Messi’s brilliance covers up Argentina’s flaws

Marcos Rojo finally knows what it feels like to be in Neymar's boots.

Footballing ability will never link Manchester United's maligned defender with the enigmatic talents of the world's most expensive player but the pair now share a common bond.

Doing all the hard work and producing acts of deliverance on the game's biggest stages perennially count for precious little when you are ultimately eclipsed by Lionel Messi.

Rojo's decisive late volley saw Argentina through to the World Cup's Round of 16 with a 2-1 over Nigeria yesterday morning (Singapore time), yet it was his captain who again stole focus.

Neymar will have some empathy for his fellow South American.

Images of a jubilant Messi travelled around the world after Barcelona's improbable Champions League victory against Paris Saint-Germain despite the Brazil forward paving the way for the Catalans' "Remontada".

Rarely does a star of the first act hoover up the applause at curtain-call.

For Messi, all the world's a stage and everyone else in it a mere player. He remains box office, but failed to deliver a blockbuster moment until a mesmerising two-touch finish broke the deadlock.

Saint Petersburg had not witnessed such stellar marksmanship since James Bond in GoldenEye.

Featuring in four successive World Cup campaigns should have made Messi well-versed for his final title as the only major honour to elude him.

Instead, he had resembled more boy than man; often appearing withdrawn, struggling to come to terms with his surroundings.

A cursory glance around the current Argentina side would make even the most self-assured player retreat into themselves. They have come to epitomise the adage that hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard.

Absenteeism has become a first port of call for many.

Defensively, they are shambolic as evidenced by Javier Mascherano's potentially fatal penalty concession, yet the former Barcelona man remains beyond reproach.

Jorge Sampaoli's isolationism during the post-match celebrations shed further light on a team which became embittered long before Messi had salvaged their lethargic route to the Finals.

Alleviating the burden on the 31-year-old by allowing Ever Banega to anchor Argentina's midfield has already paid dividends from an approach previously devoid of any apparent structure.

Facing a France team which has lacked as much cohesion, if not more, in Saturday's Round-of-16 encounter offers at least a semblance of hope from an otherwise impossible task.

That, however, is where the problems are likely to again begin for their talisman.

Reaching the quarter-finals will put him on a likely collision course with Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. Everywhere he goes, his rival's growing sceptre seemingly follows.

Even in Kazan, a mural of the Portugal captain adorns the hotel where Argentina will stage their final preparations. Stealing the limelight appears to have come full-circle in Messi's ongoing battle with the five-time Champions League winner.

Ronaldo's flying start helped the Euro 2016 winners stave off any permutations in their Group B finale despite finishing beneath leaders Spain.

More than a place in the semi-finals and the next Ballon d'Or award could be on the line in Nizhny Novgorod in eight days.

Sampaoli brutally likened the World Cup as holding a revolver to Messi's head; not winning it would be the death of him at the elite level.

Both his own teammates and Ronaldo have the potential to fire that lethal bullet.

npsports@sph.com.sg