he Tuesday night clash between the underdogs –Nigeria and footballing giants –Germany was nothing less than a biblical drama.
The two-time world champions –Argentina looked to be heading out of the FIFA World Cup until the 86th minute, before Manchester United defender Marcus Rojo slammed in the winner for the La Albiceleste adding to Messi’s first half strike which was cancelled by Moses from the spot kick.
Argentina needed a win in the final Group D match and the Messi-led side managed to scrape past a determined Nigerian side. Certainly a result many desired but least expected.
St Petersburg looked heavenly with the classy white and blue all around and not to mention the characters it featured during the 90 minutes of solid play. There was ‘Angel’, ‘Gabriel’, Messi and ‘Moses’ on the field as God watched from the stands, though ‘Paulo’ had a glimpse from the bench.
Following their surprise 1-1 draw against Iceland and the humiliating 0-3 defeat to Croatia, Jorge Sampaoli was criticised for his team management and tactics, but little do we all know that when you have players with such ‘great calibre’ and potential’, even their ‘God’ (Diego Maradona) couldn’t manage the side few years back.
With thousands praying for a miracle, Messi delivered the country and fans with a perfect right footer –his first of the 2018 World Cup. The goal not only boosted the five-time Ballon d’Or winner but also gave a hope for his team. Messi’s wild celebration was overshadowed by Diego Maradona’s antics. The Argentina’s God looked up with his arms crossed and whispered, what looked liked prayers.
The two-time World Cup winner was most eccentric on the Stadium as even the camera couldn’t stop focusing on the former Argentina skipper. Everything worked well for the Argentines in the first 45 minutes.
It was looking as if Messi –the Messiah would be delivering his country for the first time in this tournament. However, when you have Moses, you just can’t write off miracles. Though this Moses played for the Nigerians, he parted Argentina’s ‘sea of hope’ with his 49th minute equaliser from the penalty spot sending the Stadium into silence. Once again the camera focused to Diego Maradona who looked anguish and dejected.
The end was near. With the scores level, Nigeria looked to seal their surprise, yet deserving place in the last 16. But in football anything and everything is possible. As it moved down to the final 10 minutes, the clock ticked faster for one and slower for the other.
Nigeria were just minutes away from creating the history, but God had his own plans, with four minutes to go, ‘Gabriel’ fed in a picture-perfect pass to Marcos Rojo, who slammed the volley to send the stadium in ruptures. The arena reverberated with pure, unadulterated joy. Not to mention Maradona’s theatrics. This time it was ‘fingers of God’ as claimed by many on social media. The former Argentina coach went mad after the goal wherein his behaviour doubted many.
The final whistle looked as if the ‘heaven kissed earth’ as the white and blue celebrated unconditionally. Argentine’s have a new life-line as they head in the KOs. Fallen even before the tournament began, the giants rose again on their Match Day three.
