El Pelusa, who was honored on Friday, marks the decisive game between Argentina and Mexico
The day before risking their lives in the World Cup, the Argentines spent it talking and remembering Diego Maradona. It had been two years since Ten’s death and his figure covered everything. There was a memorial act in the Souq Waqif in which the 1978 and 1986 world champions participated together with Gianni Infantino, and he was also the protagonist of the official press conference in which the coach Lionel Scaloni and the striker Lautaro Martínez tried to argue why you should trust them in the decisive game against Mexico. After the bump against Saudi Arabia, another defeat leaves them sidelined. The draw may not count either. “Hopefully we can give him that joy when he watches us from heaven,” said Scaloni, referring to the long-awaited star. “It seems unbelievable that he’s gone,” he said wistfully.
Argentina’s vocation in this World Cup is extraordinary. For his debut, Leo Messi filled the spacious hall that also serves as a meeting room to the brim. This time his absence did not prevent a single free chair becoming available. The possibility of seeing them outside arouses interest and curiosity. “What is Argentina at stake? Is it the most important game in your history?” they asked the coach during an endless series of questions. “Just a football game, with the absolute peace of mind that whoever goes on the pitch will give everything to change the situation,” he replied. The Santa Fe coach assures that they have already passed the duel for defeat on the debut and that it is now their turn to show their game. “A match can be lost. The question is how you get up. That’s how I was as a player: a kick, but I always went forward.
Then it was the turn of Tata Martino, a coach at another difficult crossroads for the possibility of eliminating his native land: “I know where I was born, I can say the place, the features of my city, the sanatorium, but I work for Mexico and I want to win the game”.
Messi came out of Albiceleste’s last training session first and showed stripes. Then he talked for a few minutes with Scaloni himself, along with some of his believers: Paredes, De Paul and Papu. “Leo is fine morally and physically. I don’t know where he didn’t train yesterday,” the coach explained, as if to give the entire Argentine population a relaxing pill. “More than ever, we need his colleagues and him. Argentina is different from many teams, that’s the reality. Without losing respect for others, it is not the same to play a World Cup with this shirt.”
The game against Mexico, which will also meet Qatar’s two biggest supporters – there have been some clashes between them without going any further – is a toss-up for Messi. Who knows if it will be his last game at stake in a World Cup. He also had a memory of Maradona, a photo of him uploaded to his social networks without any accompanying text. After the haircut for the anniversary, he will be the center of attention again on Saturday. The mood of an entire nation depends on its game and its goals.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
