{"id":15652,"date":"2018-05-31T15:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T19:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonsoccer.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=15652"},"modified":"2018-05-31T15:00:12","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T19:00:12","slug":"messi-argentina-world-cup-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2018\/05\/31\/messi-argentina-world-cup-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina Will Go on Lionel Messi’s Rhythm at the 2018 World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editorial (May 31, 2018)<\/strong> — Argentinean national football team faced one of its last challenges before the\u00a0FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. The ‘Albiceleste’ thrashed Haiti 4-0 on Tuesday in a game that proved once again this squad is Lionel Messi-dependent.<\/p>\n

Maybe Haiti is not the best example to judge Argentina, but even playing against a minor rival, the South American country shows they will go on Lionel Messi’s rhythm.<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi’s Rhythm Will Dictate Argentina’s Performance in 2018 World Cup<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Messi scored a hat-trick<\/a> and assisted the fourth goal in the effortless triumph over the Haitians. Before the game, he was supposed to play a few minutes, but he ended up playing the full 90.<\/p>\n

Argentinean coach Jorge Sampaoli should consider giving the Barcelona striker less minutes in the last friendly game against Israel next week. He played the whole season of La Liga in a great level and he was the top scorer with 34 goals and 45 overall.<\/p>\n

Messi was on the pitch for a total 4,468 minutes between La Liga, the UEFA Champions League, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa, more than any other teammate in Barcelona and the Argentinean team.<\/p>\n

In Leo They Trust<\/h2>\n

That’s why he deserves some rest, and Sampaoli needs to demonstrate that his team can play without Messi. But the last time Argentina played without its best footballer they were destroyed 6-1 by Spain on March 27th this year, in a match that left a lot of concerns in the midfield.<\/p>\n

Argentina slips off versus Spain, but four days earlier they had a good game collectively without “La Pulga’s” presence to beat Italy 2-0 at Manchester in a friendly on March 23rd. That confirms they can be fantastic without their best player, but\u00a0in the World Cup, it will be extremely tough if Messi is far from his\u00a0outstanding level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, facing off against Haiti was a good match to warm up and test various players, particularly on defense.<\/p>\n

But certainly, Messi has to carry his teammates in the World Cup. And Argentina just thinks in one thing: With Messi in the pitch, anything is possible.<\/p>\n

Argentina will play against Israel in Jerusalem on June 9th. It will be their last friendly game before the World Cup kick-off. They face Iceland in the Group D opener at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow on June 16.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>