World Cup 2022: Lionel Messi is on a mean streak, and it’s no coincidence he and Argentina are thriving

Sometimes we get a little crazy with the takes on the Golazo Starting XI. There’s nothing we like more than a counterintuitive argument to spark a soccer debate. Today is not one of those days. I’m Mike Goodman, and as the semifinals of the World Cup kick off, I’m here to tell you that Lionel Messi is very good at soccer. Let’s get to it.

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⚽  The Forward Line

Messi is having his best World Cup

Messi is 35 years old. He’s played every minute of this World Cup. He scored in the knockout stage for the first time in his career. Here are the basics:

• Minutes: 480
• Goals: 4
• Assists: 2
• Shots: 25

If you’re keeping track at home — and I am, it’s literally my job — that leaves him second in the tournament in goals, tied for fourth in assists, and first in shots. And when it comes to assists, Antoine Griezmann is the only one of the three in front of him that remains in the tournament. He’s also first in shots on target with 12. If anything, this undersells his performance.

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He’s one of only three players in the tournament to complete more than 100 passes in the attacking third. He’s at 109. His teammate Rodrigo de Paul, who has the luxury of being able to feed the ball to Messi, is ahead of him with 112, as is Pedro of Spain with 130. Fourth on the list with 86 is Luca Modric, who Messi faces today. Messi is also one of only six players to complete more than one through ball at this tournament.

He’s doing everything, and he’s doing it at an age when he’s supposed to be riding off into the sunset. It was eight years ago when Messi lost to Germany in the 2014 final, and at the time it would have been reasonable to think he was at the peak of his powers. And while he’d have another chance — two at the outside — to win the whole thing, they’d come when he was no longer the best the world had ever seen. Turns out that reasonable as it might have been to think that, we were very, very wrong. 

For more on Messi, make sure to check out Roger Gonzalez’s breakdown of his tournament, where he explains that it’s not just about the stats, it’s also about a subtle change in attitude.

🔗  Midfield Link Play

Croatia’s rise is fascinating

Some sports stories are just too good to analyze, so before we get to your daily links, let’s just take a moment to appreciate Croatia, who are in their second straight World Cup semifinal, and third since 1998. That’s an amazing achievement for a country with less than half the population of New Jersey. And there’s a bit of a good news-bad news situation for Croatia here. In 1998, it was the French who knocked them out in the semifinals. Last time around in 2018, it was the French again, in the final. This time, the French sit there again looming on the other side of the bracket. If Croatia shock Argentina, it’s possible their nemesis will be waiting for them this weekend.

Let’s get to some more links:

💰  The Back Line

Best bet

World Cup semifinals are here, and we have you covered. All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

• Argentina vs. Croatia, Tuesday 2 p.m. ET
  💰 THE PICK: Argentina (-127). Yesterday I told you that if you wanted to take Croatia to advance, the way to do it was to pick them to go through on penalties. The reasoning behind that pick, is also the reasoning behind this one. Argentina are the favorites. They’re the best team and they’re probably going to win. Even with the relatively short odds you’re getting, betting on Messi makes sense. Make sure to follow SportsLine’s best best on this matchup.