Messi cures collective depression in Argentina

The stadium was filled with fans wearing No. 10 uniforms. As Argentinian football hero Lionel Messi made a left-footed shoot at the 19th-minute mark in the second half of the World Cup Group C’s second match between Argentina and Mexico held at Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday, fans in sky-blue uniforms roared in joy.

They were Argentinian fans, mostly wearing No. 10 shirts. There were 88,966 people in the audience, the biggest crowd since the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. The fans were starving for Argentina’s goals and win. Argentinian fans experienced collective depression after 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia. It was Messi who turned despair into hope.

Messi’s performance was outstanding. While the Argentinian team had the ball for a longer time but did not have a critical opportunity to score, he scored the game's first goal 18 minutes into the second half of the game. He also assisted Enzo Fernandez’s second goal in cementing the team’s win at the 42nd-minute mark of the second half. Messi now has the youngest and oldest record of scoring and assisting a goal in a single World Cup match. He was 18 years and 357 days old when he set the youngest record in a match against Serbia at the 2006 Germany World Cup, and he was 35 years and 155 days old when he set the oldest record on Sunday against Mexico. He scored eight goals in World Cup matches, including his goals in the last two consecutive games. "We needed such results and this happiness," said Messi. "A new World Cup has begun for us today."

As Argentina won against Mexico 2-0, its score so far is one win and one loss. It’s in second place after Poland, which became No. 1 in the group with one win and one tie after beating Saudi Arabia 2-0 on Saturday. While Argentina has the same winning point of three as Saudi Arabia, it has a higher goal point.

The game was attended by the biggest crowd since the final World Cup match in 1994 between Brazil and Italy, which 91,194 people attended. The biggest crowd in history for a World Cup game was the final match between Uruguay and Brazil in the 1950 Brazil World Cup, which was attended by 173,850 people.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com