There's nothing to do. Lionel Messi, at the World Cup, just fails to leave his mark: if not in a negative way, as happened today in Argentina's debut match at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, against freshman Iceland, in his first participation ever after being was the revelation of Euro 2016. The Albiceleste didn't go beyond the draw (1-1) but there's more: after Aguero's Eurogoal and the Icelandic equalizer a few minutes later, it was Pulga in the second half to miss the penalty kick that would have given the first, precious victory to the Argentine national team. The final forcing of the Sampaoli boys was useless, who in the last minutes also threw Gonzalo Higuain into the fray, initially left on the bench in favor of Kun Aguero.
In the starting line-up fielded by the former Chile coach, there was only one "Italian" on the pitch: only Lucas Biglia of AC Milan actually plays in Serie A, a negative record compared to past feasts, when at least half of the selection came from the Italian championship . In this edition, however, there are few (besides Biglia only Higuain, Dybala and Fazio), while Sampaoli has not hesitated to fail excellently, such as that of Icardi but also of Perotti from Roma or Papu Gomez, preferring to leave room for players of the Argentine championship, or of minor leagues (like Mascherano who now plays in China) or who don't play as starters in their clubs (like Rojo from Manchester or the same goalkeeper Romero, in the end not called up due to injury). Messi therefore fails to emulate his all-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, the great protagonist of the match between Portugal and Spain, and the World Cup for Argentina is already uphill.
In the morning, Deschamps' France had barely overcome Australia with a score of 2-1. A penalty by Griezmann, awarded with the Var, and a goal by Pogba (shot deflected by the Australian defender), awarded thanks to goal line technology, were decisive. In between, Australia's provisional equalizer, on a penalty, awarded for a sensational oversight by Barcelona central Umtiti who touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area.
