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Messi Magic Saves Argentina — Again

Late goal keeps German hopes alive

Manny Otiko
4 min readNov 28, 2022
Lionel Messi opens the scoring against Mexico (YouTube screengrab/Manny Otiko)

A moment of brilliance from superstar Lionel Messi kept Argentina in the World Cup on Saturday. Messi, who had done nothing for about 60 minutes, broke free from Mexican defenders and fired in a shot from outside the box to put his country in the lead.

Before Messi’s moment of brilliance, the game was a dire affair, even though it was roared on by two sets of energetic fans. Both teams labored to make an impression on the game and Argentina couldn’t string a pass together in the final third of the field.

Result Flatters Argentina

Messi’s goal rejuvenated Argentina, and they started playing a lot better. His inspiration worked because about 10 minutes later, Enzo Hernandez beat two Argentina defenders to fire in a shot from long range.

The game finished 2–0, but the score was misleading. Argentina barely scraped a win and was not much better than Mexico. A huge question mark remains over their performance in this World Cup.

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Manny Otiko
Manny Otiko

Written by Manny Otiko

Manny Otiko writes about race, politics and sports. He has been published in Salon and LA Weekly. Follow him at @mannyotiko.bsky.social

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