The thousand and one nights take place in the East. in the east lived
It was not a path between roses. It was an agonizing adventure that began well, led by the man from Rosario, but that forced Argentina to fight until the end, until an agonizing penalty shootout so that the thousand and second night of their leader also takes place in the east.
It was the epilogue to the agony, the end of a story that ended well, but which kept the intrigue until the end, until the last breath.
The genie of the lamp, the one who appears to illuminate the dark night, when the gloom hides the exits, he had found the loophole through which to connect with Nahuel Molina to open Ali Baba’s cave that leads to all the treasures.
And without getting off his flying carpet, through which he flew through the desert skies, he scored the second goal from a penalty to round off the party that Scheherazade sings to his glory.
It was his tenth goal in a World Cup, with which he equaled at the top of the Argentine gunners with Gabriel Batistuta. He did it the same day that he put the captain’s armband on his arm for the seventeenth time, beating Diego Maradona.
And he got his 16th win in a World Cup, with which he was one away from the record held by the German Miroslav Klose, who is also the top scorer in that competition with 16 goals. That one remains pending for the semifinal against Croatia.
Aladdin to the rescue
Like Aladdin, Argentina only has to invoke its idol for him to come to its rescue, although this time he shared heroism with goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who emerged in the penalty shootout.
But Messi is still the one who pulls the car. In the last nine games for the ‘Albiceleste’, the man from Rosario has scored 14 goals and given five assists to his teammates. In total, the genius already has 790 goals and 347 decisive passes.
A few days after scoring his first goal in knockout matches against Australia in the round of 16, Messi gave away his fifth assist, more than anyone in KO matches in a World Cup, beating Brazilian Pele.
Before the cry of 40,000 Argentines who dyed the undulating stands of Lusail, the imposing stadium that emerges between the desert and the sea, Messi was once again the hero.
For the second time in his career, Messi will play in the semifinals of a World Cup, two years after leading Argentina to the Copa América that ended a 28-year title drought. The last time Argentina made it past the quarterfinals, they reached the final, at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Messi wants to make the most of his last World Cup. With the win against the Netherlands he makes sure that in the semifinals against Croatia he played his 25th game in this competition and thus equaled the record of the German Lothar Matthaus.
A mark that he will surpass if he reaches the second final of his career and, then yes, he can make his dream come true in the East, where the tales of the thousand and one nights take place.
