Messi and co suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat that leaves them on the verge of being knocked out the World Cup
Argentina suffered perhaps their most embarrassing ever World Cup defeat on Thursday night when Croatia ran out 3-0 winners against Lionel Messi and co in Nizhny Novgorod.
Ante Rebic scored the opening goal after Willy Caballero, the goalkeeper, gifted him a perfect set-up, with midfield pair Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic both netting late on.
The scoreline was embarrassing for La Albiceleste, but it was the performance that really shocked the watching world.
Manager Jorge Sampaoli set his side up in a 3-4-3 system that all but negated Messi’s influence to the level that he was basically invisible; he touched the ball just 49 times throughout the match, and managed just one shot – which failed to hit the target.
The result leaves Argentina on the verge of falling out a World Cup they almost didn’t qualify for in the first place, and they will be hoping Nigeria and Iceland draw today to ensure reaching the knockout stage remains a realistic outcome.
The press in both Argentina and Spain, where Messi is idolised for his exploits with Barcelona, were out in full force on Friday morning reacting to the match, and you can see some of the best back pages below…
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