EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Lionel Messi returned to the scene of his worst Copa América nightmare, and step by step, blow by blow, Chilean by Chilean here on Tuesday night, the nightmare almost returned.
Argentina and Messi, who had suffered from “sore throat and fever” in recent days, dueled with Chile for 87 minutes, but could not break through.
As they battled through a choppy match, the dark poetry of a 0-0 stalemate swept through MetLife Stadium. It was exactly the same result, in exactly the same place, that destroyed Messi eight years earlier.
More than 81,106 fans and twenty players were in attendance, until one, Lautaro Martínez, consigned it to the past forever.
Martínez scored a dramatic late winner to send Argentina to the knockout rounds of the 2024 Copa América, proving for the umpteenth time that this Argentina, Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina, the liberated version of Argentina, is completely different from the country that experienced the nightmare.
The nightmare took place on June 26, 2016 and left Argentinians everywhere devastated. For the third consecutive summer, their team had reached a major tournament final; for the third consecutive summer they lost. Messi missed a penalty after 120 brutal minutes of goalless football against Chile. In the aftermath, his distraught body fell over; his face twisted in pain. He was so devastated that he quit the national team that night. He later reversed his decision, but no one involved could undo or erase the memory.
So it was the driving force behind every story this week as Messi returned to MetLife for the first time since that harrowing evening.
Then it floated to the fore as the same two South American neighbors, wearing the same colors, led by some of the same protagonists, canceled each other out again.
Chile contained Messi and contained it. Midfielders surrounded him. Defenders kicked him. Even Alexis Sánchez chased Messi all over the pitch, throwing his body into challenges.
As a unit, they shifted back and forth in a mid-to-low block, closing passing lanes.
And they ran expertly over a yellow card, fouling Messi but never with enough force to earn a warning.
Midway through the first half, he was attacked from behind on the right flank by Gabriel Suazo and Messi immediately went to the bench for treatment. For almost two minutes, a medical staff member massaged his right adductor area. For minutes afterwards, fans feared that Messi, a day after his 37th birthday, was unwell — and those fears turned out not to be completely unfounded.
“I started the match with discomfort, I wasn’t completely loose,” Messi later admitted. Then his leg muscles became tight. “I didn’t feel any sharp pain or anything like that, but it did get stiff,” he said. “It was hard for me to move freely, and it was a little uncomfortable.”
He was also frustrated. When he heard the half-time whistle, he sought out the referee to complain, probably about the beating he received.
He still created a few chances. He slid around the outside of a post on a 25-yard drive. He pushed away from the Chileans, prompting adoring chants from thousands of fans. He didn’t necessarily play badly.
But he was neutralized and bruised. His aging legs were not fully functioning. And it was in situations like these that Argentina would falter for years, including in 2016. Messi’s teammates would freeze. Hopes for the Copa América or the World Cup could evaporate.
But that was then. In Brazil and Qatar, and now in the United States, teammates are coming to the rescue.
Luck has also smiled on a team that once seemed cursed. There wasn’t much talent in Tuesday’s winner, a product of pinball. And there wasn’t much grace about Argentina’s overall performance.
“It was not an easy match,” Scaloni, the Argentina coach, said after the match.
It was ‘tough’ and ‘complicated’, agreed his Chilean colleague Ricardo Gareca.
But it was exactly the kind of match that would have descended into chaos in a previous era. Here, on the other hand, Argentina remained calm and in control. Martínez took a chance and drove away towards the corner flag while about 70,000 Albiceleste fans roared. Teammates rushed over and harassed him. And Messi, having taken the corner leading to the goal from the other side, quietly ran towards them. He was the last to arrive. He was out of the spotlight for once. And Argentina led the way.
Of course, they will still want him and need him to propel them to another Copa América title. His health is officially a concern. Yes, he played the entire 90 minutes, but his leg is “hindering him,” he said. “I hope it’s nothing serious.” He will reportedly undergo tests on Wednesday. He could rest against Peru on Saturday, especially now that Argentina has already been confirmed as a quarter-finalist.
But now, unlike that nightmarish night of 2016, he has a team that can lift him up, just as he lifts them so often.
