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| Argentina’s Marcos Rojo celebrates after scoring the winning goal in Tuesday’s match against Nigeria. Messi celebrating after scoring first goal. |
ST. PETERSBURG — This was the end for Argentina,
level with Nigeria when it needed to be ahead, the adversity of a
tumultuous two weeks at the World Cup proving too much to bear.
Lionel Messi, thanks for coming. You're one of the greats , but you’re never going to lift that little golden trophy.
“We were worried,” he said late Tuesday, “because time was going by.”
Argentina’s 2–1 win over Nigeria this time around is proof of the
weakness of viewing sports through the prism of narrative. Here, “Messi
saves Argentina” (1–0) becomes “Even Messi isn’t good enough to redeem
this team”
Marcos Rojo, the subject of a controversial play 10 minutes prior,
scored on a thunderous volley in the 86th minute, and the two-time
champions escaped with a 2-1 victory. Argentina (four points) leaped over the Nigerians (three) and Icelanders
(one) to claim the second slot and earn a round-of-16 date with France on Saturday in Kazan.
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