Argentina were considered one of the favorites to win the 2018 World Cup, but they will need help to even advance to the knockout stages after they were dominated by Croatia on Thursday.
After they played to a surprising 1-1 draw against Iceland in their first match on Saturday, Argentina were completely outclassed by Croatia. Lionel Messi, widely believed to the world’s best player, was basically a non-factor and Argentina had minimal scoring opportunities. The end result was a 3-0 shutout.
In order to avoid a shocking early exit, Argentina will need to beat Nigeria on Tuesday and have Nigeria win or tie against Iceland on Friday. No one expected Messi’s team to be in this situation, and that was evident based on how the Twitterverse reacted:
Retweet if you have same number of goals as Messi in this #WorldCup
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) June 21, 2018
Did Lionel Messi play in that game? I thought leaders stood up when they’re needed. What a dysfunctional team. Dreadful.
— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) June 21, 2018
Argentina fans RN#TVJRussia pic.twitter.com/PTYQIe2qwp
— Demoye Whiteley (@YPWhiteley) June 21, 2018
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) June 21, 2018
Accurate pic.twitter.com/dBw1elain2
— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) June 21, 2018
MISSING: Lionel Messi last seen in Lovren’s back pocket. pic.twitter.com/YOsIpHxV25
— Football Tweets (@FutballTweets) June 21, 2018
Have you seen Lionel Messi? pic.twitter.com/EwebpIOzrz
— Footy Jokes (@Footy_JokesOG) June 21, 2018
The debate over who the best player in the world is usually centers around Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ronaldo happens to have four goals thus far in the World Cup. Fans aren’t letting Messi forget about that.
A picture of Messi holding Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/EqrDjBPNUG
— Grace (@gracebakes) June 21, 2018
No matter how poor Argentina have been, Messi has been invisible this tournament. No doubt about it. Ronaldo’s team is even less talented yet he’s found a way to get them qualified, that’s a GOAT right there. #worldcup
— Hesham Bilal-Hafiz (@hesham786) June 21, 2018
I don’t care, this season CR7 set levels. He proved that even in a weaker team he can still be CR7. This is the WORLD CUP bro NO excuse for Messi I’m sorry their situations are even here. Ronaldo still has a lot to do but it’s a great start you have to admit.
— P Money (@KingPMoney) June 21, 2018
Croatia jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the second half thanks to the worst goalkeeping blunder we have seen in the World Cup, but they deserve all the credit for dominating Arengtina and holding Messi in check. There’s a reason we had Croatia near the top of our list of teams who could surprise in the 2018 World Cup.
