach?"
"It's true! Maradona's coaching skills are almost non-existent. He's just not cut out for it."
The internet quickly turned into a sea of jokes and memes about Maradona.
"Forget Maradona! I feel more sorry for the gamblers out there. Who knows how many of them are going to lose everything tonight!"
After Argentina's draw with Iceland in their first game, many gamblers were already teetering on the edge.
Now, after Argentina's crushing defeat to Croatia, the metaphorical rooftop was about to get even more crowded with desperate gamblers.
Argentina was turning into a nightmare for gamblers everywhere.
While Argentina's defeat wasn't entirely Messi's fault, as the team captain and their biggest star, he was shouldering most of the blame and taking the heat for the loss.
On the day of Argentina's defeat, the internet was flooded with criticism of Messi and the Argentine team.
Derogatory terms like "dwarf," "coward," and other insults were hurled at Messi.
Even Argentina's coach, Sampaoli, seemed to throw Messi under the bus during the post-match press conference:
"I'm always looking for the best position for my players, and everyone has responsibilities. But we just couldn't find the connection between the team and Messi."
Sampaoli continued, "I believe we're still a good team, but we need to show more cohesion. I hope we can improve."
With those words, Sampaoli left Messi hanging out to dry, making it impossible for him to escape criticism.
"I've always said Messi is a problem. He's completely disconnected from the team on the pitch. He's no leader and only drags the team down."
"Exactly! You Messi fans used to say that Messi was too good, and his teammates couldn't keep up. But look at Spain! Why can Lin Quan fit in perfectly? The truth is, Messi just isn't good enough. Stop making excuses."
Throughout these two games, Lin Quan had been quietly playing the supporting role, letting his teammates shine.
His selfless play, sacrificing personal stats for the team, hadn't gone unnoticed by the fans.
So they all wondered: why could Lin Quan play like this, but Messi couldn't?
Faced with overwhelming criticism and accusations, Messi felt exhausted. Once again, he considered quitting the national team.
When playing for his club, Messi enjoyed seamless chemistry with his teammates and played with freedom, truly finding joy in football.
But every time he returned to the national team, he felt the immense pressure of carrying the weight of the entire nation on his shoulders, making every step a struggle.
Forget enjoying the game—he was constantly criticized, blamed, and even accused of not caring about Argentina and only loving Spain (Messi holds dual Argentine and Spanish citizenship).
These accusations deeply hurt Messi, who genuinely loved Argentina and desperately wanted to lead his team to success.
But he simply couldn't do it.
Although his national team teammates were skilled, they couldn't seem to connect with him on the field. Many didn't fully respect him, and as a result, their play felt disjointed and uncomfortable.
Sampaoli wasn't wrong in his post-match comments—the Argentine squad lacked unity.
Yet, because Messi was the most famous, he took the brunt of the blame, while the other issues within the team were overlooked.
Messi had tried playing a supporting role before, but it hadn't worked.
When he decided to take the lead, his teammates were more focused on showing off their own skills and wouldn't pass him the ball.
He felt like he was fighting a losing battle.
...
This time, Lin Quan didn't come out to say anything in Messi's defense, as he believed Messi indeed had problems on the pitch.
As the team leader, if you can't even control the locker room, you've failed.
Argentina's squad was riddled with factions, but what national team didn't have factions?
Spain's national team, for example, had its own rival factions: the Barcelona faction and the Real Madrid faction.
Failing to get the coach's support, being undermined by the coach, and losing control of the locker room to the point of being isolated by teammates on the field—all this made Messi a very ineffective captain.
After hearing about Messi's struggles, Pep Guardiola stepped forward to say a few kind words in his defense.
It was clear that Guardiola still cared for his former star player.
However, the affection wasn't what it used to be, for a simple reason: Lin Quan had completely replaced, and even surpassed, Messi in Guardiola's heart.
Guardiola's public defense of Messi was purely out of respect for their past relationship.
...
After two rounds of matches, the shape of the group stage was becoming clear.
In Group A, hosts Russia and Uruguay both secured back-to-back wins, advancing to the Round of 16 together.
Their upcoming match would determine who finished first in the group.
Meanwhile, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, both winless, would face each other in a battle for dignity in the final round.
In Group C, France lived up to expectations, winning two straight games and securing their spot in the knockout stages. They would face Denmark next to determine who topped the group.
Australia, currently with one point, still had a slim chance of advancing.
They would need to beat Peru in their final match and hope that France beat Denmark to advance. Otherwise, they'd be eliminated.
Peru, with zero points so far, was already out of the tournament.
Group D's situation was more complicated. Croatia had already advanced, while Nigeria, Argentina, and Iceland all still had a chance to progress.
Nigeria, with three points, was in the best position. A draw in their next match would be enough to see them through due to head-to-head tiebreakers.
Iceland, on the other hand, faced a tougher path. They needed to beat group leaders Croatia and hope that Argentina beat Nigeria without winning by too much, or Argentina's goal difference would knock them out.
As for Argentina, they were in the worst position of all.
Even if they managed to beat Nigeria, their advancement wasn't guaranteed.
If Iceland also won against Croatia, Argentina could still be eliminated due to an inferior goal difference.
The final match for Argentina would be a true do-or-die situation.
Argentina wasn't the only favorite to stumble—last World Cup's runners-up, Germany, were also struggling.
After a shocking loss to Mexico in their first match, Germany managed to bounce back by beating Sweden, but their main center-back, Jerome Boateng, received a red card, which would weaken their defense.
Compared to Argentina, however, Germany's situation wasn't as dire.
At least they had three points, and if they could beat South Korea in their next match, they would secure the final spot in the Round of 16.
The German team was confident about the match, and in a pre-match interview, coach Joachim Löw stated that they had learned from their previous games and would show the world the true German team in the next match.
The tone was set high, piquing everyone's curiosity. But whether they would deliver or not remained to be seen.
If they ended up losing to South Korea, it would certainly be entertaining for onlookers.
Aside from these traditional powerhouses and favorites, Lin Quan was also keeping an eye on Group G.
Group G featured not only Belgium, where his Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bruyne played, but also the resurgent England national team.
Given that the other two teams in the group were weaker, both Belgium and England had won two games each, and their upcoming match would determine the group's winner.
Because of his connection to De Bruyne, Lin Quan naturally supported Belgium.
The "Red Devils" of Europe had a formidable lineup on paper. The question was how far they could go in the tournament.
Interestingly, compared to other Asian teams that were all on the brink of elimination, Japan's chances of advancing from Group H were looking strong. They were tied for first place with Senegal, and with four points, Japan's chances of making it to the next round were quite high.
Japan's fate was in their hands: as long as they didn't lose badly in their final game, they would likely progress.
(End of Chapter)